Free Speech Fridays

PACE Presents: Free Speech Fridays

Free Speech Fridays offer us the opportunity to put our First Amendment free speech rights into action. Sessions focus on controversial issues of wide interest and are free and open to the public. Our goal is to facilitate passionate but civil discussion that can empower participants to think for themselves. Free Speech Fridays provide one way that PACE, in the words of the program’s vision statement, “cultivates knowledge, develops leadership, and builds communication skills to prepare members of the IU community to take action for positive change.” Join us!

Guidelines for Free Speech Friday discussions:

  • All views are welcome, but please do your best to keep your comments civil, respectful, and focused on the content of the ideas raised and not the people who have raised them.
  • Listen to understand
  • Listen for common ground
  • When you disagree, do so with curiosity, not hostility
  • Refrain from interrupting
  • Keep your comments brief to maximize the participation of all speakers

Next Free Speech Friday

Friday, March 7, 2025
Red clock between Ballantine and Woodburn
[rain location: Woodburn 114]
Topic: "Make America Efficient Again? Elon Musk's Campaign to Shrink Government" 
Free donuts!

Free Speech Fridays provide a space for community members to explore policy conversations uniquely impactful to them. This month's topic, "Make America Efficient Again? Elon Musk's Campaign to Shrink Government" brings into conversation Musk's activities as a new Special Government Employee.  What is the Department of Government Efficient (DOGE)? Will cutting federal agencies and private sector create change in your intended career? What does this mean for the job market and the role of government as a whole? Join us for the conversation!

Resources on the topic:

https://doge.gov/

https://x.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/5169664-elon-musk-department-government-efficiency/

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/28/us/politics/federal-workers-email.html?unlocked_article_code=1.1U4.y2eb.XW8kU047ec14&smid=url-share

https://www.npr.org/2025/02/26/nx-s1-5308659/federal-employees-musk-trump-chaos

https://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2025/03/03/elon_musks_doge_is_zero-basing_the_federal_government_1094718.html

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/great-job-no-idea-what-hes-doing-elon-musk-email-sets-capitol-hill-ablaze

https://www.newsweek.com/bill-gates-elon-musk-insane-2021533

https://themilitant.com/2025/02/22/what-does-trumps-war-against-big-government-mean-for-working-people/

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/elon-musk-doge-neo-apartheid/

Future Free Speech Fridays

Friday, April 4, 2025
Red clock between Ballantine and Woodburn
[rain location: Woodburn 114]
Topic to be announced
Free donuts!

Friday, May 2, 2025
Red clock between Ballantine and Woodburn
[rain location: Woodburn 114]
Topic to be announced
Free donuts!

Contact us

Carl Weinberg
Teaching Professor, College of Arts and Sciences
Adjunct Associate Professor, Dept. of History
Director, PACE Institute for Role-Immersive Teaching and Learning (PIRTL)
812-856-5111
crweinbe@indiana.edu