How can freedom of expression on campus be defended?

Abstract Freedom of speech and expression is often touted, among other things, as necessary to get at the truth, via an “open market” of ideas. Nowhere is this argument more relevant than in the university context, where students purportedly come to be exposed to a diversity of ideas. In this paper I propose three legitimate arguments against the value of free expression on campus, including the appropriate weighting of harm, the inherent “distortions” in the market, and the fact that free expression of ideas could paradoxically limit rather than expand the ideas on offer. I argue that freedom of expression is not a categorical imperative of truth seeking or the campus experience, but rather a debatable, culturally contextualised good among many, which requires ongoing defence and research by those who value it.