In my last letter to the editor on March 27, I expressed the opinion that NIU is a broken institution. I made my points in economic terms because that seems to be the only thing that the people in charge pay attention to these days. That’s the real problem why it is a broken institution.

The purpose of a university is not to contribute $900 million to the local economy or even “student career success” — although those are welcome side-effects­­­ — rather, it is to prepare students to evaluate ideas so they can engage in the great debate of democracy. This is what separates a university from a vocational school or job training program, and it’s why a four-year college education should be tuition free. Inequality doesn’t matter so much with respect to purchasing power of material goods and services, but it matters a great deal with respect to granting citizens the ability to have a say in their government. So while it is easy to blame the state’s budget impasse for the challenges facing NIU, it is inexcusable to forget this essential function.

On Aug. 14, 2015, the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to the president of every university in the U.S.that had received a red-light rating from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. A red-light rating indicates that the institution has at least one policy that both clearly and substantially restricts freedom of speech. The letter, which included President Baker as one of the recipients, asked what steps they planned to take to bring their policies in accordance with the First Amendment. The Office of General Counsel responded that “The President has instructed [us] to review these and related policies,” according to a letter written in response to the House Judiciary Committee by Jerry Blakemore, the vice president of General Counsel.

After nearly two years since that letter, despite efforts, NIU still has a red-light rating. Meanwhile, the number of universities across the country that have a red-light rating has dropped almost 20 percent and the number that have a green-light rating has increased a little more than 10 percent,according to Fire President Greg Lukianoff during a testimony before the House Judiciary Committee.

To my knowledge, nobody within the administration at NIU has contacted FIRE for guidance or assistance in fixing policies that restrict speech. Perhaps it is effective to describe the situation in economic terms once again and remind NIU that restricting students’ constitutional rights can result in costly litigation. If NIU continues its current trend, it isn’t just a broken institution but an abject failure of one.