Editor’s note: Over the past several decades, few places in America have become more hostile to free speech than our universities. Yet in the wake of rising anti-Semitism and the pro-Hamas campus rallies and occupations that were sparked by the terror group’s October 7 massacre, university administrators seem to have had a sudden change of heart.
The Freedom Center is exposing the most egregious perpetrators of these double standards in free expression as the Top Ten Ivory Tower Hypocrites. These are universities whose leaders have permitted woke leftist activists to run roughshod over campus rules and violate codes of conduct with impunity, while failing to extend even basic free speech protections to students and faculty with opposing views. The University of Washington is #10 on our list.
#10: The University of Washington
The University of Washington, like many institutions of higher education, makes explicit promises about guaranteeing freedom of expression. “As a public university, we are firmly committed to supporting and legally bound to permit speech that falls within the broad definition of protected expression,” the university states on its website. “We believe that upholding the right to free speech is not only consistent with our commitment to remaining a diverse, welcoming and inclusive community, but is, indeed, a necessary condition for cultivating and welcoming the kind of robust debate and thriving public discourse that is essential to every institution of higher learning.”
Sadly, as is the case with many prominent universities, the University of Washington has fallen far short.
In January 2025, UW was set to host Olivia Krolczyk, a women’s rights advocate and ambassador for the Riley Gaines Center who speaks out on the issue of how “transgender women” (aka men) are endangering women’s sports and intimate spaces. As a student at the University of Cincinnati, Krolczyk was given a failing grade by her gender studies professor for using the term “biological women” in a paper, so she has also been a victim of the gender mafia.
As a young woman with an important perspective on this very timely issue, Turning Point USA and the Leadership Institute brought Krolczyk to campus to give a speech. The title of her planned address was “Protect Women from Men: The Threat of the Trans Agenda.” The speech was scheduled to start at 6pm at Thomson Hall on campus, but right from the start, a crowd of angry protestors from the radical Marxist group Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) gathered outside to protest. The demonstrators quickly swelled into a crowd of approximately 200 individuals.
Krolczyk attempted to go forward with her address, but only a few minutes into her planned remarks, one of the protestors illegally pulled the fire alarm, forcing the evacuation of the building.
After the fire department confirmed that there was in fact no fire, Krolczyk attempted to continue with her speech, but was interrupted constantly by the pro-trans protestors banging on the windows of the hall, flashing lights, using noisemakers, and even shattering a window. Ultimately the UW police decided to shut down the event in the interests of safety and deemed it necessary to escort attendees out in groups of two and three to protect them from the demonstrators.
Perhaps predictably, the University of Washington attempted to blame Krolczyk and Turning Point USA for their embarrassing failure to protect free speech on campus.
While acknowledging that the violent demonstrators forced the cancellation of the event, UW claimed in a statement that “it is clear that presenters and disruptors are, in some cases, seeking to antagonize one another in ways that provide dramatic content for their social media feeds” and noted that Krolczyk had told the student newspaper that she was “excited” the event was shut down.
What Krolczyk actually said to the campus paper is a bit different. “I’m almost excited [about being shut down], I know that sounds weird, but I’m excited because that means we’re doing something right… We’re speaking the truth and they can’t handle it …”
“University of Washington is trying to blame me and @TPUSA for the violent protests that occurred at my event last night,” Krolczyk responded to the university’s statement. “I was adamant about continuing the event; however, in a decision with the PD we decided the protests were too violent and it was unsafe to continue the night.”
“I am out here advocating for free speech, the erasure of DEI, more single sex spaces for women, for the equality for women to participate in sports without men being in there,” she added. “Essentially, we got shut down, they will not silence us, [and] we will be sure to come back.”
Despite promising that the perpetrators who forced the shutdown of Krolczyk’s speech will “face legal and disciplinary action if they are identified,” no forthcoming news reports from the university note that any disciplinary action was taken.
UW also has an abysmal history of protecting the free speech rights of Jewish and pro-Israel individuals on campus.
In September 2024, anti-Israel activists attended a UW Board of Regents meeting with the particular aim of preventing Jewish speakers from being heard. As the Amcha Institute, an anti-Semitism watchdog group reports, “Jewish individuals who spoke at a UW Board of Regents meeting were interrupted by protesters who called for BDS and chanted, ‘Shame,’ ‘we are shutting this meeting down, we are not leaving until divestment,’ ‘disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest,’ and ‘we will honor all our martyrs.’”
A statement released by the Board of Regents clarified that the interruptions were specifically aimed at Jewish speakers. “Speakers addressing labor issues and those calling for divestment from Israel had spoken without interruption, but when Jewish speakers opposed to divestment and concerned about antisemitism on campus began their comments, protestors repeatedly interrupted and shouted them down. Despite repeated warnings to stop and clear the room, protesters continued their chants to shut down the meeting.” Despite condemning this behavior, UW again made no promise of disciplinary action against the disruptors.
In May of 2024, the Amcha Institute reports, “A Jewish student wearing a yarmulke at the University of Washington was threatened by a group of individuals dressed in black and carrying sticks and shields near an encampment. When the student sought help from the administration, officials advised the student to go around the encampment for their safety, rather than ensuring their right to safely access the campus.”
The University of Washington has given the radical gender mafia and pro-Hamas left free reign on campus, while allowing these violent groups to curtail the free speech rights of women and Jews. The university amply deserves its place on the list of Ivory Tower Hypocrites.