Free speech wars miss the point of college

(CNN)As the new school year gets underway and the presidential campaign heats up, it won't be long before we hear once again critics bewailing that free speech is no longer a core value at colleges and universities. Through a well-funded effort by conservative political organizations, already more than a dozen state legislatures have passed so-called campus free speech bills.

Major research universities will likely be under a spotlight, criticized for supposedly providing a platform for political craziness rather than innovative research, and surely there will be liberal arts college professors...