Academic Freedom Under Attack

63%

of students are afraid to speak on campus

Source: FIRE

Great Minds Don't Always Think Alike

A student-faculty community at Macalester College promoting open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement.

"It's important that students can have a civil dialogue—disagree without being disagreeable—about the issues facing the country and the world."

— Peter Fenn '70, Founding Executive Director of OpenSecrets, Macalester Trustee Emeritus

About Our Chapter

The HxA Macalester Campus Community is part of Heterodox Academy, a nonpartisan collaborative of professors, administrators, and students committed to enhancing the quality of research and education by promoting open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement in institutions of higher learning.

Our chapter focuses on creating opportunities for students and faculty to engage across differences—hosting events that bring together diverse perspectives, providing educational resources on productive dialogue, and advocating for a campus culture where all viewpoints can be heard and debated respectfully.

What We Offer

Events, Education, and Resources

Events

Dialogue sessions, speaker events, and discussions that bring together students with different viewpoints to engage on challenging topics.

View events

Education

Materials and workshops on productive disagreement, understanding different perspectives, and the value of viewpoint diversity in academic settings.

Explore resources

Community

A network of students and faculty committed to open inquiry. Join us to help build a campus culture where diverse ideas are welcomed.

Meet the team

Free Speech at Macalester

Macalester ranks 228th out of 257 colleges in FIRE's 2026 College Free Speech Rankings. While the college has strong administrative support for free expression, there's work to be done on campus climate.

Our chapter works to help students understand and exercise their rights to free expression while building a culture where diverse viewpoints are welcomed and debated respectfully.

View FIRE Rankings

Get Involved

Interested in promoting open inquiry and constructive dialogue on campus? We welcome students and faculty from all backgrounds and perspectives.

Contact Us