Law students eager to fight corrosive campus 'cancel culture' spreading nationwide

The Federalist Society is focusing on the young conservative at this year's annual conference, who say they hope to encourage viewpoint diversity and healthy debate at their law school campuses.

Breanne Deppisch is a national politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI and other national news. She previously covered national politics at the Washington Examiner and The Washington Post, with additional bylines in Politico Magazine, the Colorado Gazette and others. You can send tips to Breanne at Breanne.Deppisch@fox.com, or follow her on X at @breanne_dep.

The students, who head up their local Federalist Society chapters at law schools across the U.S., face very different obstacles in advocating for free speech and open debate, though some more subtle than others.

As the next generation of lawyers prepares to join hundreds of fellow law students, future peers, and judges in D.C. for Thursday’s conference, each told Fox News Digital that they see the same challenge ahead for young conservatives: not just defending free speech, but redefining it — in an academic environment they say too often punishes dissent instead of encouraging open discussion.