Trump orders colleges to back free speech or lose funding

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to promote free speech on college campuses by threatening colleges with the loss of federal research funding if they do not protect those rights. 

The new order directs federal agencies to ensure that any college or university receiving research grants agrees to promote free inquiry and to follow federal rules and regulations supporting free speech. 

The executive order is aimed at preventing action



against conservative students protesting at US colleges and universities. Trump was compelled to issue the order after a student at the University of California at Berkeley was punched in the face last month for supporting the president and conservative causes.

Donald Trump said even as universities have received billions and billions of dollars from taxpayers, many have become increasingly hostile to free speech and the first amendment.