WASHINGTON (AP) — Free speech on college campuses attracted congressional attention on Tuesday as a Senate panel questioned students, academics and lawyers after the abrupt cancellation of several high-profile speeches from California to Texas.

Students and academics insisted the golden rule is for the speech to go on as long as violence can be prevented, dismissing the idea of intolerance.

The hearing came after a speech by conservative commentator Ann Coulter at the University of California at Berkeley was canceled amid fears of violent student protests. More recently, a commencement address...