The Torch
November 25, 2009
FIRE sent a letter to University of Minnesota-Twin Cities President Robert H. Bruininks today expressing deep concern over proposals generated by the College of Education and Human Development's Teacher Education Redesign Initiative task groups. The proposed political litmus test would require both current and prospective students to hold mandated political beliefs before being admitted and receiving a degree.
Read Full Article
The Torch
November 25, 2009
This Thanksgiving, all of us at FIRE would like to take a moment to pause from our work and express our deepest gratitude for all that our friends, family, and supporters like you have made possible. There is no more appropriate time to say thank you for all that you have done for the students and faculty members on campuses nationwide who found themselves stripped of their most fundamental rights in the past year. Thanks to your support, FIRE has restored justice to students and faculty members in 26 separate cases in 2009—and those are only the cases that made it into the public eye! We accomplished all this and more thanks to you.
Read Full Article
The Torch
November 18, 2009
FIRE is pleased to announce the publication of Defying the Constitution: The Rise, Persistence, and Prevalence of Campus Speech Codes in the Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy. Authored by FIRE's Azhar Majeed, Associate Director of Legal and Public Advocacy, the article chronicles the existence of college and university speech codes nationwide and argues that maintaining them is untenable, given that every single court decision on speech codes has struck them down as unconstitutional. The article analyzes the First Amendment and free speech problems presented by speech codes, examines the harms that they perpetuate on the college campus, and responds to various arguments put forth by their proponents. It also offers potential ways to eradicate speech codes permanently from college campuses. FIRE expects the article to be an informative contribution to First Amendment scholarship, clarifying the state of the law on speech codes. Read Full Article
Press Release
November 12, 2009
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) is proud to announce the publication of Correcting Common Mistakes in Campus Speech Policies, a practical guide for university administrators seeking to protect freedom of expression on their campus. This new publication is available online and as a PDF for free download, and published copies will be sent to administrators nationwide.
Read Full Article
The Torch
November 9, 2009
Duke University Professor Gary Hull has just published Muhammad: The "Banned" Images, which dares to publish images that Yale University and Yale University Press censored from Jytte Klausen's The Cartoons that Shook the World earlier this year. Hull calls the book "a statement of defiance against censors, terror-mongers, and their Western appeasers." FIRE joined with the National Coalition Against Censorship, the American Association of University Professors, and nine other signatories on a Statement of Principle stating that "The failure to stand up for free expression emboldens those who would attack and undermine it." Read Full Article
The Torch
November 6, 2009
In a victory for First Amendment rights on campus, a federal district court in Texas has granted two students at Tarrant County College (TCC) a temporary restraining order prohibiting TCC from censoring an "empty holster" protest scheduled for next week. The court's decision to grant the order came two days after the students filed a motion arguing that by enforcing its "free speech zone" policy to quarantine the protest, TCC would violate the students' First Amendment rights. In issuing the order, the federal court held that the students would suffer "immediate and irreparable injury" if TCC were allowed to restrict the protest event, due to the free speech zone policy's use of a permit system that contains no guidelines or standards for decision-making as well as the lack of access provided to traditional public forums such as sidewalks, streets, and park areas. As a result of this victory, students at Tarrant County College will be able to proceed with next week's protest. A hearing on the students' full lawsuit has been scheduled for November 16. Read Full Article
