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Announcing the 2014 FIRE Student Network Conference!

FIRE is proud to announce that our sixth annual summer student conference will be held July 25–27 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. College students are invited to attend FIRE’s weekend-long workshop, designed to teach students about their rights on campus and how to defend them. Our conference brings together college students from across the political spectrum and around the country who care about free speech, and it inspires them to protect and celebrate freedom of expression on their campuses.

The 2014 conference will feature talks from FIRE staff and fellow students who fought back when their free speech rights were violated, plus guest lectures from Jonathan Rauch and Lenore Skenazy.

Jonathan Rauch, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., is the author of six books, including Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought, and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing editor of National Journal and The Atlantic and the recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize.

Lenore Skenazy is one of America’s best-known advocates for encouraging young people’s independence—something that America’s college administrators might take a lesson from when it comes to students! She is the author of Free-Range Kids: How to Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children (Without Going Nuts with Worry) and the creator of the Free-Range Kids website. Beginning with an article about allowing her nine-year-old to ride the subway alone in New York City, Skenazy’s work promoting independence for young people has sparked a national conversation about parenting, risk, and independence. She is also a regular columnist, civil liberties proponent, and host of TLC International reality show, World's Worst Mom. Lenore lives in Queens, New York, with her husband and two sons.

The conference will open with a reception on Friday evening and close with lunch on Sunday. Check out last year’s conference schedule for a sense of the weekend’s activities, including plenary speeches and breakout discussions on various First Amendment topics.

The conference is free and open to current students at U.S. colleges and universities, including graduate students and incoming freshmen. Housing and meals will be provided for attendees. Travel reimbursement for up to $300 per student will be available to help students travel to and from Bryn Mawr.

For more information, visit thefire.org/conference.

Space fills up quickly so apply today!

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