Table of Contents
Debate over Offensive Letter at University of Michigan–Flint
In the latest in a series of controversies involving student newspapers, a college newspaper at the University of Michigan–Flint has come under fire because it published an offensive letter to the editor insulting the university’s Muslim community. As with the recent case at Colorado State University, the letter seems to have spurred some calls for investigation by college administrators, but most of the students in the article demonstrate an impressive understanding of the right to free speech. Interim Chancellor Jack Kay agrees with them, saying he would never advocate censorship—while exercising his right to express his own opinion about the newspaper’s decision to run the editorial.
Recent Articles
FIRE’s award-winning Newsdesk covers the free speech news you need to stay informed.
A third of Stanford students say using violence to silence speech can be acceptable
FIRE used polling data before and after the judge’s visit to map out how a high-profile heckler’s veto changed Stanford’s free speech climate.
FIRE survey shows Judge Duncan shoutdown had ‘chilling effect’ on Stanford students
According to a new FIRE survey, conservative students self-censored more often after the shoutdown than before the shoutdown.
USC canceling valedictorian’s commencement speech looks like calculated censorship
The university’s move, citing vague ‘safety concerns’ appears designed to placate critics of the student’s Israel criticism.
Back into the FIRE: Hasen’s response to FIRE and Rohde: Don’t read the press clause out of the Constitution — First Amendment News 420
First Amendment News is a weekly blog and newsletter about free expression issues by Ronald K. L. Collins and is editorially independent from FIRE.