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Harvey Silverglate Laments the Death of Parody on Campus

In the current issue of The Boston Phoenix, FIRE Co-Founder and Board Chairman Harvey Silverglate decries the downfall of parody and satire as legitimate forms of expression on college campuses. Among the cases from the past twenty years discussed in the piece, titled "Parody Flunks Out," Harvey mentions FIRE's work defending the publishers of the conservative Tufts University newspaper The Primary Source, which was the subject of a harassment investigation following the publication of a satirical Christmas carol. Given the popularity of the satirical newspaper The Onion and television personalities Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert with the college crowd, Harvey notes the disconnect that students face today: "the political arts of parody and satire are, ironically, experiencing a renaissance among the young. But these parodies should come with a warning label to students: don't try this on campus."

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