FIRE in the Media for Colorado Cases

by Emily Guidry

July 27, 2007

Our recent involvement in two major cases in Colorado has caught the attention of local and national media.
 
After Greg’s commentary on the Ward Churchill case appeared on The Torch, it was picked up by the widely read Huffington Post blog. He also expressed his expectations for the case in a story in the Daily Camera in Boulder.
 
Meanwhile, our victory at Colorado State University—where FIRE worked with student activists to change three formerly unconstitutional speech codes—was featured in a national news brief from the First Amendment Center. In Colorado, The Fort Collins Coloradoan, the Colorado Springs Gazette, and The Denver Post all ran pieces on our CSU victory.
 
As columnist Al Knight pointed out in The Denver Post,
It’s big news when a university adopts a restrictive speech code. But it’s often ignored when one is improved in response to student protests.
 
Colorado State University’s new policies on speech, student protests and residence hall advertising are all big improvements over the restrictive policies of the past, and the university deserves great credit for making the changes.
We feel the same way. The outrage from the media and the general public that often accompanies our reports of unconstitutional policies can be a huge help to us in fighting speech codes, but generally the good news that a policy has been revised does not garner the same level of attention.
 
As our press release on CSU said, “By making these changes, the administration has proven it is serious about protecting its students’ First Amendment rights, and we commend the university.” We are pleased the media is also acknowledging the new and improved CSU.