Brooklyn College: Administrative Attempt to Stop Academic Freedom Resolution

Case Materials

• "Victory for Academic Freedom at Brooklyn College," FIRE Press Release, November 23, 2004: The City University of New York’s Brooklyn College has reversed a decision that effectively disbanded the student government to prevent it from voting for a resolution including an academic bill of rights.  After protests from students, faculty members, and FIRE, the college restored the student government to its earlier status, allowing it to continue with its work.
• "FIRE Letter to Brooklyn College President Christoph Kimmich , November 15, 2004," November 15, 2004

Media Coverage

• "Academic Freedom on the Front Lines," Robert “K. C.” Johnson, Front Page Magazine, January 11, 2005: Even in this hostile environment, an academic freedom movement has flourished. The campus branch of Students for Academic Freedom, headed by Eldad Yaron, has proven remarkably effective in gaining student support for its efforts. One sign came this fall, when Representative Daniel Tauber of the Student Government Assembly introduced the Defense of Academic Freedom Act, which seeks to protect students from being penalized for their political viewpoints and to discourage professors from replacing academic content in their classes with material that solely reflects their political opinions.
• "School Officials Disband Student Government," Jacob Gershman, The New York Sun, November 19, 2004: Brooklyn College's administration has disbanded the school's student government for violating election procedures. An organization critical of the unusual move described it as a way to target students who had complained that some faculty members were abusing academic freedom.