Press Release
October 15, 2008
With the presidential race between John McCain and Barack Obama the focus of national attention, political speech on our nation's campuses has come under sharp attack. In recent weeks, FIRE has investigated open and blatant attacks on political expression at colleges and universities across the country, from a previously unreported case at Oklahoma, to better-known cases at Illinois and Texas, to smaller schools across the country. This alarming trend towards silencing political expression has prompted FIRE to release a Policy Statement on Political Activity on Campus today.
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The Torch
October 14, 2008
In a victory for freedom of expression and freedom of association, Central Michigan University (CMU) has agreed to provide security for a speech tonight by author and conservative activist David Horowitz. The speech will be hosted by Campus Conservatives, the Young Americans for Freedom chapter at CMU. FIRE wrote CMU President Michael Rao on October 10, urging CMU to meet its constitutional obligation not to financially burden speech that others might find offensive. FIRE's letter pointed out that the Supreme Court has declared such burdens unconstitutional. In a response yesterday, Rao promised to provide two requested officers for the event, but said that CMU would review its historical security practices prior to a final determination about responsibility for security costs. Rao's response is both constitutionally and morally troubling, as it suggests that the angriest and most violent protesters might enjoy a "heckler's veto" by threatening violence, leaving speakers and hosts to foot the bill for security or else cancel events.
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Read More About Central Michigan University: Assessment of Security Fees for Controversial Speaker »
The Torch
October 7, 2008
Since last year, FIRE has been fighting a protracted battle for liberty at Tufts University after the school found a conservative student publication, The Primary Source, guilty of "harassment" for publishing two satirical articles. In response to the uproar, Tufts created a "Task Force on Freedom of Expression at Tufts" that has produced a draft declaration on free expression and inquiry that fails to inspire freedom of expression and does not continue Tufts' historical protections of these freedoms. FIRE has released its official comment on the document, noting that adopting it without changes would jettison "over 150 years of tradition at Tufts" by revoking the university's "noble promises of academic freedom and free speech."
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Update: October 6, 2008, Read More About Tufts University: Conservative Student Journal Investigated for Harassment »
The Torch
October 6, 2008
October marks the ten-year anniversary of the publication of The Shadow University: The Betrayal of Liberty on America's Campuses, an examination of the erosion of liberty on American campuses co-authored by FIRE founders Alan Charles Kors and Harvey Silverglate. Public reaction to The Shadow University was the single most influential factor leading to FIRE's establishment in 1999. The moment the book hit the shelves, Kors and Silverglate received pleas from students and professors across the country requesting aid and reporting horrific cases of censorship and abuses against liberty on college campuses. Less than one year later, Kors and Silverglate founded FIRE. To celebrate this anniversary, FIRE is giving copies of The Shadow University to supporters who donate $150 or more in 2008.
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The Torch
October 2, 2008
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for October 2008: the University of Northern Iowa. Overbroad "bias incident" policies are a problem on college campuses nationwide. But perhaps the problem is nowhere so great as at the University of Northern Iowa, a public university, which defines a "bias incident" as "any inappropriate word or action directed toward an individual or group based upon actual or perceived identity characteristics or background of a group or person and that is contrary to law or policy." This policy is fatally flawed in many ways, most importantly in that the prohibition on "inappropriate words" is both unconstitutionally overbroad and vague. Students will have to guess at what will be deemed "inappropriate," and most speech that a reasonable person would find "inappropriate" is still wholly protected by the First Amendment. FIRE calls on the University of Northern Iowa to immediately revise this shameful policy.
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Press Release
September 30, 2008
Today, FIRE sent letters to administrators at twenty public colleges and universities in New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania warning them to abandon their speech codes in light of the recent Third Circuit decision overturning Temple University's unconstitutional code. All of the colleges FIRE contacted are rated as "red light" schools in FIRE's Spotlight speech codes database, meaning that they retain policies that unconstitutionally restrict student speech.
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Read More About Temple University: Speech Code Litigation »
The Torch
September 24, 2008
FIRE is proud to announce that President Greg Lukianoff is the inaugural recipient of the Playboy Foundation's Freedom of Expression Award, given to support an individual "whose record of accomplishments indicates a promising future as an effective advocate for the First Amendment." The award is the newest of the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Awards, which have been presented by the Playboy Foundation annually since 1979 to honor citizens who have "contributed significantly to the vital effort to protect and enhance First Amendment rights for Americans." We at FIRE are extremely proud of Greg's accomplishment. Our many successes defending liberty here at FIRE serve as testament to his hard work, dedication, and leadership. Congratulations, Greg!
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FIRE Update
September 22, 2008
In January 2006, FIRE and the John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy released a Report on the State of the First Amendment in the University of North Carolina System, which highlighted unconstitutional speech codes in force in the UNC system and offered recommendations on how to bring them into compliance with the First Amendment. Thirteen of the sixteen schools in the system maintained policies that clearly and substantially restricted students' right to freedom of speech, earning a "red-light" rating from FIRE. Today, only eight out of those sixteen schools still receive a "red light"—a significant step forward for free speech in North Carolina, and encouraging evidence that public pressure can indeed stem the tide of free speech abuses at colleges and universities.
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Press Release
New President’s Changes Remove School from FIRE’s Red Alert List
September 17, 2008
In a welcome reversal, Valdosta State University (VSU) has revoked its unconstitutional free speech zone policy, restoring free expression to the vast majority of VSU's campus. Newly installed VSU President Patrick J. Schloss announced the new policy in a letter to FIRE. The change comes in response to months of pressure from FIRE and removes VSU from FIRE's Red Alert list, a distinction reserved for institutions demonstrating a severe and ongoing disregard for the fundamental rights of students or faculty members.
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Update: September 18, 2008, Read More About Valdosta State University: Freedom of Expression on Campus Limited to Unconstitutional Free Speech Zone »
Press Release
Distribution Policy Reformed, But Concerns Remain
September 16, 2008
After unconstitutionally denying students the right to pass out a student newspaper without prior approval, the University of Delaware has changed course and restored the rights of free expression and freedom of the press on its campus. The policy change came in response to a letter from FIRE demanding changes to the university's restrictions on student speech. However, the university has yet to explain why administrators made misleading statements to students about the nature of their rights.
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Update: October 2, 2008, Read More About University of Delaware: Students Required to Undergo Ideological Reeducation »
