Find out why this generation of college students is not a lost cause [VIDEO]
FIRE is committed to igniting a passion for these crucial freedoms in students through our educational programs, conferences, internships, and more.
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Category: Newsdesk, Top Story, Top Video, Video
Speech Code of the Month: Northeastern University
What happens when students want to respond to news right away through protests on their campuses? Many colleges have policies that say they have to wait.
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Category: Newsdesk, Speech Code of the Month, Video Schools: Northeastern University
Speech Code of the Month: Lafayette College
After meeting the Marquis de Lafayette during his tour of America in 1824, an Easton, Pennsylvania lawyer was inspired to name his town’s new college after the general, as “a testimony of respect for [his] talents, virtues, and signal services … in the great cause of freedom.”
Indeed, Lafayette had been a key proponent of individual rights both at home in France and in America. As the principal author of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789, he proclaimed: “The free communication of thoughts and of opinions is one of the most [...] » Read More
Category: Newsdesk, Speech Code of the Month, Top Story, Video Schools: Lafayette College
Ira Glasser – FIRE Student Network Summer Conference 2018
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Category: Newsdesk, Top Video, Video
“Three Myths about Free Speech” by Jacob Mchangama – FIRE Student Network Summer Conference 2018
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FIRE Investigates: An (il)liberal arts education at Wellesley College? (VIDEO)
What happens when the liberal arts education you expected turns out to be an illiberal one?
That’s the question a small group of Wellesley College students are grappling with at the historic Boston-area school, famous for educating some of the world’s most successful women.
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Category: Newsdesk, Top Story, Top Video, Video Schools: Wellesley College
The state of free speech at RPI: Not good
Over the past year, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has worked to censor students protesting administrator’s attempts to take over the Rensselaer Union
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Category: Newsdesk, Top Story, Top Video, Video Schools: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
FIRE’s activism portal offers newest, fastest way to protect free speech on campus (VIDEO)
FIRE supporters can now lobby their college or university for better speech policies directly from our website! In just a few seconds, you can put much-needed pressure on your institution to revise bad policies that threaten speech or thank “green light” schools for respecting free speech rights.
To take action, look up your school in the Spotlight database and click “Take Action.” A small form will appear that will allow you to send a prewritten email to the president or chancellor of the university in support of student rights.
Watch the activism portal in action in the video below:
To [...] » Read More
Category: Newsdesk, Top Story, Top Video, Video
FIRE staffers on why free speech is so important on campus
Here at the FIRE office, we practice what we preach. Much like the cases that come through our door, our staff run the gamut of the political and ideological spectrum. Needless to say, office debates are commonplace and we hardly agree on anything. One of the few things that brings us all together is a steadfast belief in the importance of free speech and the open exchange of ideas.
Colleges and universities exist to act as a true “marketplace of ideas,” where views are challenged and debate flourishes. Through our various roles at FIRE, we work hard to make sure free [...] » Read More
Category: Newsdesk, Top Story, Video
Berkeley: Then and now (VIDEO)
Today marks the 53rd anniversary of the University of California, Berkeley faculty senate vote which, at the urging of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement, reformed the institution’s policies on campus expression. In 1964, the students who participated in the movement demanded that Berkeley respect their First Amendment rights. The result was a revolution for student rights on campuses across the country.
On this anniversary, we take a look back at the Berkeley Free Speech Movement to see if it can lend any insights into the free speech controversies that roiled Berkeley’s campus this year.
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Category: Newsdesk, Top Story, Video Schools: University of California, Berkeley