FIRE’s Guide to Free Speech on Campus focuses on the threat to freedom of expression posed by the imposition of speech codes, under various misleading names, on campuses across the nation. This Guide identifies the most effective arguments against such codes on private, public, and sectarian campuses, and demonstrates how the mere application of rules of legal equality go a long way to reforming current abuses. Here students will find the vocabulary with which to combat oppressive codes, regulations, and censorship and the answers to such difficult questions as:
- How can I wage a successful campaign against speech codes at my school?
- How do I respond to the claim that colleges and universities must by law adopt policies that restrict speech in the name of combating “sexual harassment,” “racial harassment,” and other forms of allegedly unlawful discriminatory conduct?
- What are the modern history and current status of the United States Supreme Court’s view of the nature and scope of the First Amendment’s protection of free speech and academic freedom, especially as this concept pertains to college and university campuses?
- What is the modern history and current status of the United States Supreme Court’s view of the nature and scope of academic freedom?
For more information, please read FIRE’s press release celebrating the launch of the Guide to Free Speech on Campus.
Download file "Preface, Introduction, and a Brief History of Free Speech"