Table of Contents
FIRE’s Mitchell in the Harrisburg ‘Patriot-News’
An important column by FIRE Program Officer Charles Mitchell appears today in the Harrisburg Patriot-News. In response to Rep. Dan Surra’s comment that the Pennsylvania Legislature’s Select Committee on Student Academic Freedom, a committee on which Surra serves, is a “colossal waste of time,” Charles argues for the necessity of the committee. He highlights three Pennsylvania public institutions with unconstitutional speech codes, including Penn State, Surra’s alma mater.
Charles writes:
Policies like Penn State’s, Lincoln’s and IUP’s are widespread at Pennsylvania’s public universities. That makes one wonder why Surra thinks a committee investigating violations of academic freedom is such a waste of time.
He concludes:
There is nothing liberal, conservative or otherwise about making sure that Pennsylvania's public universities stop sticking the First Amendment in the nearest paper shredder.The sooner the academic establishment and its allies in the Legislature realize that, the sooner we can have some real reform. Anything less ought to be considered a scandal in the state where the Constitution was written and the Liberty Bell still resides.
The committee meets for its next two-day hearing on Monday, January 9, and Tuesday, January 10, at Temple University in Philadelphia.
Recent Articles
FIRE’s award-winning Newsdesk covers the free speech news you need to stay informed.
TikTok legislation sets grave precedent for free speech
President Biden today signed legislation that kickstarts a process to ban TikTok and empowers the president to block other communications platforms used by millions of Americans.
FIRE joins animal advocates, free speech groups urging Ninth Circuit to affirm ruling that allows undercover audio recording
Secret recordings are essential to news gathering, exposés, say advocates in Project Veritas case.
Louisiana Tech earns top rating for free speech
Louisiana Tech University is the latest school to receive a “green light” rating from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
German police forbid ‘speaking Irish’ at Berlin protest — Free Speech Dispatch April 2024
Free speech trouble spreads across Europe, app censorship in China, and how Iran suppresses critics abroad.