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Help FIRE Recruit Summer Interns

"A short time at FIRE is enough to convince virtually anyone that our First Amendment rights are, both legally and philosophically, an indispensable component of American society. Working environments such as the one at FIRE are rare gems which stimulate intellectual development and model the kind of free-thinking milieu they hope to restore throughout academe."
- Brian Mink, 2008 FIRE Intern, University of Georgia

FIRE internships provide incomparable opportunities for undergraduates and law students to spend the summer defending individual rights on campus. Our interns return to school well-informed about their rights and energized to defend fellow students on their campuses. They write articles, host FIRE speakers, and campaign to change speech codes in order to at their schools. Some even go on to fight for free speech full-time as FIRE staff members.

We rely on you, Torch readers, to spread the word about FIRE's cases and mission, and we need your help to find the best interns for this summer. Please share these postings about our internship opportunities for undergraduates and law students with students you know who might be interested in spending the summer with FIRE:

  • For undergraduates, FIRE offers a 10-week, paid Summer Internship Program. FIRE interns do substantive work on behalf of rights, liberty, and individual dignity. Interns help with administrative tasks, write about FIRE cases and issues, and develop strategies for protecting open discourse on their own campuses. Interns also participate in weekly seminars with FIRE staff and other prominent experts on civil liberties. We are looking for intelligent and energetic current undergraduates who are interested in FIRE's mission and work. The 2011 Summer Internship Program will run from Monday, June 6, through Friday, August 12, at FIRE's downtown Philadelphia office.
  • FIRE's Legal Internship Program gives rising second- and third-year law students the opportunity to work closely with FIRE attorneys to promote liberty on campus. Legal interns perform vital research and write memoranda on current FIRE cases and issues. Participants are also encouraged to explore their own interests within FIRE's focus on constitutional law on campus and to develop writing samples and legal scholarship with the assistance of FIRE attorneys. Legal internships may be paid or unpaid, depending on individual students' particular needs. However, pursuit of independent funding and public interest fellowships is encouraged.

The deadline for the undergraduate internship is March 31, 2011. FIRE considers applications for legal internships year-round and on a rolling basis.

I want to thank FIRE friends who have already posted the internship opportunities (including Students for Liberty, the Institute for Humane Studies, and Cato on Campus) and all of you who have shared the posting through Facebook and e-mail.

Brian says it best: A summer at FIRE can be a transformative experience. My time as a FIRE intern certainly deepened my understanding and commitment to the cause of free speech on campus. Thank you for helping FIRE recruit an outstanding intern class for 2011!

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