Table of Contents
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.
Recent Articles
Get the latest free speech news and analysis from FIRE.
Unsealed documents prove the government crusade to deport Ozturk, Khalil, and others is based solely on protected expression
Unsealed documents show the government targeted pro-Palestinian students for deportation based solely on protected speech — not crimes.
Academic freedom suffers blow after blow in Florida
Florida keeps tightening the screws on higher ed — cancelled courses, gag laws, public shaming, and syllabi policing — and academic freedom just took another hit.
Anti-ICE protesters disrupted worship in a Minnesota church. Here’s why the First Amendment doesn’t protect their actions.
Anti-ICE protesters say disrupting a Minnesota church was free speech. It wasn't. The First Amendment protects protest — not disrupting worship to the point it can't continue.
Can Congress subpoena a journalist for reporting a Delta Force commander’s name?
Congress can subpoena broadly — but hauling reporters in for publishing the news chills journalism and sidesteps the First Amendment.