New Video on Multimedia Page; Video Contest Call for Entries

To expand our growing Multimedia Project, we have uploaded a short video that previews the latest Voices of Vision episode featuring FIRE. This two-minute trailer provides a brief glimpse into FIRE's cases at Le Moyne College, where a graduate student was expelled for defending corporal punishment in the classroom, and SUNY Fredonia, where a professor was denied promotion for publicly disagreeing with the university's student conduct policies and affirmative action practices. If you would like to embed or link to this video on your blog or website, it is also available on YouTube.

As the new school year approaches, we'd also like to remind all college students about our ongoing "Freedom on Campus" video contest. FIRE is looking for student filmmakers to document a free speech controversy on a college campus—either at their own or at another school—and produce a short film about it. Examples include instances when someone has been punished because of his or her speech, student newspapers have been stolen or vandalized, student groups were not allowed to associate, or where speech was confined to a "free speech zone."

A $5,000 prize will be awarded to the producer of the best student video. The winner will also receive video exposure on FIRE and CFN websites and an all-expense paid invitation to the 2009 Campus Freedom Network Conference in Philadelphia, where they will meet with prominent free speech advocates, FIRE staff members, and other top students from around the country. A $1,000 prize will be awarded to two runners-up. The final day to submit an entry is November 15, 2008, with the winners announced on December 5, 2008.