Table of Contents
Penn State Settles Lawsuit
Today, the Alliance Defense Fund announced that it has settled a portion of its lawsuit against Penn State, which agreed to drop its speech code and clarify other policies. Congratulations to ADF and to our former president and Legal Network attorney David French!
Penn State did the right thing by settling the lawsuit and recognizing its duty to obey the Constitution. But, at the same time, it is important to note that universities shouldn’t have to face the threat of a lawsuit in order to compel changes to patently unconstitutional policies.
Hopefully, this will serve as a wake up call to the hundreds of other “red light” public universities identified in Spotlight: The Campus Freedom Resource. If college presidents don’t want to hear the knock of a federal marshal serving a lawsuit, they would be wise to immediately reassess their unconstitutional policies.
Recent Articles
Get the latest free speech news and analysis from FIRE.
LAWSUIT: Ex-cop sues after spending 37 days in jail for sharing meme following Charlie Kirk murder
Larry Bushart was arrested for a social media post and held on a $2 million bond he could not afford. Now, he's fighting back.
City Club of Cleveland rejects illiberal calls to disinvite speaker
Historic City Club of Cleveland defies pressure to cancel a controversial speaker, reaffirming its century-old commitment to free speech and open debate.
Repression deepens in Hong Kong with Jimmy Lai’s guilty verdict and censorship over deadly Wang Fuk Court fire
Hong Kong jails Jimmy Lai, UK prosecutors seek to reverse a free speech victory, and a new U.S. border policy could export self-censorship worldwide.
How schools still abuse ‘institutional neutrality’ to silence speech
Universities are invoking “institutional neutrality” to muzzle students and faculty. But the fix is simple: restrain administrators, not speech.