School Spotlight

Indian River State College
Speech Code Rating
- At present, FIRE does not maintain information on this school's policies.
Indian River Community College: Ban on ‘The Passion of the Christ’ and Repression of Free Speech
December 16, 2004
Indian River Community College prohibited the Christian Student Fellowship, a campus student group, from hosting a screening of The Passion of the Christ. The group contacted FIRE, which lobbied the administration and launched a media campaign exposing the school’s policies. Thereafter, the school denounced it actions, admitting to employing double-standards in its policies. The student… Read more
This Month in FIRE History: Florida College Bans ‘The Passion of the Christ’
January 29, 2009
In ten years, FIRE has seen astounding double standards at work on campuses across the country. However, even we were shocked by our case at Indian River Community College (IRCC) in January 2005, one of the worst cases of hypocrisy FIRE has ever seen. The case began when IRCC prevented the Christian Student Fellowship (CSF)… Read more
The Good, the Bad, and the Just Plain Silly
October 18, 2006
As a free speech organization, we see pretty much every type of censorship out there. People are frequently censored at colleges and universities for engaging in controversial political speech. Other times, people are censored for engaging in speech that is crude and repugnant, but that is wholly protected. And then there are times that people… Read more
The Most Despicable Double Standard of 2005
December 27, 2005
As FIRE reflects on the events of the past twelve months, it seems to me it might be appropriate to recognize the one university whose disgraceful mistreatment of liberty included the most blatant double standard of the year. And in my humble opinion, that distinction goes to Florida’s Indian River Community College, whose feigned prudery… Read more
The Chill Is Nothing New
September 9, 2005
There is a chill on campus, but that’s nothing new. For decades, campus speech has been chilled by speech codes and other attempts to prevent expression that might offend. Some would like to imagine that the excesses of “political correctness” are ancient history, but repression in the name of tolerance hasn’t gone anywhere. Oppressive speech… Read more
Nontraditional Students
August 18, 2005
One of the more interesting aspects of our case submissions is that a disproportionately high number come from “nontraditional” students—those students who are older, married, or often have substantial work experience. Many of our more sensational and egregious cases—including the recent ban on showing The Passion of the Christ at a college in Florida, Scott… Read more
‘Derecognition’ Revisited
February 18, 2005
Adding to Wednesday’s discussion about recognition of student organizations, a reader commented: Also, there’s the famous method of “unrecognition”—intimidating enough of the faculty so that no one is willing to be the advisor. Take a look at the case at Indian River Community College, where administrators had instituted an illogical policy requiring that faculty advisors… Read more
College Revamps Policy After Banning The Passion
February 4, 2005
(AgapePress) – A Florida community college says it will no longer bar a Christian student group from showing the film The Passion of the Christ. The move comes after a prominent civil rights group exposed inconsistencies in school policy. In addition to dropping its unwritten ban on R-rated movies, the school has also dumped a… Read more
Editorial: Contrary to news report, IRCC doesn’t fit politically correct model
February 3, 2005
ABC’s “World News Tonight” claimed in a nationally televised segment Tuesday that Indian River Community College is among institutions of higher learning that suppress politically conservative speech on their campuses. The allegation is unjust on several fronts. Broadcasting from the IRCC campus in Fort Pierce, the segment entitled “Conservatives censored on college campuses?” based… Read more
College To Allow Screening Of Controversial Movie
February 3, 2005
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A Fort Pierce community college will show the movie “The Passion of the Christ.” Indian River Community College officials said they would lift the college’s ban on campus groups showing R-rated movies. They had been threatened with a civil liberties lawsuit when they refused to show the film on campus…. Read more
The Resurrection of the Passion
February 3, 2005
Dear President Massey, Indian River Community College (IRCC): You cannot imagine how excited I was to read your recent press release stating that “(IRCC) is strongly committed to fulfilling its responsibility to strike an appropriate balance between maintaining an effective, orderly learning environment and protecting the rights of (IRCC) students.” I was also thrilled… Read more
Victory for Free Speech at Indian River Community College
February 2, 2005
FORT PIERCE, Fla., February 2, 2005—In a statement issued yesterday evening, Florida ’s Indian River Community College (IRCC) overturned its prohibition on a student-organized screening of The Passion of the Christ.IRCC made the decision after the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) took the case of the Christian Student Fellowship (CSF), which wanted to… Read more
IRCC blows its lines
January 21, 2005
Indian River Community College administrators owe their students at least one plausible explanation for refusing to allow a campus Christian group to show The Passion of the Christ. So far, the college has come up only with embarrassing cover stories. The college has maintained that the group, Christian Student Fellowship, could not show the… Read more
Ban on ‘The Passion of the Christ’ Continues as New Double Standards Are Revealed
January 19, 2005
FORT PIERCE, Fla., January 19, 2005—Florida’s Indian River Community College (IRCC), which recently prohibited The Passion of the Christ from being shown on campus, has admitted that last year it approved a screening of the R-rated documentary film Welcome to Sarajevo at a college-sponsored event. This information contradicts the college’s claim to have banned all… Read more
Florida College Bans ‘The Passion of the Christ’; Launches Campaign Against Free Speech
January 14, 2005
FORT PIERCE, Fla., January 14, 2005—Florida’s Indian River Community College (IRCC) is engaging in a campaign of repression against a Christian student group for attempting to show Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ on campus. In November 2004, the college banned the Christian Student Fellowship (CSF) from showing the film because it was R-rated,… Read more