Iowa State University – Stand Up For Speech Lawsuit

July 1, 2014

Following criticism about a T-shirt featuring a marijuana leaf, the ISU rescinded approval for the T-shirt and adopted new regulations specifically designed to restrict NORML ISU’s ability to engage in political advocacy.

Policy Library: Discrimination and Harassment

Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: April 12, 2017

Iowa State University also prohibits harassment, which can be a form of discrimination if it is unwelcome and is sufficiently severe or pervasive and objectively offensive so as to substantially interfere with a person’s work or education. Harassment may include, but is not limited to, threats, physical contact or violence, pranks, jokes, bullying, epithets, derogatory comments, vandalism, or verbal, graphic, or written conduct directed at an individual or individuals because of their race, ethnicity, sex, pregnancy, color, religion, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or U.S. veteran status.

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1.1. Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment, in its legal definition, includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests to engage in sexual conduct, and other physical and expressive behavior of a sexual nature where (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment or education; (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used, or threatened or suggested to be used, as the basis for academic or employment decisions affecting the individual; or (3) such conduct creates a hostile, intimidating or demeaning environment that is sufficiently severe, pervasive and objectively offensive to substantially interfere with an individual’s academic or professional performance. Determination as to whether the alleged conduct constitutes sexual harassment should take into consideration the totality of the circumstances, including the context in which the alleged incidents occurred.

Under this policy, sexual harassment can be verbal, visual, or physical. It can be overt, as in the suggestion that a person could get a higher grade or a raise in salary by submitting to sexual advances. The suggestion or the advance need not be direct or explicit–it can be implied from the conduct, circumstances, and relationships of the persons involved. Sexual harassment can also consist of persistent, unwelcome attempts to change a professional or academic relationship to a romantic or sexual one. It can range from unwelcome sexual expressions directed at individual persons or classes of people to serious physical abuses such as sexual assault. Examples could include, but are not limited to, unwelcome sexual advances; repeated and unwelcome sexually-oriented bullying, teasing, joking, or flirting; verbal abuse of a sexual nature; commentary about an individual’s body, sexual prowess, or sexual deficiencies; leering, touching, pinching, or brushing against another’s body; or displaying objects or pictures, including electronic images, which are sexual in nature and which create a hostile or offensive work, education, or living environment.

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Policy Library: Sexual Misconduct, Sexual Assault, and Sexual Harassment Involving Students

Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: March 27, 2017

Sexual harassment can include unwelcome behavior (verbal, written, physical) that is directed at someone because of that person’s sex or gender, and that meets either of the following criteria: …

• The behavior creates a hostile, intimidating or demeaning environment that is sufficiently severe, pervasive and objectively offensive to substantially interfere with or deny participation in a student’s educational activities and benefits or employment opportunities.
  • Examples can include persistent efforts to develop a sexual relationship; bullying/cyber-bullying of a sexual nature or for a sexual purpose; unwelcome commentary about an individual’s body or sexual activities; unwanted sexual attention; repeated and unwelcome sexually-oriented teasing, joking or flirting; verbal abuse of a sexual nature. Comments or communications could be verbal, written or electronic.

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Policy Library: Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resources

Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: March 27, 2017

Key prohibitions include:

* Sending unsolicited messages, including the sending of “junk mail” or other advertising material, to individuals who did not specifically request such material, except as approved under the Mass E-Mail Policy and Effective Electronic Communication.
* Engaging in harassment via electronic communications whether through language, frequency, or size of messages.

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Policy Library: Inclusive Language

Speech Code Category: Other Speech Codes
Last updated: March 27, 2017

All university publications and communication, whether oral or written, shall use inclusive language and illustrations. Inclusive language refers to language that makes every attempt to include comprehensively all groups in the community. Whenever possible, selection of academic materials will also reflect efforts to uphold this university policy.

Compliance with this policy shall be the responsibility of all faculty and staff.

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Policy Library: Student Disciplinary Regulations (Code of Conduct)

Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: March 27, 2017

Students have certain rights as members of the university community in addition to those constitutional and statutory rights and privileges inherent from the State of Iowa and the United States of America, and nothing in this document shall be construed so as to limit or abridge students’ constitutional rights.

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Policy Library: Facilities and Grounds Use, Activities

Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: March 27, 2017

Outdoor Areas

Non-Commercial Expressive Activities (Free Speech)

ISU embraces the sharing of knowledge and ideas through public discourse and free speech. As part of this community devoted to learning, ISU students, faculty, staff, and visitors are encouraged to engage in respectful dialogue.

Any member of the university community or the public may use unrestricted outdoor areas for non-commercial expressive activities on a first come, first served basis without giving prior notice if—

• 50 or fewer people are anticipated to assemble at one time (otherwise the use is subject to restriction as a Public Event (see Public Events in Outdoor Areas, below);
• The event will occur only between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; for events held on weekdays before 5:00 p.m., the event will be held at least one hundred feet away from buildings that normally hold classes;
• The activity will not impede walkways or access to buildings or other university facilities;
• No other individual or group has been scheduled or authorized to use the area, or has filed a notice of intent to use that area or an adjacent area;
• The organizers will not use amplification equipment or equipment requiring use of electrical power connections (hand-held megaphones are permitted if used so as to direct the sound away from nearby buildings that normally hold classes);
• Signs or banners will be carried/attended at all times by one or two participants (unattended displays may not be used without permission); and
• The sponsor of the event takes responsibility for compliance with this policy.

The university highlights two outdoor areas (known as “agora/agorae”) that are especially conducive to non-commercial expressive activities because they are located centrally and in high-traffic areas. These areas (agorae) are located–

• West and south of the Hub
• Immediately south of the Campanile in the grassy area

In unrestricted outdoor areas on campus, including the two agorae—

• Signs or placards, each of which is carried by one or two persons, are permitted.
• Freestanding displays are permitted as long as the display occupies a space of less than 200 cubic feet and has a footprint of not more than 100 square feet, weighs less than 300 pounds and is accompanied at all times by an individual responsible for the display.
• Leafleting (handing out fliers) may be conducted if done in a way to avoid substantial littering of the campus.

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Policy Library: Student Disciplinary Regulations (Code of Conduct)

Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: March 27, 2017

Iowa State University is an institution that encourages the intellectual and personal growth of its students as scholars and citizens. As an educational institution, the university recognizes that the transmission of knowledge, the pursuit of truth, and the development of individuals require the free exchange of ideas, self-expression, and the challenging of beliefs and customs.

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Court sides with drug legalization group in speech dispute

February 14, 2017

by Jake New at Inside Higher Ed Iowa State University cannot bar a student group from using the university’s logo and mascot on T-shirts advocating the legalization of marijuana, a federal appeals court ruled Monday… Read more here.

Iowa University loses appeal in free speech case over marijuana T-shirt

February 14, 2017

by Paul Gaita at The Fix The pro-marijuana t-shirt featured the school’s mascot, a marijuana leaf and the slogan, “Freedom is NormL at ISU.”… Read more here.

ISU’s Leath: Bigots, Racists, Haters Need Not Apply

November 7, 2016

By Jeff Charis-Carlson at The Des Moines Register In a video message posted one day before Election Day, Iowa State University President Steve Leath advised any bigots, racists, haters and discriminators against enrolling in the Ames-based public university… Read more here.

NORML Chapter Clashes with MU Over Proposed T-Shirt Designs

June 20, 2016

By Zach Baker at Columbia Missourian  COLUMBIA — A student group that advocates for reforms to marijuana laws is considering whether to sue MU for alleged censorship of its T-shirt designs… Read more here.

Students Clash with University Over Marijuana T-Shirts

June 14, 2016

By Garrett Bergquist at KRCG TV  COLUMBIA, Mo. — A pro-marijuana group is considering legal action against the University of Missouri after administrators wouldn’t let a student group print t-shirts featuring marijuana… Read more here.

WIRE: Mizzou Issues Warning, Censors T-Shirts Advocating Marijuana Legalization

June 14, 2016

By SueVo at Cannabis Daily Record COLUMBIA, Mo. — Despite repeated warnings that it is violating the First Amendment rights of its students, the University of Missouri (Mizzou) refuses to allow a recognized student group to create T-shirts featuring a cannabis leaf and the university’s name… Read more here.

Rip ‘N’ Read

June 13, 2016

By Staff at Talk Media News The Society of Professional Journalists and several dozen news media organizations asked the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to recognize California’s anti-SLAPP statute that a trial judge cited in dismissing a defamation suit between two doctors. The suit was filed in Florida, but the law of California applied to the case. SPJ said the trial court ruling is important because it is not clearly established that state anti-SLAPP statutes apply in federal courts… Read more here.  

High on Image, University of Missouri Says no to Marijuana on T-Shirt

June 11, 2016

By Laura Bauer at The Kansas City Star The University of Missouri and a student group are squabbling over marijuana… Read more here.

Rekha Basu Commentary: Universities Should Promote Free Speech as Well as Civility

June 3, 2016

By Rekha Basu at The Columbus Dispatch There may be no greater paradox than the concept of free-speech zones on college campuses. Because campuses are by definition free-speech zones. Carving out special areas to exercise that right doesn’t just undermine the premise; it goes against the purpose of a higher education… Read more here.  

‘Free Speech Zones’ Banned on Arizona Campuses: Will Other States may Follow Suit?

May 24, 2016

By Aubree Poole at Red Alert Politics What are “free speech zones” and why are they on our college campuses?… Read more here.

Iowa State Wrestles with Free-Speech Zones

May 12, 2016

By Makayla Tendall and Alex Connor at The Des Moines Register Iowa State University students like Michael Deichmann say they do not want restraints on speech or expression on campus… Read more here.

Basu: Free-speech Zones not Needed on Campus, but Respect is

May 11, 2016

By Rekha Bau at The Des Moines Register There may be no greater paradox than the concept of “free-speech zones” on college campuses. Not because college students aren’t sophisticated enough to deal responsibly with their freedom of speech, but because campuses are by definition free-speech zones. Carving out special areas to exercise that right doesn’t just undermine the premise; it goes against the purpose of a higher education… Read more here.

Iowa Students Fight for Right to Chalk

April 20, 2016

By Jeff Charis-Carison at Iowa City Press-Citizen When members of Students for Life drew hearts on a walkway at the University of Iowa last week, they kicked off the latest skirmish in a new frontier of free-speech controversies on college campuses nationwide: a battle over chalk art… Read more here.

Federal Judge Orders Iowa State to Stop Censoring Marijuana Reform T-Shirts

January 27, 2016

By Jacob Sullum by Reason Online As far as Iowa State University President Steven Leath was concerned, censoring the T-shirts of a campus group advocating the legalization of marijuana was simply good politics, a way of maintaining friendly relations with state officials. It was also clearly unconstitutional, according to a federal judge who last week told Leath and his subordinates to cut it out. … Read more here.

Court Backs Iowa State University Students in Marijuana T-Shirt Case

January 25, 2016

By Vanessa Miller at The Gazette A student marijuana advocacy group at Iowa State University says it “can’t wait to see what new T-shirt designs we come up with,” after a district court judge barred administrators from using trademark policy to prevent designs that include both ISU logos and marijuana leaves. … Read more here.

Iowa State Violated First Amendment by Denying Pro-Marijuana Student Group the Right to Use ISU Logo (Plus Cannabis Leaf) on its T-shirts

January 22, 2016

By Eugene Volokh at The Washington Post Iowa State University owns the trademarks “‘Iowa State University,’ ‘Iowa State,’ ‘ISU,’ ‘Cyclone,’ and ‘Cy,’ as well as logos, such as Cy the Cardinal (Cy) graphics and Cy the mascot.” It has licensing guidelines for student groups (and other groups) that want to use the marks: Read more here.

BREAKING: Judge Orders Iowa State to Stop Suppressing Pro-weed Campus Activists

January 22, 2016

By Staff at The College Fix Did you know that trademark law can be abused to suppress the First Amendment rights of students? Iowa State University is learning that the hard way.   Read more here.

Court Orders ISU to Allow T-shirts with Marijuana Leaf

January 22, 2016

By Jeff Charis-Carlson at The Des Moines Register A district court issued a permanent injunction Friday prohibiting Iowa State University administrators from using trademark policy to stop a campus group from printing university-themed T-shirts that depict a marijuana leaf. … Read more here.

Iowa State Student Leaders Vote Against Free Speech, Claim They ‘Advocate’ Free Speech

December 8, 2015

By Staff at The College Fix Iowa State University’s student government considered a bill that would create a new free-speech zone on campus. They ended up gutting it unanimously, and then claimed they were “advocating” free speech. Iowa State Daily reports on the curious debate and vote on the bill, which would have created “another zone” for ISU members to express themselves without restrictions, provided it wasn’t “within 100 feet of a campus building” or impeded “foot traffic.” The administration sent its its top lawyer to speak before debate, asking student leaders what they want: “If we’re trying to protect people from what […]

ISU Students Standing Up For Free Speech

January 10, 2015

By Catherine Sevcenko at The Gazette By rejecting Iowa State University’s attempt to escape a lawsuit alleging that the university censored student speech, a federal judge has reaffirmed the principle that the First Amendment prevents powerful people from shutting down messages they don’t want to hear. Two students from ISU’s student chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) claimed that ISU administrators, including President Steven Leath, violated their First Amendment rights when ISU revoked approval of the group’s T-shirt advocating marijuana legalization. ISU also revised its trademark policies — which allow all recognized student groups […]

Going To Pot: Judge Says Students Can Sue President For T-Shirt Censorship

January 8, 2015

By Greg Piper at The College Fix When I was a technology law reporter, I covered quite a bit of litigation involving the clash of intellectual property law and the First Amendment. It involved stuff like file-sharing websites (how quaint!) and Google search ads. That’s why I’m amused to see how a judge handles claims that a pro-marijuana T-shirt can be considered “government speech.” Iowa State University marijuana activists passed their first legal hurdle this week in forcing the school to let them wear pro-pot T-shirts that include a school logo. It’s the first case in the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s Stand Up […]

Judge Says Iowa State Wrong on All Counts in Free Speech Case

January 8, 2015

By Robby Soave at Reason Online The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education is celebrating a clean victory over Iowa State University after a U.S. district court judge rejected all of the university’s arguments in an important decision about whether a free speech case could proceed. ISU students Erin Furleigh and Paul Gerlich have sued the university for censorship. The two are leaders at the campus’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws; administrators prohibited them from wearing T-shirts featuring the group’s pro-legalization message as well as the university’s logo. ISU attempted to have the First […]

Judge Denies Motion To Dismiss Suit Against ISU

January 7, 2015

By Melissa Erickson at Ames Tribune This story has been updated to include a statement from an Iowa State University spokeswoman and to reflect that the three lawsuits filed by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) against public universities that have since been settled were against Modesto Junior College (Calif.), University of Hawaii-Hilo and Citrus College (Calif.). A federal judge has denied Iowa State University’s request to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the university and four of its administrators by a marijuana advocacy student group. In a 19-page order filed Tuesday, Chief Judge James E. Gritzner rejected ISU’s […]

Judge Declines To Dismiss Iowa State Pro-Marijuana Free Speech Lawsuit

January 7, 2015

By Vanessa Miller at The Gazette A lawsuit accusing Iowa State University administrators, including President Steven Leath, of censoring a pro-marijuana student group’s right to free speech will proceed in district court, a judge ruled this week. The lawsuit’s defendants — including Leath, Warren Madden, senior vice president of business and financial affairs, and Thomas Hill, senior vice president for student affairs — filed a motion in September asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit on grounds it failed to show a violation of constitutional rights. Chief Judge James Gritzner in his ruling Tuesday disagreed with all four of the […]

Letter: Campus Free-Speech Zones Are A Right That Iowa State Cannot Restrict

October 28, 2014

By Catherine Sevcenko at Iowa State Daily The Iowa State Student Senate just voted down a referendum to expand free speech zones on Iowa State’s campus. In response to a subsequent Daily editorial lamenting the university’s dismal attitude toward free speech, one student senator defended the restrictions Iowa State places on free expression in the Daily article “GSB Clarifies Free Speech Zone,” published Oct. 22. According to the author, Iowa State has struck the right balance between student safety and free speech, students shouldn’t have to deal with “offensive” ideas and the “system isn’t broken.” Actually, Iowa State’s system is […]

Student Senator’s Defense Of Voting Against Free Speech Is Frickin’ Hilarious

October 23, 2014

By Greg Piper at The College Fix One of the joys of covering college news is reading poorly written op-eds by students in their campus papers. I’m not saying they should be composing elegant, witty and insightful essays as 18-year-olds. Maybe just that they should run their prose by a professor who can say, in the most respectful way possible, “This could be improved.” Today’s example comes from Iowa State University’s Daily, where a student senator takes issue with the paper’s recent editorial scolding the student government for voting down a bill that would ask the administration to expand the campus free speech zone. The […]

ISU Asks Judge to Dismiss Lawsuit over Marijuana T-Shirts

September 15, 2014

By MacKenzie Elmer at The Des Moines Register Iowa State University is asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by student members of a pro-marijuana group who claim the university violated their constitutional rights. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who is representing ISU, filed a motion Sept. 4 countering claims that the university violated students’ freedom of speech when it banned the use of its mascot on the group’s T-shirts. Members of the campus chapter’s National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws filed the lawsuit against university administration in July. Claims by Paul Gerlich and Erin Furleigh, ISU students and […]

This Academic Year, Colleges Should Eliminate Speech Codes — or Prepare for Their Day in Court

September 2, 2014

By Azhar Majeed at The Huffington Post One would think that American colleges and universities do not need many added incentives to uphold the free speech rights of their students and professors. After all, protecting freedom of speech on campus meets universities’ legal obligations under the First Amendment (in the case of public institutions) and honors institutional promises of free speech made in official handbooks and materials (in the case of private schools). Doing so allows students and faculty members to exchange diverse viewpoints with one another and to learn from their fellow classmates or colleagues. And it ultimately benefits […]

Colleges: Drop Your Speech Codes

August 8, 2014

By David Moshman at The Huffington Post This summer, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) initiated four new First Amendment lawsuits against college censors. Additional lawsuits will follow, it announced, until unconstitutional speech codes, which are common across the nation, have been eliminated. How should college officials respond? Here’s some free advice: Join the quest for intellectual freedom in higher education. Eliminating a speech code costs nothing, will make you look good, may avoid a lawsuit and, best of all, is the right thing to do. I will elaborate on these four reasons below. But first, let’s look more closely at college […]

EDITORIAL: Saving Campus Speech

July 11, 2014

At The Washington Times Congress is considering a constitutional amendment to eliminate the free-speech protections of the First Amendment. Over at the Internal Revenue Service, high-level officials are caught harassing American citizens for their political beliefs, but obstructing the exercise of free speech is not limited to Washington. College campuses everywhere have dropped the pretense of academic freedom, adopting speech codes to restrict what can be said or thought, lest someone take offense at the expression of an unfamiliar idea. The frightened few cowering in the faculty lounge want to sanitize the public discourse. Earlier this month, the Foundation for Individual […]

Iowa Students Stand Up Against Censorship of Marijuana Legalization

July 9, 2014

By Catherine Sevcenko at The Huffington Post Iowa State University invites its students to craft their own educational “adventure” as they obtain a college education. Erin Furleigh and Paul Gerlich are students at ISU whose adventure has included censorship and, now, a federal lawsuit. Erin and Paul are president and vice-president of the the Iowa State Chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML ISU). Their group advocates the legalization of marijuana, which even the White House Office of Drug Policy acknowledges “is a topic of significant public discourse in the United States.” Whether they are right or wrong as […]

Education Colleges Learn Risks of Curbing Free Speech

July 8, 2014

By Bob Kellogg at OneNewsNow During its fifteenth anniversary of fighting for free speech rights on college campuses, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education filed four lawsuits in one day. F.I.R.E. is coordinating lawsuits against Ohio University, Chicago State University, Iowa State University and Citrus College in California. Litigation Coordinator Catherine Sevcenko explains the strategy behind this new effort at curbing unconstitutional speech policies. “We have sort of hit a core of universities that seem to think that they don’t have to worry about their unconstitutional policies,” she says. “And so we are trying to change that calculus.” She says the […]

UNLV Must Champion Free Speech on Campus — or Face Potential Lawsuit

July 7, 2014

At Las Vegas Review-Journal Free speech, a cornerstone of our nation’s democracy, is supposed to thrive on college and university campuses. Students can best sharpen their critical thinking skills through open, robust debate on any and all ideas. All too often, however, the free exchange of ideas on campuses only goes as far as the sensibilities of the most easily offended. As a result, administrators at campuses across the country — including right here in Nevada — have increasingly embraced heavy-handed, politically correct policies that discourage and even prohibit protected speech. These policies include the implementation of speech codes, required permits […]

Suing for Speech on Campus

July 7, 2014

By Spencer Case at National Review Online Free speech on campus is about to get its day in court. Last week the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) brought four lawsuits against universities with speech codes they believe are unconstitutionally restrictive. The lawsuits mark the launch of the Stand Up for Free Speech Litigation Project, which aims to end barriers to free speech on campus nationwide. FIRE has been an advocate for liberty on campus since it was founded 15 years ago. They have brought lawsuits in the past when efforts to persuade university administrations to abandon unconstitutional practices have failed. […]

Lawsuits Launched to Protect Free Speech on College Campuses

July 4, 2014

By Deirdre Fulton at Mint Press News A Philadelphia-based nonprofit devoted to defending free speech and civil liberties on college campuses filed four lawsuits on Tuesday and announced the launch of its Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project, “a national effort to eliminate unconstitutional speech codes through targeted First Amendment lawsuits.” The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), founded in 1999 by University of Pennsylvania professor Alan Charles Kors and Boston civil liberties lawyer Harvey Silverglate, brought lawsuits against Citrus College in California, Iowa State University, Chicago State University, and Ohio University. The suits allege that administrations violated student and faculty rights through unconstitutional […]

FIRE Launches ‘Stand Up For Speech’ Litigation Project to End Speech Codes

July 3, 2014

By Robert Shibley at National Review Online For more than two decades, speech codes—policies on college campuses that limit what and where students may engage in free expression—have been a constant problem. First struck down (in the modern era of political correctness, anyway) 25 years ago in the case of Doe v. Michigan, speech codes have nevertheless hung on and miseducated a generation of students about freedom while robbing them of their basic rights. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE, where I work) has spent its 15 years of existence fighting these codes, systematically classifying them, and engaging in public advocacy aimed at convincing […]

Morning Links: The FIRE Aims to Torch Campus Speech Codes

July 2, 2014

By Radley Balko at The Washington Post Idea: Let’s assign the least experienced police officers to the neighborhoods with the most crime. What could go wrong? Samuel Alito, the Supreme Court’s most authoritarian justice. Federal judge throws out “cannibal cop conviction,” correctly rules thatthought crimes are not crimes. From the American Civil Liberties Union, a criminal defense attorney’s guide to StingRay cellphone monitors. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper talks about marijuana legalization. Lawrence, Ind., is the latest town to get a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) armored vehicle from the Pentagon. The thing weighs more than 48,000 pounds, or more than a pound of MRAP for each resident of Lawrence. The […]

Philly-Based Group Sues 4 Universities for Free Speech

July 2, 2014

By Joel Mathis at Philadelphia Magazine A Philly-based advocacy group, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, has sued four universities across the country, saying those institutions are squelching their students’ First Amendment rights. The New York Times reports: “We’re cultivating an intellectually unhealthy attitude that it is not O.K., or even dangerous, to hear opinions that might make you uncomfortable,” said Greg Lukianoff, the president of the group filing the suits. “Universities have been much too shy in saying that there’s a great educational benefit from hearing dissent. You have a whole generation of people who think that they should be protected from […]

The Good Fight: FIRE Suing Colleges and Universities over Speech Codes

July 2, 2014

By Michael Barone at Washington Examiner Once upon a time, American colleges and universities prided themselves on being a zone of free expression, open to ideas, in a society that often censored speech and pressured citizens into conformism. How things have changed! Now college and university campuses are among the least free parts of our society, with speech codes and censorship enforced by armies of administrators. Fortunately there is an organization fighting this state of affairs: FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. FIRE has represented students against administrators bent on censorship and has catalogued the restrictions on speech […]

Teachers Union Hit with Labor Strife — Obama’s Commencement Shift — Caring about School Counselors — Rethinking Remediation Reporting

July 2, 2014

By Caitlin Emma at Politico TEACHERS UNION HIT WITH LABOR STRIFE: The demonstrators marching outside the National Education Association’s annual convention in Denver on Tuesday held up signs demanding “No union busting!” and “Bargain a fair contract!” The target of their wrath: The NEA itself. The protesters were field organizers for the NEA — the men and women who hit the road as many as 200 days a year to rally educators to the union cause. They have their own union, the Association of Field Service Employees. And they’ve been working without a contract since their last three-year deal expired […]

American Universities Are Restricting an Important Right — And Students Are Fighting Back

July 2, 2014

By Jenna Kagel at News.Mic A free speech crackdown in modern day America: We expect to hear stories on repressing freedom of speech in countries like Russia, not in the U.S. But right here in the land of the free, American universities, the pillars of protest movements and open dialogue, are suppressing free speech. In response, the first-ever coordinated legal battle against U.S. universities was filed on Tuesday in four states as part of the “Stand Up for Speech” litigation project. Three-fifths of public colleges violate the First Amendment by imposing free speech policies on their campuses. American universities are banning […]

Group Launches Litigation Campaign to Challenge Campus Speech Codes

July 2, 2014

By Ronald K.L. Collins at Concurring Opinions July 1, 2014, National Press Club, Washington, D.C. Today, two powerhouses — one a free speech activist, the other a noted First Amendment lawyer — joined forces to challenge campus free speech codes that run afoul of the First Amendment. Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and Robert Corn-Revere, a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine (DWT), announced that the group and the law firm would work together in a litigation campaign to change the free speech culture on many campuses across the nation. “Unconstitutional campus speech codes have been a national scandal for decades. But […]

Suing Over Speech

July 2, 2014

By Jake New at Inside Higher Ed WASHINGTON – The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education filed four lawsuits Tuesday, alleging that three state universities and one community college maintain unconstitutional speech codes and have restricted the free speech of students and faculty members. The lawsuits – filed against Chicago State University, Citrus College, Iowa State University and Ohio University – are the start of a larger campaign that FIRE is calling the Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project. For every lawsuit FIRE wins, whether through a ruling or a settlement, the organization will sue another college. FIRE had previously, and with […]

Colleges Are Slowly Taking Away Your First Amendment Rights

July 2, 2014

By Robert Shibley at The Washington Post September 17 last year was a pretty bad day for the Constitution on our campuses. Robert Van Tuinen of Modesto Junior College in California was prevented from passing out copies of the Constitution outside of his college’s tiny “free speech zone.” Near Los Angeles, Citrus College student Vinny Sinapi-Riddle was threatened with removal from campus for the “offense” of collecting signatures for a petition against NSA domestic surveillance outside his college’s tiny free speech area. I mention September 17 because that was Constitution Day. These attempts to silence students are all in a day’s […]

Group Files Suit to End Campus Speech Codes

July 1, 2014

By Christine Rousselle at Townhall FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, filed four lawsuits today against universities with restrictive speech codes on campus. The universities named in the suits are Ohio University, Chicago State University, Iowa State University, and Citrus College (Calif.). “Unconstitutional campus speech codes have been a national scandal for decades. But today, 25 years after the first of the modern generation of speech codes was defeated in court, 58% of public campuses still hold onto shockingly illiberal codes,” said FIRE President Greg Lukianoff. “For 15 years, FIRE has fought for free speech on campus using public awareness as […]

The FIRE Launches National Litigation Effort against Campus Speech Codes

July 1, 2014

By  William A. Jacobson  at Legal Insurrection Almost daily we report here and at College Insurrection on the almost insane application of campus speech codes, frequently utilized disproportionately against non-politically correct (i.e. conservative) students and groups. Speech codes are closely related to other forms of campus oppression, like the stripping of due process rights for men accused under vague and overly-broad definitions of sexual assault and subjected to kangaroo courts. It all part of enforcing compliance with a dominant campus ideology (almost always progressive and radical feminist). Our friends at The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) have led the fight against speech codes for […]

First Amendment Defender FIRE Coordinates Four Free Speech Lawsuits against Public Universities

July 1, 2014

By Morgan Chalfant at Red Alert Politics In a continued effort to stand up for free speech on college campuses, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) announced its participation in four lawsuits Tuesday to uphold the First Amendment rights of students and faculty in our nation. The organization announced these suits as part of its “Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project,” which was launched at a press conference Tuesday in Washington, D.C., at the National Press Club. FIRE President Greg Lukianoff described the project as a “massive litigation effort” that the organization is taking up in partnership with a team of lawyers at Davis Wright […]

‘Massive litigation Campaign’ Launched Against University Speech Codes

July 1, 2014

By Greg Piper at The College Fix Public colleges that retain speech codes were given notice Tuesday by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education that they could be hit with costly First Amendment lawsuits. The group announced it had filed four lawsuits Tuesday against schools in the Midwest and California – on top of two filed in the past several months – at a press conference in Washington, D.C. Two of them involve banned T-shirts. FIRE is planning a “massive litigation campaign” under the Stand Up For Speech project, President Greg Lukianoff told the press conference. “We’ve been hesitant to […]

Free Speech Movement

July 1, 2014

By James Taranto at The Wall Street Journal FIRE is attempting to light one. The Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights in Education today filed four lawsuits challenging campus censorship at institutions across the country: • At Citrus Community College in Glendora, Calif., Vincenzo Sinapi-Riddle “was threatened with removal from campus by an administrator for asking a fellow student to sign a petition protesting NSA surveillance of American citizens.” He was accused of expressive activity without a permit and outside the designated “free speech zone,” which according to FIRE’s calculations “comprises just 1.37% of campus.” • At Iowa State University, two members of the campus chapter […]

In Major Announcement, FIRE Says It Will Sue Every College With a Speech Code Until Speech Codes Die Forever

July 1, 2014

By Robby Soave at Reason Online The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education announced a major litigation effort Tuesday against universities that maintain clearly illegal speech codes. With help from the law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine, FIRE is suing several universities that manifestly and unconstitutionally deprive their students of First Amendment rights. “Universities’ stubborn refusal to relinquish their speech codes must not be tolerated,” said FIRE President Greg Lukianoff during a press conference. For now, suits have been filed against Ohio University, Iowa State University, Chicago State University, and Citrus College in California. These universities have all trampled students’ free speech […]

Iowa State Students Suing over Marijuana T-Shirts

July 1, 2014

By Grant Rodgers at  The Des Moines Register Two Iowa State University students are suing school officials after the university’s trademark licensing office forbade a pro-marijuana group from using the Cy logo on T-shirts. Juniors Paul Gerlich and Erin Furleigh have filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa asking a judge to rule that the school violated students’ First Amendment rights by banning the Cy logo on shirts made by the campus chapter of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Gerlich and Furleigh are the current president and […]

Lawsuits Aim at Campus Free-Speech Limits

July 1, 2014

By Mary Beth Marklein and Hoai-Tran Bui at USA Today Lawsuits filed Tuesday by an education foundation accuse three state universities and a community college of restricting free speech of students and faculty, the first public volley of a nationwide campaign to challenge campus policies it says are unconstitutional. The cases involve T-shirt designs for student organizations at Iowa State and Ohio universities, a faculty blog at Chicago State University and a student at Citrus College in Glendora, Calif., who says he was told he would be kicked off campus unless he stayed within a designated area while seeking signatures for a […]

Citrus College, Ohio State University Targeted by Free Speech Organization’s Lawsuit

July 1, 2014

Note: this article is a repost from the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. It erroneously states that the Ohio State University is subject to a free speech lawsuit. The school is in fact Ohio University. By Jason Henry at San Gabriel Valley Tribune GLENDORA >> A national organization focused on free speech rights for students named Glendora-based Citrus College and three Midwest universities in four lawsuits filed on behalf of students who claimed their constitutional rights were violated. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) launched the lawsuits in collaboration with students and faculty at Citrus College, Ohio State, Iowa State and […]

Nonprofit Launches New Effort against Campus Speech Codes

July 1, 2014

By Kevin Daily at Washington Examiner The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education on Tuesday announced a significant litigation effort to fight campus speech codes in colleges and universities across the country. FIRE, a non-profit foundation that advocates for academic freedom, filed four separate lawsuits against Ohio University, Iowa State University, Chicago State University, and Citrus College in California. The filings launched FIRE’s new Stand Up for Free Speech Litigation Project, a national effort aimed at eliminating campus speech codes. FIRE president Greg Lukianoff characterized speech policies on most college campuses as “unambiguously unconstitutional” and vowed to persevere. “The lawsuits will continue until campuses […]

4 Free Speech Lawsuits in One Morning: Stepping Up the Fight Against Campus Speech Codes

July 1, 2014

By Greg Lukianoff at The Huffington Post For seven years I have written for The Huffington Post about the problem of campus speech codes — absurd, often unconstitutional restrictions on the free speech of college students and professors. Today, my organization, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has a big announcement about a major step in the decades-long war against campus speech codes. Here is my statement from our press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.: Twenty-five years ago we had reason to think that the “temporary insanity” of campus speech codes had come to an end. In 1989, the first […]

ISU Sued for Prohibiting Logo on Pro-Marijuana Shirt

July 1, 2014

By Grant Rodgers at The Des Moines Register Two Iowa State University students are suing school officials after the university prohibited a pro-marijuana group from using the Cy logo on T-shirts that also featured cannabis leaves. At issue is whether ISU, a government entity, can choose which groups are allowed to use the logo based on political or social beliefs in an effort to protect its brand. It’s a lawsuit that will balance free speech rights against trademark law, said Christopher Proskey, a Des Moines patent and intellectual property attorney. “Somebody else is using your mark in a way that […]

Pro-Marijuana Student Advocates Sue ISU Administrators

July 1, 2014

By Vanessa Miller at The Gazzette As part of a national free speech litigation project, two Iowa State students on Tuesday filed a lawsuit accusing university administrators of violating the rights of a student group pushing for the legalization of marijuana. The lawsuit — filed by the president and vice president of ISU’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML — is one of four new lawsuits included in the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s nationwide effort to “eliminate unconstitutional speech codes through targeted First Amendment lawsuits.” The “Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project” […]

Trouble over T-Shirts Just Landed 2 State Universities in Court

July 1, 2014

By Tyler Kingkade at The Huffington Post Two Midwest state universities are being hauled into court over what campus groups can and can’t say on their T-shirts. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education said Tuesday that it has filed lawsuits against Iowa State University, for denying marijuana reform advocates the use of the school mascot on their T-shirts, and against Ohio University, for directing a student government-related group not to wear T-shirts with a double entendre. Students from the two schools joined FIRE, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit, at a press conference in Washington, D.C., announcing the suits. FIRE also said it was suing […]

Education Group Announces All-out War on Campus Speech Codes

July 1, 2014

By Blake Neff at The Daily Caller The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), a group advocating free speech on college campuses, announced Tuesday that it is launching a major legal offensive against universities it says are enforcing illegal speech codes. “Universities’ stubborn refusal to relinquish their speech codes must not be tolerated,” FIRE president Greg Lukianoff said at press conference held by the organization. Currently, the group will back four lawsuits against four different schools for alleged violations of speech rights. The lawsuits involve a diverse array of campus incidents. For lawsuits against Iowa State University and Ohio University, […]

Student Sues Citrus College District over Free Speech Restrictions

July 1, 2014

By Teresa Watanabe at Los Angeles Times Vincenzo Sinapi-Riddle is a passionate libertarian who was thrilled to attend Citrus College in Glendora for what he imagined would be a quintessential college experience of unbridled debate. But after he arrived last year, he learned that the college required all petitioning, pamphleting and other expressive activities be confined to a small “free speech area” on the campus quad. And when he launched his first petition effort last fall, he said — against spying by the National Security Agency — an administrator told him he was outside the designated zone and warned that he […]

Students Challenge Free-Speech Rules on College Campuses

July 1, 2014

By Teresa Watanabe at Los Angeles Times College students in California and three other states filed lawsuits against their campuses Tuesday in what is thought to be the first-ever coordinated legal attack on free speech restrictions in higher education. Vincenzo Sinapi-Riddle, a 20-year-old studying computer science, alleged that Citrus College in Glendora had violated his 1st Amendment rights by restricting his petitioning activities to a small “free-speech zone” in the campus quad. According to Sinapi-Riddle’s complaint, a campus official stopped him last fall from talking to another student about his campaign against spying by the National Security Agency, saying he had […]

Advocacy Group Sues 4 Universities in Challenge to Policies It Says Curb Free Speech

July 1, 2014

By Jennifer Medina at The New York Times LOS ANGELES — Arguing that free speech is being stifled at college campuses across the country, a Philadelphia-based advocacy group on Tuesday filed lawsuits against four universities, seeking to force the schools to revise policies that the group says restrict some forms of speech. The group, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, singled out four schools that it says squelched free speech in noteworthy ways — by banning certain T-shirts on campus, for example, or by trying to shut down a faculty blog that criticized the administration — and said it planned to […]

Report: UI, ISU and UNI on “red light” speech code list

December 18, 2012

A new report lists the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa among schools that earn the lowest rating regarding free speech on campus. The UI, ISU and UNI were among the schools on the “red light” list from the 2013 report on campus speech codes by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.  Grinnell College was on the “yellow light” list in the report. More than three-fifths — 62.1 percent — of the 409 schools surveyed have speech codes that “clearly fail to meet First Amendment standards,” according to the foundation. Those schools were […]

Free-speech organization says ISU’s policies are too restrictive

January 12, 2012

Iowa’s public universities have work to do to end suppressive speech policies according to a new report from an advocacy group devoted to free speech in academia. Iowa State University, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa all received “red light” ratings for their speech codes in the report from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) released this month. A red light rating, given to universities with one or more severely restrictive speech codes, was given to 65 percent of 392 schools surveyed in the yearly report. While the report shows a slight decline in […]

UI free speech policy disappoints

January 12, 2005

Certainly our freedom of speech is one of the most cherished and fundamental rights in this country. Unfortunately, the United States falls far short of the ideal put forth in the old saying, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Far too many people are now more than willing to suppress the speech of others simply because they find it offensive. Perhaps the most frightening aspect of this move towards oppression is that our nation’s universities are leading the way. At the University of Oklahoma, a disgraceful group of […]

Iowa State University settles First Amendment lawsuit, changes policies

April 12, 2017

FIRE promised to update readers about a First Amendment lawsuit filed by an Iowa State University student against ISU in October. Last week, the student’s lawyers announced that the lawsuit had been settled and that ISU had agreed to change the speech code at issue in the suit. Robert Dunn, the ISU student-plaintiff, was represented by Alliance Defending Freedom. Dunn challenged an ISU harassment policy that FIRE rated as a “red light” policy because it threatened to punish clearly protected speech. According to Alliance Defending Freedom’s press release: The policies, which concerned student behavior and expression, specified that they “may […]

Victory in Eighth Circuit: Iowa State Can’t Censor Pot Legalization T-Shirts

February 13, 2017

University used trademark policy to censor pro-legalization campus group Appeals Court upholds lower court ruling barring university’s censorship Decision is the tenth consecutive victory for FIRE’s litigation project ST. PAUL, Minn. Feb. 13, 2017—The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s (FIRE’s) Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project has notched its biggest victory to date.   Today, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit unanimously upheld a federal district court’s decision to permanently bar Iowa State University (ISU) from using its trademark policy to prevent a campus student group from printing T-shirts advocating marijuana legalization. […]

New Lawsuit Challenges Speech Code at Iowa State University

October 25, 2016

Earlier this month, Alliance Defending Freedom, which describes itself as “a non-profit legal organization that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith,” announced that it is representing a student at Iowa State University who filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging an ISU speech code. According to the complaint, ISU student Robert Dunn is challenging a university harassment policy that FIRE has given a “red light” rating. The ISU harassment policy states, in part, that “this policy may cover those activities which, although not severe, persistent, or pervasive enough to meet the legal definition of […]

Another Victory in Iowa State NORML Chapter’s Fight to Advocate for Marijuana Legalization

April 7, 2016

Iowa State University’s (ISU’s) relentless campaign to prevent the campus chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML-ISU) from including a pot leaf in the group’s T-shirt designs has met with another defeat. In January, a federal district court judge ruled in FIRE’s Stand Up For Speech case that ISU had violated students’ First Amendment rights by censoring their T-shirt designs. He issued an order that the university approve the group’s designs that otherwise meet ISU trademark regulations. Determined to keep NORML-ISU advocacy muted, the university asked the judge to stop his order from taking effect […]

Despite Multiple Legal Setbacks, Iowa State’s Desire to Censor Remains Strong

March 10, 2016

Important questions about the state of free speech on campus are still evolving in Iowa, where FIRE recently announced a victory after a federal court ordered Iowa State University (ISU) to stop using its trademark policy to censor the T-shirt designs of the campus chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML ISU). The university’s administrators have appealed the part of the decision that could make them personally liable for the damages suffered by the students. Meanwhile, they are attempting to suspend enforcement of the district court’s order while their appeal is considered. These efforts suggest […]

Federal Court Ruling Against Iowa State Means Administrators Can’t Just Plead Ignorance of First Amendment Law

February 19, 2016

Last month, FIRE announced a victory in our Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project case against Iowa State University (ISU) for its viewpoint-based discrimination against the campus chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML ISU). In that case, ISU selectively applied a policy specifically designed to prevent NORML ISU from printing T-shirts depicting a marijuana leaf along with ISU marks ranging from “Cy the Cardinal” to the letters “ISU.” On January 22, a federal judge ruled that this violated the First Amendment rights of student-plaintiffs Erin Furleigh and Paul Gerlich and enjoined ISU from enforcing […]

Victory: Federal Court Orders Iowa State to Stop Censoring Student T-Shirts Advocating Marijuana Legalization

January 22, 2016

DES MOINES, Iowa, January 22, 2016—Today, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa issued a permanent injunction barring Iowa State University (ISU) administrators from using a trademark policy to prevent the campus chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML ISU) from printing t-shirts depicting a marijuana leaf. Students Erin Furleigh and Paul Gerlich, both former presidents of the group, sued ISU in July 2014 as part of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s (FIRE’s) Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project. Because ISU had rejected the student group’s t-shirts “due to the […]

ISU Student Government Votes Down Additional Free Speech Zone

December 8, 2015

According to an article in the student newspaper Iowa State Daily, “Senators Vote to Advocate Free Speech” by Michaela Ramm, the Iowa State University (ISU) student government voted on December 2 against instituting an additional “free speech zone” on campus but voted in favor of advocating for free speech. This makes little sense. To be clear, misleadingly titled “free speech zones” have nothing to do with facilitating free speech. They quarantine free expression into tiny, often tucked-away areas of campus, sometimes as small as 0.007 percent of the university’s acreage. They are blatantly unconstitutional, so much so that all but […]

ISU’s Attempt to Stifle Marijuana Legalization Student Group Scrutinized in Federal Court

November 20, 2015

Amidst the student protests taking place across the country this week, a protest of a different kind was playing out in a federal courthouse in Des Moines, Iowa. A year and a half ago, Paul Gerlich and Erin Furleigh, members of the Iowa State University (ISU) chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), filed a lawsuit against the university alleging ISU is using its trademark policy to stifle their advocacy for marijuana legalization. With the help of FIRE, the two are now holding high-level administrators—including ISU President Steven Leath—to account. As Torch readers may recall, […]

Supreme Court Considers Texas License Plate Case That Could Threaten Free Speech on Campus

March 24, 2015

This op-ed was published on Monday, March 23, 2015 in the Daily Journal. In Walker v. Sons of Confederate Veterans, due for oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court Monday, the respondent will argue that a private organization should be able to have a specialty license plate with the Confederate battle flag on it. On the other side, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Board contends that license plates constitute government speech because the state government controls their production. The state, therefore, may choose not to approve a Confederate flag, which many Texans find offensive, as part of a specialty […]

Citing ‘Stand Up For Speech’ Cases, FIRE Urges Supreme Court Not to Expand ‘Government Speech’ Doctrine

February 18, 2015

Yesterday, FIRE filed an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief in the case Walker v. Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc., which is currently before the Supreme Court. An amicus brief allows organizations that are not directly involved in the litigation to share their expertise with the justices and make them aware of potential unintended consequences their decision might have. The case asks whether the state of Texas can deny the Sons of Confederate Veterans’ application for a specialty license plate featuring the Confederate flag when the state allows hundreds of other organizations to design license plates promoting their organizations […]

FIRE’s Sevcenko Breaks Down Federal Court Ruling on Iowa State Lawsuit

January 12, 2015

Readers of The Torch may remember FIRE’s Catherine Sevcenko’s helpful letter to the Iowa State Daily last October, pointing out a number of Iowa State University’s (ISU’s) failures to respect its students’ First Amendment rights. In that letter, Catherine noted a lawsuit against ISU that FIRE has coordinated as part of our Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project. Paul Gerlich and Erin Furleigh, student leaders of ISU’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), are suing the school after it revoked approval of a T-shirt that included the school’s mascot and later rejected a design […]

Media Report on Free Speech Lawsuit Against Iowa State Going Forward

January 9, 2015

On Tuesday, a federal judge handed down a ruling that will allow FIRE’s Stand Up For Speech lawsuit at Iowa State University to go forward. U.S. District Judge James Gritzner denied Iowa State University’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought by students Paul Gerlich and Erin Furleigh, leaders of the chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) at Iowa State University (ISU). Paul and Erin filed the suit with the help of FIRE and the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine after ISU revoked approval of a T-shirt that included the school’s mascot and later rejected […]

Judge Rejects Every Argument in Iowa State’s Motion to Dismiss Free Speech Case

January 7, 2015

AMES, Iowa, January 7, 2015—Yesterday, an Iowa federal judge denied Iowa State University’s (ISU’s) motion to dismiss a First Amendment lawsuit filed by students. Chief Judge James Gritzner of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa rejected every one of ISU’s arguments in his 19-page order. This is the first time a judge has ruled in a case brought as part of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s (FIRE’s) Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project. Three other lawsuits in the project have already been settled in favor of free speech, for a total of $210,000 in […]

FIRE’s Catherine Sevcenko Explains the First Amendment to Iowa State

October 28, 2014

As Torch readers know, Iowa State University (ISU) is no stranger to free speech controversies. Two ISU students are currently suing ISU as part of FIRE’s Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project, fighting for the right to use the school’s mascot on their student group’s T-shirts. Recently, ISU’s Government of the Student Body (GSB) voted not to expand the school’s free speech zones. A GSB senator explained the vote, saying that creating free speech zones all over campus would mean “future students may not have the option to avoid certain areas if they feel uncomfortable or offended by the discussion […]

Student Newspaper Thieves Don’t Appreciate Value of Journalism or the ‘Streisand Effect’

October 10, 2014

Disappointingly, in just the past two weeks FIRE has learned from the Student Press Law Center’s (SPLC’s) website about three incidents of people stealing student newspapers on college campuses in apparent attempts to censor specific stories. In alarmingly short order, hundreds of copies of the student newspapers at Pepperdine University, Iowa State University, and Elmhurst College in Illinois were stolen. The responsible parties at Elmhurst, at least, will be punished. SPLC reports that approximately 500 copies of the September 25 issue of the Pepperdine Graphic—about a quarter of those distributed—disappeared from newsstands on Pepperdine’s campus. According to SPLC, those who […]

ISU Gets a Lesson in the Difference Between Trademark Law and the First Amendment

September 25, 2014

On Monday, lawyers at Davis Wright Tremaine filed an opposition to Iowa State University’s (ISU’s) motion to dismiss the Stand Up For Speech lawsuit involving censorship of the school’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). (It’s a pretty standard tactic for defendants in a First Amendment case to make a motion to dismiss the case.) ISU refused to approve certain of NORML ISU’s T-shirt designs that the school felt “had a certain shock or attention grabbing sensationalism” for various reasons including that the shirts featured a drawing of a cannabis leaf. The First Amendment, […]

Students Return to Campus Censorship, But Fight Back with FIRE

September 2, 2014

PHILADELPHIA, September 2, 2014—As millions of college students arrive on campus this fall—many for the first time—few of them realize that nearly 59 percent of our nation’s colleges maintain policies that clearly and substantially restrict speech protected by the First Amendment. Too many students will realize that the rights they took for granted as Americans have been denied to them only after they face charges and disciplinary action for speaking their minds. But this year, campus censorship faces a new deterrent: FIRE’s Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project, which aims to finally bring an end to unconstitutional and illiberal speech […]

Letter to the Editor: Alumnus Says Iowa State University ‘Will Lose’ Case

July 24, 2014

As Torch readers are aware, one of the initial lawsuits in FIRE’s Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project, Gerlich v. Leach, involves a challenge to Iowa State University’s unconstitutional trademark policy that ISU administrators have used to silence a student group advocating for the legalization of marijuana. Yesterday, the Iowa State Daily published a letter to the editor by Kenneth Currie, an ISU alumnus. ISU’s associate general counsel didn’t listen to us when we wrote him to say that ISU’s policies were unconstitutional. Maybe the administration will listen to Dr. Currie.

FIRE’s Sevcenko on Iowa State Lawsuit for ‘Huffington Post’

July 10, 2014

FIRE Litigation Coordinator Catherine Sevcenko takes to The Huffington Post today to explain why Iowa State University students Paul Gerlich and Erin Furleigh are standing up for speech at their institution by filing a First Amendment lawsuit.

This Fourth of July, Students and Faculty Are ‘Retracing the Steps to Free Speech’

July 4, 2014

We learn in grade school that freedom of speech is the hallmark of a free nation and the cornerstone of democracy. Yet the urge to censor seems almost irresistible, no matter who wields authority. As FIRE followers know all too well, public colleges and universities routinely restrict and punish constitutionally protected expression. In academia, where First Amendment freedoms are most precious, they are at serious risk. Nearly 60 percent of the 427 institutions that FIRE has surveyed maintain policies that clearly and substantially infringe upon freedom of speech.

FIRE’s Shibley in ‘Washington Post’: Lawsuits ‘About to Become a Lot More Common’

July 2, 2014

Following yesterday’s launch of FIRE’s Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project, FIRE Senior Vice President Robert Shibley takes to The Washington Post today to explain why litigation is necessary:

Help Students and Professors Stand Up For Speech! Support FIRE Today

July 2, 2014

This week was an exciting one for FIRE, as we took a huge step forward in the fight for free expression on campus with the launch of our Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project. While we’re proud to usher in this new era in FIRE’s history, we’re even prouder to do so alongside the brave students and faculty members who have taken this opportunity to stand up for speech. We hope you will consider supporting these plaintiffs as they fight back against campus censorship.

Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project Makes Media Splash

July 2, 2014

Yesterday, FIRE launched our new Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project, a national effort to eliminate unconstitutional speech codes through targeted First Amendment lawsuits. Within minutes of the announcement, major media outlets were spreading the word, and over the past 24 hours, the nation’s top newspapers have reported on this big step in the fight for free speech on campus. Here is some of yesterday’s and today’s news coverage of Stand Up For Speech and the four lawsuits FIRE brought yesterday with the help of law firm Davis Wright Tremaine:

FIRE Brings Four Free Speech Lawsuits in One Day

July 1, 2014

WASHINGTON, July 1, 2014—This morning, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) coordinated the filing of lawsuits against Ohio University, Chicago State University, Iowa State University, and Citrus College (Calif.). The filings launch FIRE’s new Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project, a national effort to eliminate unconstitutional speech codes through targeted First Amendment lawsuits. The project and lawsuits were announced today at a press conference at the National Press Club. FIRE has retained preeminent First Amendment attorney Robert Corn-Revere of the national law firm Davis Wright Tremaine as counsel for students and faculty members participating in the Stand Up […]

The Chilling Effect at Iowa State

January 26, 2012

The Iowa State Daily has devoted much coverage this week to the issue of free speech on campus, prompted in large part by the publication of FIRE’s latest national report on campus speech codes across the country, in which Iowa State University receives a “red light” rating for its speech codes. These ratings, of course, are based on the extent to which university policies, as written, impermissibly restrict free speech.  This approach occasionally elicits protestations from within university communities that our rating system may unfairly paint universities as being “bad” on free speech, when in fact (they say), the spirit […]

Student Paper Points Out Flaws in Iowa State’s ‘Red Light’ Harassment Policies

January 25, 2012

Writing for the Iowa State Daily, Kaleb Warnock quotes FIRE Director of Speech Code Research Samantha Harris on Iowa State University’s (ISU’s) unconstitutional speech codes. Specifically, Warnock’s article draws attention to ISU’s two “red light” harassment policies, each of which prohibits a substantial amount of protected student expression.  These policies constitute a severe misapplication of peer harassment law at ISU. Indeed, it is difficult to conceive of two harassment policies at the same school that could more badly misinform students of their expressive rights.  ISU’s policy on “Discrimination and Harassment” (PDF) explicitly states, in pertinent part:  While grounded in state […]

‘Ames Tribune’ on Iowa State’s Speech Codes

January 13, 2012

Following FIRE’s release of our 2012 speech code report earlier this week, an article yesterday in the Ames Tribune drew attention to the unfortunate state of free speech at Iowa’s public universities, particularly at Iowa State University.  As a public university, Iowa State is obligated to protect its students’ First Amendment rights, but its policies explicitly reserve the right to punish protected speech. Its policy on discrimination and harassment (.pdf), for example, provides that “this policy may cover those activities which, although not severe, persistent, or pervasive enough to meet the legal definition of harassment, are inappropriate and unjustified in […]

College Students Defy Free Speech Restrictions to Celebrate Death of Bin Laden

May 2, 2011

The announcement late last evening that U.S. forces had killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan inspired celebrations outside the White House, in New York City, and on a number of college campuses. Spontaneous gatherings in response to major events—such as beginning or ending a war, an assassination, a heinous campus crime—are natural and to be expected. Unfortunately, many colleges maintain “free speech zones” and other restrictions on demonstrations that ban students from spontaneous protests. Last night, students demonstrated anyway. Considering the importance of the event, it’s not surprising that police on some campuses put aside the rules in order to […]

Students Celebrate First Amendment Day at Iowa State University

April 9, 2010

Students at Iowa State University celebrated the university’s eighth annual First Amendment Day yesterday, holding a day-long series of public events and panel discussions on the issues currently facing free speech. First Amendment Day this year featured a keynote address on “Watchdog Journalism in the 21st Century,” delivered by Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago Tribune reporter Joe Mahr. The event also had an outdoor “Feast on the First Amendment,” featuring live music and soapbox debates, some of which you can view via the event’s Twitter page. Congratulations to Iowa State for another successful First Amendment Day. Hopefully Iowa State’s more deeply informed minds […]