University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Professor Denied Right to Teach Course Critical of UNC, Academic Freedom Threatened

September 14, 2017

In November of 2016, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill infringed on the academic freedom of Professor Jay Smith by refusing his requests to teach the course “Big-Time College Sports and the Rights of Athletes, 1956 to the Present” during the 2017 fall semester. FIRE wrote UNC to echo the concerns raised by 45 UNC faculty members in a statement that implored UNC to follow the accrediting agency’s preferred policy of directing administrative concerns about course content to the Faculty Council. On July 27, 2017, Smith was alerted that he received permission to teach the course during the spring […]

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Investigation of Christian Student Group for Belief-Based Dismissal of Member

September 16, 2011

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Heckler’s Veto Results in Termination of Emeritus Professor’s Network Access

June 1, 2011

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) succumbed to the “heckler’s veto” by revoking Emeritus Professor Elliot Cramer’s network access because of outside complaints about a website link to an organization that advocates for animal welfare. Despite telling the complainant that the dispute was “not a University matter” and that the university did not monitor website content, UNC nevertheless demanded that Cramer remove the link from his website and later canceled his network access. FIRE wrote UNC in protest, and General Counsel Leslie Chambers Strohm replied stating that UNC would not restore Cramer’s network access, redefining Cramer’s reasonable, […]

Mohammed Cartoon Controversy: FIRE Response to Intimidation and Newspaper Disputes

February 22, 2006

As a result of worldwide controversy regarding caricatures of the prophet Mohammed, first published in a Danish newspaper, free speech was being openly disregarded on American college campuses. In the weeks following the printing of the cartoon, students, professors, and student publications not only reprinted the controversial cartoons but even created their own satirical cartoons depicting Mohammed. Chilling of speech in relation to the cartoon was found at Century College, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and New York University, amongst others.

University of North Carolina System: State of the First Amendment

January 10, 2006

FIRE teamed up with the John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy to release the Report on the State of the First Amendment in the University of North Carolina System. The Report notes that UNC System’s many speech codes and illiberal restrictions on religious groups would likely not survive a legal challenge. It also reveals that “13 out of the 16 schools in the UNC System have at least one policy that both clearly and substantially restricts freedom of speech.”

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Denial of Freedom of Association for Christian Fraternity

July 23, 2004

At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill a Christian fraternity, Alpha Iota Omega (AIO), was stripped of its recognition after UNC administrator Jonathan Curtis declared that the fraternity was required to add an unconstitutional “nondiscrimination” clause to its student group constitution. AIO objected to the “nondiscrimination” clause because it would have forbidden the group from considering religion when determining “membership and participation” in the group. FIRE wrote to the university on AIO’s behalf outlining the group’s rights to freedom of association and religious liberty but the university was unmoved. FIRE teamed up with the Alliance Defense Fund and […]

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Refusal to Allow Christian Clubs to Require Christian Leadership

December 27, 2002

An administrator at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill threatened the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) with a loss of all privileges and funding because it required its leaders to adhere to the IVCF’s Christian doctrine. After FIRE reminded UNC of the student organization’s rights of religious liberty, free expression, and free association, however, Chancellor James Moeser ordered "that IVCF be allowed to continue to operate as an official recognized student organization."

Facilities Use Policy

Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: July 17, 2018

Subject to restrictions on the use of University facilities prescribed elsewhere in this policy, the University permits assemblies and gatherings of University-sponsored, University-affiliated and nonaffiliated groups (i) without prior approval in Y-Court, the Carolina Union “Pit”” and in the major open spaces designated on Exhibit A of this policy (“Major Open Spaces”), and (ii) with prior approval, in any other exterior location.

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Any individual or group, whether affiliated with the University or not, may distribute at any open, exterior campus space, the use of which is not otherwise restricted or scheduled under this policy, without registration or advance approval, any written materials on the condition that such materials are designed for informational and not for commercial purposes. Donations may be accepted in connection with such distribution.

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Instrument of Student Judicial Governance: Student Rights of Privacy and Free Expression

Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: July 17, 2018

The University embraces and strives to uphold the freedoms of expression and speech guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

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Policy on Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment, and Related Misconduct

Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: July 17, 2018

a. Hostile Environment Harassment

Unwelcome conduct based on Protected Status that is so severe, persistent, or pervasive that it alters the conditions of education, employment, or participation in a University program or activity, thereby creating an environment that a reasonable person in similar circumstances and with similar identities would find hostile, intimidating, or abusive. An isolated incident, unless sufficiently severe, does not amount to Hostile Environment Harassment.

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UNC-Chapel Hill Network Acceptable Use Policy

Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: July 17, 2018

Users may not store, display or disseminate unlawful communications of any kind, including but not limited to threats of violence, obscenity, child pornography, or other illegal communications. This provision applies to any electronic communication distributed or sent within University IT or to other networks while using University IT.

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UNC-Chapel Hill faculty gives free speech a boost

April 17, 2018

by Kari Travis in Carolina Journal Faculty leaders at the University of North Carolina’s flagship campus recently signed a resolution supporting First Amendment rights — a move that’s positive but may have little impact on actual policy, said Laura Beltz, a spokeswoman for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education… Read more here.

Campus Speech Codes Improve, but UNC First Amendment Protections Lag

January 10, 2017

By Kari Travis at the Carolina Journal. University of North Carolina system officials apparently need a refresher course on the First Amendment… Read more here.

A Dustup at UNC Over Christmas Vacation and Other Microaggressions

June 30, 2016

By Andrew Egger at The Daily Signal The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill caused an outcry when it published “microaggression guidelines” on a college forum. Although UNC quickly removed the post from public view, some students say the standards represent positive change… Read more here.

The Constitution is my Speech Permit

May 20, 2016

By Mike Adams at Townhall My former attorneys at the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) recently filed a lawsuit they never should have had to file. In the suit, they are representing a Christian student group at North Carolina State University (NCSU). At issue is an NCSU policy requiring a permit for any kind of student speech or communication anywhere on campus. This policy is a direct affront to the First Amendment, which is the only permit needed to speak on a public university campus… Read more here.

Black Conservative Speaker Reinvited to Virginia Tech After Cancellation over Concerns of Student Protest

May 6, 2016

By Tom Ciccotta at Breitbart Wall Street Journal columnist and Manhattan Institute senior fellow Jason Riley was disinvited from a scheduled speech at Virginia Tech due to concerns over his conservative perspective on racial issues… Read more here.

‘Not Welcome’: Black WSJ Writer Disinvited From Virginia Tech Speech

May 4, 2016

By Rebecca Downs at Red Alert Politics Black conservative author and columnist Jason L. Riley offers a thoughtful perspective on race, but students at Virginia Tech have been prevented from hearing it after he was disinvited. “The message conveyed to students is that people who challenge liberal dogma are not very welcome,” Riley writes for The Wall Street Journal… Read more here.

How a ‘Campus Free Expression Act’ in North Carolina Actually Aims to Suppress Student Speech

March 25, 2016

By Alex Kotch at Alternet News came on March 7 that North Carolina’s Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest will propose the deceivingly named Campus Free Expression Act at the state legislature next month. The act instructs the University of North Carolina’s Board of Governors to craft a systemwide policy that would impose harsh penalties, including expulsion, on students, staff and faculty members who disrupt classes, public meetings or events… Read more here.

Green Light on the Hill

January 19, 2016

By Mike Adams at Townhall.com Dear Chancellor Sartarelli (and UNCW Board of Trustees): In addition to wishing you a happy new year I would like to apologize for writing this long letter without having met you in person. I hope to get a chance to do so soon. Like so many others, I am happy you have chosen to accept the position as chancellor of our university. Numerous sound decisions in the first few months of your administration have bolstered our confidence in your ability to lead the university in a positive direction. … Read more here.

New Threat to Campus Speech: Department of Education’s Plans for Racial Harassment, Report Says

December 11, 2015

By Peter Maxwell at The College Fix Fear that agency’s guidance could ‘parallel’ broad sexual-harassment rules Despite a plunge this year in the number of universities with severe restrictions on free speech, new threats are on the horizon thanks to outgoing Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s recent statements on racial issues, according to a new report. For the first time since the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education started tracking speech codes on college campuses, less than half of American colleges it has rated maintain “red light” policies, FIRE’s annual “Spotlight” report said. Between September 2014 and September 2015, FIRE downgraded 10 universities […]

Report: Campus Free Speech Might Be Spreading, But the Federal Government Wants to Stop That

December 10, 2015

By Robby Soave at Reason.com Some good news and some bad news from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education: the number of college campuses maintaining restrictions on speech has decreased for an eighth consecutive year, but the Education Department’s guidance on sexual harassment continues to pose a significant threat to free expression. According to FIRE’s 2016 report on “The State of Free Speech on Our Nation’s Campuses,” just 49.3 percent of American universities maintain severely unconstitutional speech codes. This is the first time in FIRE’s 16-year history that statistic has dipped below 50 percent. Additionally, six universities eliminated speech […]

Univ. Of North Carolina Earns Highest FIRE Free Speech Rating

July 16, 2015

By CS Staff at Campus Safety Magazine  The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) has eliminated all of its speech codes, earning the highest, “green light” rating from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). With assistance from FIRE in revising its policies, UNC joins other U.S. colleges and universities that have reformed their policies on student expression to ensure that they comply with the First Amendment. FIRE began working with the UNC administration in April 2014, when FIRE determined UNC had two “yellow light” speech codes remaining. UNC revised the first policy, concerning distribution of student […]

You Can Now Safely ‘Disparage’ People At UNC Without Violating A Speech Code

July 7, 2015

By Greg Piper at The College Fix The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill has eliminated all speech codes after working with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education for the past year, the 21st such institution to earn the group’s “green light” rating, FIRE said today. UNC quickly scrapped one “yellow light” policy – “concerning distribution of student flyers in residence halls” – after FIRE said it violated the First Amendment, and just eliminated its last speech code, which prohibits speech that “disparages” others. FIRE staffer David Deerson, a UNC alum, started banging the drum against UNC’s policies as a student. “It is tremendously exciting […]

Campus Speech Codes Already Ban ‘Anti- Muslim’ Speakers, CAIR Argues

April 28, 2015

By Greg Piper at The College Fix  Certain phrases that we may gloss over as meaningless jargon could have a very specific – and alarming – connotation, depending on the context. UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh, a First Amendment expert, picked up on something alarming from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, as expressed in this Huffington Post story about conservative activist David Horowitz’s fiery speech at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Here’s what CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said about Horowitz’s speech, which accused national Muslim student groups of having an agenda to “kill the Jews”: “[Controversial speakers] create a hostile learning environment […]

Campus Sexual Assault Stories Have Two sides

April 27, 2015

By Cathy Young at Newsday The saga of Columbia University “mattress girl” Emma Sulkowicz — the young woman who became world-famous for carrying a mattress on campus to protest the school’s non-punishment of the fellow student she accuses of rape — took a new turn last week when the accused sued the university. The federal lawsuit filed by Paul Nungesser claims that, by enabling Sulkowicz’s activism, Columbia has permitted a campaign of gender-based harassment that has deprived him of educational opportunities. The brief contains a detailed account of Nungesser’s side of the story; it also raises startling new questions about […]

Friday Interview: Fighting College Free-Speech Restrictions

November 21, 2014

By CJ Staff at Carolina Journal RALEIGH — Stroll through a college campus, and you expect to hear debate about a range of good, bad, and even crazy ideas. But too many colleges place limits on debate or restrict the free exchange of ideas to small, out-of-the-way sections of campus. Robert Shibley, senior vice president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, recently discussed higher education free-speech restrictions with Mitch Kokai for Carolina Journal Radio. (Click here to find a station near you or to learn about the weekly CJ Radio podcast.) Kokai: You recently wrote a column for […]

New UNC-Chapel Hill Policy Requires Affirmative Consent For Sex

October 13, 2014

By Jane Stancill at The News & Observer CHAPEL HILL — Thousands of incoming students at UNC-Chapel Hill were asked to sign a new pledge this fall that had nothing to do with cheating or plagiarism. It was about sex. The students were promising that they understood the university’s new standard of consent – that both parties must “affirmatively agree” before engaging in sexual activity. That expectation, outlined in the university’s new sexual misconduct policy, is also sweeping public and private universities around the country. Most Ivy League campuses have adopted the standard, as has Duke University. Early this month, the […]

First Amendment Day at Chapel Hill Stirs Debate About “Trigger Warnings”

October 3, 2014

By Jesse Saffron at The John William Pope Center At last week’s First Amendment Day celebration at UNC-Chapel Hill, Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), presented some alarming findings: the demographic group most hostile to free speech is not baby boomers or other generations, but millennials, those in the 18-30 age range. One of the panels earlier that day, “Speech that Hurts and the First Amendment,” suggested that he’s right. At least for some college students, freedom of speech takes a backseat to sensitivity. “I am a fan of the First Amendment, but I do step […]

The Supreme Court Endangered Christian Student Groups, But Some States are Coming to the Rescue

October 1, 2014

By Harry Painter at The John William Pope Center Should public universities be allowed to derecognize a Christian student group because it requires members to be Christian? Astoundingly, the courts say yes. Ever since the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, the courts have allowed universities this power. And the California State University (CSU) system recently did just that—itrevoked official recognition from the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Fortunately, some states are fighting back against the post-Martinezunfriendliness toward Christian groups. In Martinez, a Christian group challenged the “anti-bias” policy of the University of California’s Hastings College of Law, which required Christian groups to […]

UNC Meddles in Students’ Sex Lives through Misleading “Affirmative Consent” Rule

September 11, 2014

By Hans Bader at Examiner.com Rigid “consent” requirements are for legally-binding contracts, not casual interaction among intimates. When my wife and daughter hug me, they don’t ask for my permission first. Nor do I give my formal “consent” or “agree” to a hug in advance. It’s not necessary, because they know without asking that such contact is very likely to be welcome. It’s simple common sense. Such simple common sense is absent at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which defines consent to exclude common signs of consent in romantic relationships. UNC now seemingly defines as “sexual assault” all […]

UNC’s Nichol not the Only Professor Fighting Academic Freedom Battle

April 17, 2014

By Jane S. Shaw at The News & Observer Gene Nichol, former dean of UNC’s law school and now a professor there, might have a valid complaint. An outspoken column last October led UNC’s administrators to rap his knuckles. They asked him to add a tagline to each of his columns saying that he does not speak for the university, and they asked him to give them a “heads-up” before publishing something especially controversial. Was his academic freedom abrogated? Some in academia and the media may think so. Nichol is known for his left-wing, no-holds-barred columns, which he has been […]

Protecting the First Amendment rights of NC college students

February 16, 2014

by Jenna Ashley Robinson and Tami Fitzgerald Public universities in North Carolina recognize a wide diversity of student groups, including those that have religious or other belief-based missions. This recognition enables student organizations to access university facilities and (sometimes) apply for funding. At some campuses, however, the lack of clear policies protecting the First Amendment rights of students in those groups has led to unnecessary legal woes for students and prevented groups from carrying out their legitimate missions. The UNC Board of Governors is expected to discuss the issue at its meeting Friday. Universities have muzzled their speech, mandated whom […]

Guilty Until Proven Innocent

December 17, 2013

By Cathy Young at Reason One evening in February 2012, Vassar College students Xialou “Peter” Yu and Mary Claire Walker, both members of the school’s rowing team, had a few drinks at a team gathering and left together as the party wound down. After a make-out session at a campus nightspot, they went to Yu’s dorm room, where, by his account, they had sex that was not only consensual but mainly initiated by Walker, who reassured her inexperienced partner that she knew what to do. At some point, Yu’s roommate walked in on them; after he was gone, Yu says, Walker […]

University guts budget for College Republicans, gives extra cash to feminist group

September 3, 2013

Can Universities Restrict Free Speech On Campus?

March 14, 2013

This year marks the 25th anniversary of a Supreme Court decision that gave schools the right to restrict students’ free speech. Originally intended for high schools, many universities have come to use Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier to control their image and reputation—at the expense of a free press on campus. “I think schools have just completely lost their minds,” Adam Goldstein, attorney advocate for the Student Press Law Center, told Campus Progress. “It’s resulted in just real basic confusion about what civil rights mean.” The case centered around a Missouri student newspaper at Hazelwood East High School, where articles on teenage pregnancy and […]

Bill Allowing Christian Student Orgs to Choose Membership Advances in Va. Legislature

February 11, 2013

A bill that would allow religious and political student organizations in public institutions to choose their own standards for membership continues to make its way through the Virginia Legislature. Known as Senate Bill 1074, the proposed legislation would bar public educational institutions from determining the membership rules for religious and political student groups.   “Permits, to the extent allowed by law, religious or political student organizations at public institutions of higher education to determine that only persons committed to the organization’s mission may conduct certain activities,” reads the official summary of SB 1074.   “The bill also prohibits, to the extent allowed […]

OUR OPINION: UND must reaffirm free speech, other rights

January 6, 2013

Look on the bright side: At least UND didn’t get scorched by FIRE as having the Speech Code of the Year. Last week, FIRE — the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education — awarded that “honor” to two other schools, including Oakland University in Michigan. There, the school’s policy prohibits offending or disturbing anyone via phone or computer, “nor shall any person” use “immoral or insulting language” over those devices. Oakland’s policy “illustrates perfectly the mock-Victorian sensibility that seems to underlie so many university speech codes, a sensibility according to which adult college students must not be exposed to anything […]

UNC: Christian belief OKs dumping gay group member

October 14, 2011

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. —  Officials at North Carolina’s flagship university say a Christian singing group had the latitude to expel a member who identified himself as gay. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill says the decision by the Christian a cappella group Psalm 100 did not violate the school’s non-discrimination policy. The university’s non-discrimination policy allows student groups to limit their memberships to students who share specific beliefs, but not on personal characteristics like race, age or sexual orientation. The Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights in Education said Psalm 100 kicked the student out because he no longer […]

UNC: Christian belief OKs dumping gay group member

October 14, 2011

Officials at North Carolina’s flagship university say a Christian singing group had the latitude to expel a member who identified himself as gay. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill says the decision by the Christian a cappella group Psalm 100 did not violate the school’s non-discrimination policy. The university’s non-discrimination policy allows student groups to limit their memberships to students who share specific beliefs, but not on personal characteristics like race, age or sexual orientation. The Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights in Education said Psalm 100 kicked the student out because he no longer lived up to the […]

Borrowed Gravitas

June 22, 2011

As far as using a university e-mail account for non-university purposes, not much, according to Elliot Cramer, an emeritus professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Administrators at Chapel Hill disagree. The university recently canceled Cramer’s UNC e-mail account, dropped his faculty web page, and barred him from using electronic library resources and other network privileges after finding that he had used his UNC e-mail account to “conduct business” for an animal rights organization with no university affiliation. Cramer had also used his university e-mail account during a vicious war of words with another animal […]

Free speech “zones,” police crackdowns threaten to muzzle debate

August 19, 2009

By Sam Wardle at IndyWeek.com Haley Koch is a senior at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, a Morehead-Cain scholar and a graduate of Sidwell Friends, a northeastern high school that counts Chelsea Clinton and Gore Vidal among its alumni. Koch has received numerous UNC-CH awards for her work as an LGBT activist and community organizer. In mid-April, she accepted the Engaged Scholarship Award on behalf of UNC-NOW, a grassroots student group Koch works with. A few days later, on April 23, she garnered another distinction: She was arrested by campus police outside of a classroom. Koch is charged with disorderly conduct […]

Coaches blow whistle on athlete indiscretions on networking sites

July 16, 2006

Before DeMarcus Dobbs plays a game at Georgia, we know this much: He has 271 friends. He was at Whitney’s for a party over Memorial Day weekend. (But he doesn’t drink or smoke.) He broke Jake the Snake’s nose. (But it was Justin’s fault.) He has a girl named Anna who will always love him despite the paint handprint he put on her shirt. And he’d better bring his money next time he sees Bobby “cuz it’s on.” Welcome to the online social networking/self-profiling world of MySpace.com, Facebook.com and dozens of similar Internet sites.   That emerging world has started […]

UNC-Chapel Hill Tries to Spin Away a Major Defeat

May 25, 2006

In July of 2004, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education wrote to the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, explaining for the second time in less than two years that constitutionally protected freedom of association is meaningless if a group cannot exclude people who do not share the beliefs of the group. This is both basic common sense and clearly established law. The College Democrats can exclude Republicans, the college environmental club can exclude students who hate environmentalism, and the college chess club can exclude members who hate the game and wish to see it abolished. In other words, […]

Ignorance of our founding principles can endanger us all

March 5, 2006

Here we go again. A new survey reveals that only about one in four Americans can name at least two of the First Amendment’s five freedoms: freedom of the press, religion, speech and assembly, as well as the right to petition government for redress of grievances. But 52 percent can name two or more members of TV’s “Simpsons.” More than 20 percent of Americans actually think the First Amendment gives us the right to own and raise pets! We shouldn’t be shocked. Americans’ — especially young Americans’ — woeful ignorance of history and civics has been documented repeatedly. The good […]

Campus Left to Christians, Conservatives: Shut Up!

December 24, 2005

By Mark Tapscott at Townhall.com Scratch many of the administrators in charge on American campuses these days and you often find a neo-Stalinist who has no hesitation about suppressing views that deviate from leftist orthodoxy. If you doubt me, try supporting Christianity or conservatism in a public way in the ivy covered groves of American academe. Take California State University at San Bernadino, for example, where administrators refuse to charter the Christian Students Association because the group thinks its members should be professing Christians. Imagine that! The group ‘would not be required to admit members who did not support the […]

Free speech can provoke

October 5, 2005

The First Amendment has been getting a workout in recent weeks on two college campuses — the University of Florida and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — where students are learning that free speech is a messy business. The two cases, one involving a columnist at UNC and the other a political cartoonist at UF, have inflamed minority groups — Muslims and blacks, respectively — provoking protests and debate. That’s the good news insofar as protest and debate are the currency of free speech. What’s not such good news is that the columnist was fired, while the […]

College newspapers fight for rights

September 22, 2005

By Erin France at The Daily Tar Heel The U.S. Supreme Court received a petition Tuesday to review a case from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that could affect free press policies on college campuses nationwide. The 7th circuit overturned a lower court decision this summer that ruled in favor of Margaret Hosty, who sued Patricia Carter, then dean of student affairs and services at Governors State University in Illinois, for censoring the school newspaper. The move was criticized by several First Amendment watch groups. Mark Goodman, executive director of the Student Press Law Center, said the case […]

10 great cigars and why I smoked them

June 13, 2005

By Mike Adams at Townhall.com For years, communism has been preventing me from enjoying a lot of good cigars. That used to bother me, until I found a way around the problem. As many of my readers know, there are more communists teaching on the average American campus than there are teaching in all of Cuba. And, of course, these communist professors do a lot of stupid things, most of which violate the United States Constitution. I have learned that fighting American communist professors is fun, largely because they are so easy to beat when challenged. That’s why I smoke […]

Prof sails against liberal tide

April 17, 2005

WILMINGTON — The door to the office of Mike Adams, associate professor of criminal justice at UNC-Wilmington, seems more like a window into his soul. The bumper stickers, fliers, advertisements, printouts and photographs attached to the door provide a vivid sociopolitical view of the office’s occupant. Can’t feed ’em, Don’t breed ’em. Every fourth baby dies from Choice. Straight white male — The final minority. So you’re a feminist. Isn’t that cute. The door is so cluttered that its earlier decorations have been all but covered — most notably the sign declaring Adams’ office to be the campus “Men’s Resource […]

Liberating America’s Intellectual Gulags

April 15, 2005

David French knows what intimidation is. French, the new President of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, graduated from Harvard Law School in the early 1990s. One might say that anyone with similar credentials ought to know the definition of intimidation – but French’s experience is a bit more personal than that.“As a pro-life, Christian conservative, I received death threats in my campus mailbox, was shouted down by students and (once) was even shouted down in class by my own professor,” he says about his years in Cambridge. French now spends much of his time explaining to university general […]

Judge: Christian frat can ban homosexuals

March 5, 2005

A federal court has ordered the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to reinstate a Christian fraternity which had been denied recognition because its officers refused to sign the university’s nondiscrimination policy requiring the group to allow homosexuals to join. The preliminary injunction, issued by U.S. District Court Judge Frank W. Bullock Junior, will permit Alpha Iota Omega access to student funds and university facilities, like other fraternities on campus. The order will remain in force until the issue of compliance with the university’s policy against discrimination is settled, most likely in court.     “This is the first […]

Students have a new resource to help them know their rights on campus

January 7, 2005

RALEIGH — The new year has presented “academic freedom” with a grave new threat. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education has published its Guide to Free Speech on Campus. The guide gives a shot in the arm, however, to academic freedom. “Academic freedom,” of course, is what intolerant faculty and administrators governing many public universities call their efforts to stifle speech on campus. When they consigned free expression to only certain zones on campus, such as Texas Tech’s “gazebo,” that was “academic freedom.” When a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill instructor engaged in racial and sexual harassment […]

Conformity on campus

December 18, 2004

This fall four new studies of professors’ political attitudes showed a large tilt to the left: • Daniel Klein, an economics professor and researcher at Santa Clara University and Stockholm University, surveyed more than 1,000 professors around the United States and found Democrats outnumbering Republicans at least 7-1 in the humanities and social sciences, with departments such as anthropology and sociology coming in at about 30-1. • In a separate study of voter registration records, Mr. Klein found professors at Stanford and the University of California-Berkeley tilted Democratic 9-1. Among younger professors at those two universities the imbalance was even […]

The Good and The Bad (Plus Some Ugly)

October 11, 2004

Today’s college campus is a study in contrasts. Professors and administrators cling to their grotesque orthodoxies, but students seem to be getting saner by the year. What follows are five of the most outrageous campus incidents of the last academic year, then five of the most heartening acts of courage. The conservative-speaker double standard is almost an academic institution. At Bucknell University, administrators refused a student group’s request to invite Republican congressman and Senate hopeful Pat Toomey to give a speech, arguing that his appearance would violate a school policy against electioneering on campus. Meanwhile, Bucknell paid presidential candidate Ralph […]

Christian Fraternity Sues U. of North Carolina Over Chapel Hill’s Refusal to Recognize It

September 10, 2004

A Christian fraternity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill sued the university in late August for refusing to recognize the group because it does not allow non-Christians to join. The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Greensboro, N.C., argues that the university’s refusal to recognize the fraternity, Alpha Iota Omega, violates the group’s First Amendment rights to the free expression of religion and free association of its members. The university contends that membership in officially recognized student organizations “must be open to all students on a nondiscriminatory basis.” The fraternity is being aided by the Foundation […]

Trumpeters of tolerance intolerant

September 1, 2004

When I was in graduate school, political correctness was beginning to rear its head. And one of my biggest frustrations was that although my university — like others — presented itself as a diverse “marketplace of ideas,” only one sort of idea was welcome. Any dissent from the “everything should be tolerated” worldview was suppressed as narrow-minded. Many university students and staff clearly didn’t realize the irony of preaching tolerance while being intolerant of those who disagree.It’s only gotten worse. Today’s political correctness movement is so aggressive that it threatens our constitutional rights instead of protecting them. Several Georgia State […]

Christian fraternity sues UNC

August 27, 2004

Like most educational institutions, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill requires its organizations to strictly observe a nondiscrimination policy when recruiting members. Although this policy may not seem unusual, at UNC it has led a Christian fraternity to sue the University. Alpha Iota Omega, a small Christian fraternity at UNC, declined to sign the University’s Nondiscrimination and Sexual Orientation Policy last September. The members argued that the policy went against the fraternity’s requirement that all members be Christian, and the University subsequently denied AIO official recognition for the 2003-2004 school year. Refusing to be denied access for a […]

The College Code

August 27, 2004

Last fall, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill officially “derecognized” the Alpha Iota Omega Christian fraternity. Earlier this week, AIO filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court to get its recognition restored. If derecognition sounds like a dire fate, it is, in a way. The university froze the fraternity’s university account, denied it meeting space and cut off its access to student-fees funding (which AIO didn’t use in any case). Why did the university take such a step? Because the Christian fraternity wanted its seven members to be Christian men. Such exclusion is apostasy in the modern university, […]

Group files suit against University

August 26, 2004

  All eyes were on members of the Alpha Iota Omega fraternity Wednesday afternoon as they stood in the middle of the Pit – amidst a mass of reporters and swarms of students – and formally declared the federal lawsuit they have filed against the University.   The all-male Christian fraternity is fighting to reinstate its official University recognition, which was revoked last year after members refused to sign a nondiscrimination policy required of all campus organizations.   Trevor Hamm, Carlon Myrick and Jonathan Park – the three members of the all-male Christian fraternity – came out of the shadows […]

Christian frat to sue UNC over free speech

August 25, 2004

CHAPEL HILL — A Christian fraternity that had its official recognition revoked is planning to sue UNC, alleging that the university has violated the constitutional rights of the group’s members.Late last year, the university declined to renew Alpha Iota Omega’s student organization status because the group’s leaders wouldn’t sign a university policy requiring its membership to be open to all students. The fraternity’s leaders didn’t see the point of being open to non-Christians since Christianity is the fraternity’s core principle.In losing official recognition, the group is no longer eligible for student activity fee revenue, and cannot reserve meeting space as […]

Christian fraternity sues UNC over official recognition

August 25, 2004

A Christian fraternity that refused to adopt the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s nondiscrimination policy sued Wednesday because it was denied official campus recognition.Alpha Iota Omega objects to a school requirement that its membership be open to everyone regardless of religion or sexual orientation.Officers and founders of the non-denominational fraternity say every member is required to participate in the organization’s primary mission of Christian evangelism from a personal perspective. They say it would be a lie to say they would accept people who cannot do that. “Non-Christians would not be able to meet that very basic criteria of […]

Anti-Christian charges probed

August 19, 2004

The Education Department’s civil rights office has opened a second discrimination investigation of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which is accused by a congressman of “abusive policies” against Christian students.Rep. Walter B. Jones, North Carolina Republican, requested the government inquiry on Monday after the university closed a Christian fraternity that refused to accept non-Christian members. UNC Chancellor James Moeser said the decision to revoke the charter of the five-year-old Christian fraternity, Alpha Iota Omega (AIO), was made on grounds that the group is violating the school’s nondiscrimination policy by not allowing students to join regardless of their […]

Anti-bias policy that’s silly

August 18, 2004

It’s tough being a liberal.   I can hardly get through the day without my knee jerking or my heart bleeding. But sometimes the hardest part is staying in step with the liberal marching band.   For instance, it’s easy to say that discrimination is wrong, wrong, wrong. Oops, there goes my jerking knee again.   Except that it isn’t always wrong. Sometimes it’s just fine.   Let’s say that you are a Filipino student at UNC-Chapel Hill. It is a long hike from Chapel Hill to Manila, so you and some Filipino friends form a Philippine Students Association. You […]

Jones is backing fraternity; Christian group, UNC in dispute

August 18, 2004

UNC-Chapel Hill’s dispute with a Christian fraternity has drawn the attention of U.S. Rep. Walter Jones, who has asked the federal government to look into the matter.Jones, a Farmville Republican, wrote the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights asking officials to examine what he called “the ongoing problem of censorship of Christian students at the Chapel Hill campus.” Alpha Iota Omega, a small, all-male Christian fraternity, has complained that the university revoked its official recognition after members refused to sign a nondiscrimination clause. The fraternity contends that its constitutional rights of free association and expression allow it to admit […]

UNC administrator implicated in newspaper theft

August 16, 2004

UNC administrators had better stock up on Maalox because it’s going to be a long week in Chapel Hill. Just last week the university was exposed for de-recognizing a Christian group without due process for an unthinkable transgression; they wanted to limit membership in the Christian group to people who are actually Christians.   Now, information has surfaced, which implicates the administrator who de-recognized the Christian group in the theft of a student newspaper in 1996. And wouldn’t you know it; the stolen newspaper was the Carolina Review, the only conservative newspaper on campus.   The theft of the student […]

University cuts off Christian fraternity

August 15, 2004

For the second time in two years the University of North Carolina finds itself embroiled in a First Amendment dispute with Christian groups on campus. The Chapel Hill school has removed official recognition of Alpha Iota Omega, a Christian fraternity, because its officers have refused to sign an anti-discrimination clause on a university application that would have required the group to accept any student as a member, regardless of religion.   The group was formed five years ago for the purpose of “providing leadership and outreach to the campus Greek community through evangelism and mentorship.” Without official recognition, Alpha Iota […]

Religion again issue at UNC-CH; Civil liberties group questions school’s action against Christian fraternity

August 13, 2004

UNC-Chapel Hill is once again facing criticism about students’ religious freedom on campus.The university last year yanked its official recognition of a Christian fraternity, meaning that it lost access to student fee money, campus facilities and Web service. The group, Alpha Iota Omega, refused to sign an anti-discrimination clause on a university application because it wanted to choose members who have similar religious beliefs.Now, a national civil liberties organization has taken up the fraternity’s cause. In a letter last month to UNC-CH Chancellor James Moeser, the Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights in Education said the university’s action has denied the […]

Student group refuses to sign policy

August 13, 2004

CHAPEL HILL — UNC has declined to officially recognize a Christian student organization because the group has refused to sign a nondiscrimination policy.The fraternity, Alpha Iota Omega, would not follow university policy because it would require that membership in the group be open to all, regardless of religion. Without official recognition, the fraternity cannot receive student fee money.A national individual rights group has taken up the fraternity’s cause. The Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights in Education recently asked UNC Chancellor James Moeser to reconsider the university’s position.On Thursday, the university responded, reiterating its insistence that all student groups have open […]

UNC rejects religious fraternity

August 13, 2004

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – A Christian student organization which refused to sign a nondiscrimination policy has been denied official recognition by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.   Alpha Iota Omega would not follow university policy because it would require that membership in the group be open to all, regardless of religion. Without official recognition, the fraternity cannot receive student fee money.   The fraternity refused to sign an anti-discrimination clause on a university application because it wanted to choose members who have similar religious beliefs. Now, the Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights in Education recently asked UNC-CH […]

Carolina’s Covert Religious War

August 12, 2004

In my career as a professor, I have noticed that college administrators often try to do things in private that they could never defend in public. That is why publicity is usually the best remedy when college administrators abuse their authority.  Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis probably put it best when he said that “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.”   But Louis Brandeis never met the current administration at UNC Chapel Hill. After being sued and embarrassed in the court of public opinion in 2003, there is now credible information indicating that the administration at UNC is waging a new […]

Univ. of North Carolina Won’t Recognize Christian Group

August 12, 2004

For the second time in less than two years, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) has denied recognition to a Christian group, claiming that the group’s desire to limit its membership to Christians constitutes “discrimination.”   “A Christian group has a right to be Christian, a Muslim group has a right to be Muslim, and a Jewish group has a right to be Jewish,” said David French, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). “It seems absurd that anyone in a free society would have to make this argument, but time and time again […]

How to Contribute to a Left-Leaning University

October 29, 2003

Putting in Your Zero cents Worth

October 28, 2003

The Campus Crusade Against Christ (revisited)

June 5, 2003

InterVarsity decision causes controversy

January 23, 2003

Playing the Bias Card

January 13, 2003

Religious Cleansing On Campus

January 9, 2003

After Legal Threat, UNC Allows InterVarsity Ministry to Remain on Campus

January 7, 2003

Campus Dodges Charter Lawsuit

January 7, 2003

Moeser Upholds Christian Group’s Status UNC-CH Club OK to Continue

January 2, 2003

Sensible Solution to Latest Religious Flap at UNC-Chapel Hill Should be Sought

January 2, 2003

UNC Rules Christian Group Can Remain Official

January 2, 2003

UNC Allows InterVarsity to Remain Moeser: Fellowship’s General Membership is Open to All

January 2, 2003

UNC Affirms Christian Group; Chapel Hill Chancellor Says Discrimination Dispute Can Be Resolved

January 1, 2003

UNC-CH Says Christian Group Can Remain Official Organization

December 31, 2002

UNC-CH Criticized for Letter to Christian Group

December 31, 2002

The War on Campus

December 3, 2001

Stop Funding Campus Anti-Americanism

November 2, 2001

Colorado Student Judiciary System Abuses Its Power

January 28, 2001

FIRE interviews UNC faculty council committee member about new free speech statement

April 27, 2018

FIRE’s Mary Zoeller recently caught up with Lindsie Trego, a graduate student at  the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Media and UNC’s School of Law, to talk about her work as a member of the UNC faculty council’s communications working group. Last week, the faculty council voted to approve a policy statement based on the “Report of the Committee on Freedom of Expression” at the University of Chicago — better known as the “Chicago Statement.” The faculty council’s resolution, entitled “On Principles for the Promotion and Protection of Free Speech,” borrows from the Chicago Statement while […]

Faculty council at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill adopts ‘Chicago Statement’

April 16, 2018

The governing faculty body at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill voted last week to endorse a free speech policy statement based on the “Report of the Committee on Freedom of Expression” at the University of Chicago (better known as the “Chicago Statement”). In doing so, UNC – Chapel Hill joins 36 other like-minded institutions that have chosen to prioritize free speech by adopting a principled statement on free expression. Affirming the importance of debate and discourse on its campus, the faculty council’s resolution “On Principles for the Promotion and Protection of Free Speech” seeks to memorialize the […]

Announcing a weekly FIRE video series: FIREside Chats

November 30, 2017

We are excited to announce a new series of weekly video conversations with FIRE staff where we candidly discuss the top student and faculty rights stories of the day. In our first episode of FIREside Chats, Will Creeley moderates a discussion about the Anthony Scaramucci controversy at Tufts University with Brynne Madway and Adam Steinbaugh. Afterward, they are joined by Marieke Tuthill Beck-Coon for a conversation about student surveillance at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.   New episodes of FIREside Chats will be uploaded to our YouTube channel every week. Don’t miss an episode: subscribe to our […]

Undercover cop joined protests of Confederate statue on UNC campus

November 8, 2017

A University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill campus police officer went undercover in August to join a group protesting the removal of a Confederate statue, according to other protesters. That’s legal, but it’s bad for free speech. At the center of this conflict is Silent Sam, a statue erected in 1913 to honor UNC alums who fought and died in the Civil War. Sam differs a bit from other controversial statues in that it doesn’t represent a specific historical figure. On the other hand, at the statue’s dedication, an industrialist gave a speech praising former Confederate soldiers for defending “the Anglo […]

UNC Board of Governors to discuss system-wide free expression policy

November 1, 2017

Last August, FIRE reported on the passage of House Bill 527, North Carolina legislation aimed at improving free speech protections on public college campuses in the state. The law requires the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina to develop a free expression policy that would cover all UNC campuses, a process the Board is currently undertaking. While FIRE had serious concerns over a subcommittee draft of the policy, the current draft, scheduled to be discussed tomorrow, appears to have corrected course. HB 527 requires the Board to develop a policy guaranteeing students the right to engage in […]

Victory: Academic freedom for faculty preserved at UNC – Chapel Hill

September 14, 2017

University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill professor of history Jay Smith has been granted permission to teach his course, “Big-Time College Sports and the Rights of Athletes, 1956 to the Present” during the spring 2018 semester. This decision comes after he was initially denied permission to teach the class in November 2016 for vague “programmatic and strategic reasons.” Smith was inspired to create the course, which he previously taught twice before, after co-authoring the book “Cheated: The UNC Scandal, the Education of Athletes, and the Future of Big-Time College Sports,” which chronicles the 18-year-long student-athlete grade inflation scandal at […]

Threat to strip UNC law school center’s right to litigate draws objections over academic freedom and First Amendment [Updated]

August 1, 2017

Update 1:15pm: The motion to strip the Center for Civil Rights at the University of North Carolina law school of its ability to litigate cases has passed. Motion passes 5 to 1 with 1 abstention. Will go to full board at Sept 8 #UNCBOG for a full-body vote. — Sarah Leck (@Sarah_Leck) August 1, 2017 At a meeting taking place now, the University of North Carolina Board of Governors is expected to strip the Center for Civil Rights, a prominent University of North Carolina law school center, of its ability to litigate cases. The move has drawn opposition from the center’s supporters, including […]

Flawed FERPA ruling stifles transparency in higher education

May 23, 2017

On May 3, the North Carolina Superior Court in Wake County ratified the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s (UNC’s) use of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to block its student newspaper’s request for public records under the North Carolina’s open records law. The court’s distorted interpretation of FERPA could severely undermine the use of open records laws to create transparency in higher education. The court’s ruling marks the latest development in the legal battle between UNC and its student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel. In September 2016, the newspaper filed an open records request for […]

News Organizations Join Forces to Sue UNC For Access to Records

November 30, 2016

On November 21, The Daily Tar Heel, the student newspaper at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), Capitol Broadcasting Company, The Charlotte Observer, and the Durham Herald Company (Plaintiffs) filed suit against UNC under the North Carolina Public Records Law after UNC refused to release records relating to sexual assault investigations. The suit is premised on a September 30 letter that the plaintiffs and “a coalition of interested entities” sent UNC requesting the following: Copies of all public records made or received by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (“the University”) in connection with a […]

UNC Chapel Hill Apologizes After Campus Police Attempt to Remove Professor’s Sign

August 13, 2015

It shouldn’t need to be said that a campus police officer has no business demanding that a professor remove a sign from her window. It especially doesn’t need to be said that three campus police officers should not be doing so. However, that’s what happened at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which was recently the center of controversy over the renaming of a building that had previously been named after a UNC Chapel Hill alumnus who was also a high-ranking member of North Carolina’s Ku Klux Klan chapter. UNC Chapel Hill’s Board of Trustees renamed the building […]

FIRE’s Majeed: 2015 Already a Good Year for Speech Code Reform

July 30, 2015

Over at The Huffington Post today, my colleague Azhar Majeed takes an encouraging survey of the solid progress FIRE has already made in 2015 in reforming restrictive speech codes. Azhar reviews the four schools that have already earned FIRE’s best, most speech-friendly “green light” rating thus far in 2015—George Mason University, Purdue University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Western State Colorado University—and highlights the important roles that students and faculty can play in improving policies. Taking a close look at Purdue, Azhar writes: These changes benefit faculty members and students tremendously in the exercise of their […]

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Earns FIRE’s Highest Rating for Free Speech

July 7, 2015

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., July 7, 2015—The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) has eliminated all of its speech codes, earning the highest, “green light” rating from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). With assistance from FIRE in revising its policies, UNC joins a prestigious group of colleges and universities that have reformed their policies on student expression to ensure that they comply with the First Amendment. “We are thrilled to welcome UNC to the ranks of our green light institutions,” said Azhar Majeed, Director of FIRE’s Individual Rights Education Program. “I commend the UNC administration for […]

University of North Carolina Votes to Remove Controversial Anti-Harassment Rule

May 1, 2015

Earlier this week, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Faculty Council voted to eliminate a university anti-harassment rule that’s been suspended since 2013. UNC’s Student Congress has also approved the change to this speech-restrictive policy, meaning that only UNC Chancellor Carol Folt is left to approve it. UNC law professor Richard Myers, a former federal prosecutor and outgoing chairman of the university’s Committee on Student Conduct, told the Faculty Council the rule was “unconstitutionally overbroad” and had been a source of tension for professors and student groups for a number of years. As we previously reported, former […]

Questions Raised as UNC Board of Governors Considers Vote to Shut Down Academic Centers [UPDATED]

February 27, 2015

Today, the University of North Carolina (UNC) System’s Board of Governors could vote to shut down three academic centers housed at institutions within the system: the Center on Poverty, Work & Opportunity at the University of North Carolina School of Law; the Institute for Civic Engagement and Social Change at North Carolina Central University; and the Center for Biodiversity at East Carolina University. The vote follows recommendations made last week by a Board of Governors committee to close the three centers following a review of the 240 centers contained within the UNC system. The committee’s recommendations have sparked strong reactions […]

FIRE’s Robert Shibley: UNC Doesn’t Need Another Restriction on Speech

February 11, 2015

FIRE Executive Director Robert Shibley took to The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina) yesterday to protest the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s consideration of a ban on the phone app Yik Yak, which allows users to share anonymous comments with those geographically close to them. As we’ve argued on The Torch before, counter-speech—not censorship—is the best answer to messages that students and faculty may consider wrong or offensive. In yesterday’s article, Robert reminds UNC-Chapel Hill that it should know better, particularly in light of its history. He writes: In the summer of 1963, the North Carolina legislature […]

UNC, Halloween, and the ‘Professionalism’ Threat to the First Amendment

October 31, 2014

This being Halloween week, we’ve seen a few cautionary notices from universities warning of the potential for hurt feelings and emotional harm caused by culturally “insensitive” Halloween costumes. To cite one example, the University of Minnesota (UM) cautioned students to “keep in mind that certain Halloween costumes perpetuate racial, cultural, and gender stereotypes” and that such costumes “can depict identities in ways that are offensive or hurtful to others.” Many of these university statements function as reaffirmations of institutional values, such as diversity, tolerance, and inclusion, and obviously universities are more than free to issue them. UM gave some common […]

Catch FIRE President Greg Lukianoff in D.C., Chapel Hill, and Berkeley Next Week

September 19, 2014

FIRE President Greg Lukianoff will be on the move next week as he travels from campus to campus to promote free speech and First Amendment rights at America’s colleges and universities. On Monday, Greg will be participating in the Fourth Annual President’s Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge National Gathering on the campus of George Washington University (GWU) in Washington, D.C. He will take part in a panel that will focus on the issue of religious liberties on campus and will be joined by Charles Haynes, the Director of the Newseum’s Religious Freedom Center. The panel will be moderated by […]

FIRE Welcomes David Deerson

June 20, 2014

FIRE is delighted to welcome David Deerson to our staff as a program associate for FIRE Campus Outreach! David joins the growing FIRE Student Network team as we gear up for our annual summer conference and make exciting outreach plans for this summer and for back-to-school season in the fall. David’s history with FIRE as a 2011 summer intern and an active participant of FIRE’s programs, along with his professional experience, make him a fantastic addition to our team as we work to expand our network of students, faculty, and alumni dedicated to defending civil liberties on their campuses.

College Risk Management Lawyers Call Out FIRE (Without Doing Their Homework)

May 27, 2014

The National Center for Higher Education Risk Management (NCHERM) is likely the most prominent risk management law firm in higher education. This afternoon, NCHERM issued “An Open Letter to Higher Education about Sexual Violence” (PDF). It’s a fascinating document about which you can be assured FIRE will have more later. However, one contention in the letter, presented as a suggestion to FIRE, warrants an immediate response. NCHERM writes: FIRE. Live up to your name. Don’t just fight for the rights of accused students. Fight for the individual rights of all students. If a campus puts a gag order on a […]

UNC-Chapel Hill Investigates Allegedly Flawed Study on Student-Athlete Literacy

January 21, 2014

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill) has suspended researcher Mary Willingham’s study on literacy among student-athletes, which she says revealed that less than half of the athletes studied were able to read above an eighth-grade reading level. While the university alleges that there were problems with Willingham’s methodology and that she failed to follow certain procedural requirements, it has been accused of trying to suppress the information to protect its image. UNC-Chapel Hill administrators argue that Willingham’s calculations are flawed and that her results could be off by as much as a factor of 10, rendering them meaningless. In an email to the Associated […]

Media Continues to Report on FIRE’s ’10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech’ List

January 17, 2014

In early January we reported on the coverage that FIRE’s list of 2013’s worst colleges for free speech received from various local media outlets. Over the past few weeks, the press has continued to draw attention to the nefarious reputation that these schools have developed for violating students’ and professors’ free speech rights. In North Carolina, which holds the dubious honor of being home to two schools on our 2013 list, both local and student-run newspapers have written about the free speech mistakes made by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) and Appalachian State University (ASU). Raleigh newspaper The News & Observer notes that […]

North Carolina Newspaper: Free Speech ‘Indispensable Ally’ of Tolerance

January 6, 2014

An eloquent editorial penned by the editors of North Carolina newspaper The Wilson Times takes the state’s public colleges and universities to task for failing to respect student free speech rights. The editors note that FIRE recently named two North Carolina institutions—Appalachian State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill—to our annual list of the nation’s “Worst Colleges for Free Speech.” The editors point out that, unfortunately, these two schools aren’t outliers: Five North Carolina colleges earn “red light” rankings in FIRE’s Spotlight database for maintaining policies that clearly and substantially restrict protected expression on campus. Calling on the state’s colleges and universities […]

The 10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech: 2013

December 27, 2013

College is where inquisitive minds go to be exposed to new ways of thinking. But on some campuses, the quest for knowledge is frustrated when administrators censor speech they would prefer be kept out of the marketplace of ideas. To close out the year, we at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) want to highlight some of the worst colleges for free speech since March 2012—the last time we published this list. (Our first list, from 2011, is here.) Most of the schools we include in this year’s list are public colleges or universities bound by the First Amendment. But some of […]

Please Explain Why Putting University Administrators in Charge of Judging Speech Is a Good Idea

July 9, 2013

My colleagues have done a thorough job of explaining why defenders of the Department of Education’s “blueprint” for preventing campus sexual harassment are on very shaky legal and logical ground. They have pointed out that some of ED’s allies have misquoted the findings letter and mocked Senator John McCain’s serious questions about the threat to free speech and about OCR’s authority to impose this blueprint. Other defenders of the blueprint have brushed away concerns by portraying its definition of sexual harassment as “any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature” as simply a way of encouraging reporting. Instead of talking past […]

Campus Progress Emphasizes First Amendment Concerns in UNC Honor Code Case

June 11, 2013

Campus Progress’ Jenn Nowicki reported yesterday on the recently dismissed honor code charges against University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC­–CH) student Landen Gambill. Gambill was charged with "disruptive or intimidating behavior" after publicly criticizing UNC’s handling of sexual assault cases, including her own. In dismissing Gambill’s case, and all other pending cases brought under the same honor code provision, UNC–CH Chancellor Holden Thorp acknowledged that he was taking action in order to "protect the free speech rights of [UNC’s] students."  Nowicki quoted FIRE’s Will Creeley on why the code was problematic: In the Honor Code, [an external review] found, […]

Scandal Over Handling of Rape Charge Prompts UNC to Suspend Speech Code; FIRE Had Warned UNC that Rule Was Unconstitutional

June 7, 2013

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., June 7, 2013—The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has indefinitely suspended an unconstitutional speech code used against student Landen Gambill, who drew national attention for her public complaints about the university’s treatment of her sexual assault allegation against a fellow student. Due to the efforts of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), UNC was explicitly aware that this very policy was unconstitutional more than a year ago. “Despite having the chance to revise this unconstitutional policy years ago, at the prompting of FIRE and its own students, UNC refused to do so. Nevertheless, […]

Letter to Editor on ‘National Failure of Student Discipline Codes’

April 1, 2013

Illustration of Justice Scales – Shutterstock In a powerfully written letter to the editor of The GW Hatchet, a student newspaper at George Washington University, attorney Shanlon Wu calls into question whether students can receive a fair and accurate result from university disciplinary processes. Wu, a litigator with the Washington, D.C., firm Wu, Grohovsky & Whipple, draws upon personal experience representing university students to make a number of salient points. Among them:  Every day, students across the country face discipline code violations that can affect the rest of their lives yet the systems under which they are investigated, charged, tried […]

Controversy Grows over UNC’s Response to Sexual Assault Claim

March 6, 2013

The controversy surrounding the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s (UNC’s) response to a student’s allegation of sexual misconduct shows no signs of abating. In fact, it may just be getting started, as a new report from the Daily Tar Heel focusing on the accused student’s experience in UNC’s judicial system casts further doubt on UNC’s ability to handle sexual assault allegations in a way that respects the rights of students—whether the accuser or the accused.  Last week, I discussed the threat to the First Amendment presented by the student-run Honor Court’s decision to levy a formal charge against […]

FIRE in the News: Watch Clips of ‘Stossel,’ ‘Red Eye’ Featuring FIRE Cases!

October 2, 2012

It’s been a big television week for FIRE. Last Thursday, I appeared alongside Campus Freedom Network members David Deerson and Derek Spicer on an episode of the Fox Business Network show Stossel, filmed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). We had a great discussion of speech codes at UNC and civility codes at North Carolina State University. If you missed it on Thursday, you can watch the segment online now. And last night, the late—night Fox News show Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld featured a segment about FIRE’s latest video, featuring student Morgan Freeman of Sam […]

FIRE’s Shibley on ‘Stossel’ This Thursday

September 24, 2012

FIRE’s Robert Shibley was on campus at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) last week for a taping of the Fox Business Network show Stossel, hosted by 19-time Emmy Award winner John Stossel. This week’s episode opens with civil liberties on college campuses, so FIRE supporters know that Robert, along with Campus Freedom Network (CFN) members David Deerson of UNC and Derek Spicer of North Carolina State University, will have plenty to say. UNC’s student paper, The Daily Tar Heel, covered the show’s taping and gave a shout out to Robert.  Tune in to Fox Business Network […]

FIRE Senior VP at UNC Today for ‘Stossel’ Taping

September 21, 2012

Today, The Daily Tar Heel encouraged University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill (UNC) students to attend a taping of Stossel, John Stossel’s show on the FOX Business Network, which will be held on campus at 2 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Student Union, hosted by the UNC Young Americans for Liberty. FIRE Senior Vice President Robert Shibley will be a guest on the program, discussing FIRE’s recent victory at nearby North Carolina State University and other campus free speech issues.  The Daily Tar Heel piece also features a great quote from former FIRE intern David Deerson, one […]

‘Daily Tar Heel’ Editorial Board: Get Rid of UNC’s Speech Codes

September 20, 2012

Fresh off a campus visit from FIRE Senior Vice President Robert Shibley, the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill (UNC) could use a little speech code reform to start off the school year. Recognizing as much is the Editorial Board of the UNC campus paper The Daily Tar Heel, in a stirring opinion piece published yesterday. The paper calls on UNC to improve its Spotlight rating of “red light” and, in particular, its Community Living Standards policy on “Rights and Responsibilities.” This red light speech code instructs UNC students to “[a]void using the written or spoken word in a […]

FIRE Speakers on Campuses for Constitution Day

September 17, 2012

What better way is there to celebrate Constitution Day than to go see a FIRE speaker? None, I say!  Today, Associate Director of Legal and Public Advocacy Azhar Majeed will be at Indiana University-Bloomington to talk with Young Americans for Liberty (YAL). The YAL chapter is holding a free speech wall event, and Azhar will be speaking afterwards in Ballantine Hall, room 005 at 7:00 p.m. Those of you in or near Chapel Hill, North Carolina can also catch a FIRE speaker tonight. Senior Vice President Robert Shibley will be delivering a lecture at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC) […]

‘Inside Higher Ed’, KC Johnson on the University of North Carolina’s New ‘Two-tiered’ Disciplinary Procedures

April 26, 2012

Yesterday, Inside Higher Ed reported on the University of North Carolina’s recent decision to revoke its Student Honor Court’s power to adjudicate allegations of sexual misconduct. Inside Higher Ed‘s Allie Grasgreen writes:  The change, which some have sought for years, appears to be the most extensive yet in response to the “Dear Colleague” letter issued a year ago by the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights. […] But the change is also significant at the micro level: it marks a philosophical shift at UNC, where for more than a century, the student Honor Code states, “Carolina students have pledged […]

Speech Code of the Month: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

February 7, 2012

FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for February 2012: the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). For a number of years, UNC earned FIRE’s poorest, “red light” rating for maintaining restrictive speech codes. This rating was due in large part to a list of sexual harassment examples that included a great deal of protected speech, such as “sexually explicit jokes” and “[i]nappropriate exposure to sexually oriented graffiti, pictures, posters, cartoons, or other such materials.” Who defines what is “inappropriate” at UNC? What does this restriction mean for students organizing and promoting discussions or artistic performances with […]

Former FIRE Intern: UNC Should Not Be Comfortable With Unconstitutional Policies

February 1, 2012

David Deerson, a former FIRE intern and current University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill junior, penned an excellent letter to the editor published in today’s edition of The Daily Tar Heel. His letter responds to an article from Tuesday, which reported that UNC’s vice chancellor for student affairs Winston Crisp is comfortable with the school’s “yellow light” rating from FIRE. David writes:  TO THE EDITOR:  It is disturbing to read that Winston Crisp is comfortable with UNC’s yellow light rating from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.  UNC is a state institution and it receives funding from both […]

‘Daily Tar Heel’ Article Shows that Free Speech Has a Long Way to Go at UNC

January 30, 2012

Fresh off reviewing our recently issued speech code report, the Daily Tar Heel at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill (UNC) highlights the fact that UNC at present maintains three “yellow light” speech codes infringing upon students’ freedom of expression. These policies have no place at an institution like UNC that not only is legally obligated to uphold the First Amendment, but is morally obligated to follow through on its statements of being an institution committed to free speech and the exchange of ideas. Writing for the Daily Tar Heel, Amanda Albright quotes our Samantha Harris, who points […]

Victory at University of North Carolina: Religious Student Group Free to Practice Its Beliefs

October 14, 2011

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., October 14, 2011—The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has cleared a Christian student group of any wrongdoing after it dismissed a student who felt that he could no longer adhere to the group’s religious beliefs. Yesterday, Christian a cappella student group Psalm 100 learned that UNC had determined that the group had complied with UNC’s nondiscrimination policy, which allows belief-based student groups to make decisions about members and leaders based on those beliefs. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) had intervened to ensure that UNC follow its stated policy. “While it should not […]

Will Threat of Legal Action Spur UNC to Restore Emeritus Professor’s Rights?

September 20, 2011

After months of discussion with little to show for it, Professor Emeritus Elliot Cramer plans to file an ethics complaint against University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) General Counsel Leslie C. Strohm, based in part on Strohm’s role in revoking his university email account and website. A lawsuit, Cramer says, is also imminent. This latest development in Cramer’s case comes five months after UNC stripped him of his network credentials due to the agitations of an animal activist. The activist, unaffiliated in any way with UNC, repeatedly demanded that UNC punish Cramer merely because his UNC-provided website posted […]

At University of North Carolina, Choral Group’s Vote Prompts Investigation–And Raises First Amendment Concerns

September 2, 2011

The Daily Tar Heel reports this week that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) has launched an investigation into the decision of a Christian a capella student group’s decision to expel one of its members. Daily Tar Heel reporter Paula Seligson writes: The University will investigate whether or not the Christian a cappella group Psalm 100 violated UNC’s non-discrimination policy in dismissing senior Will Thomason, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Winston Crisp said. On Sunday, members of Psalm 100 unanimously voted to remove Thomason, who is gay, for his views on homosexuality. He had been a member […]

‘Chronicle’ Article on Emeritus Faculty Highlights Case of Wronged UNC Professor

August 15, 2011

The Chronicle of Higher Education has published an interesting article on the vagaries of emeritus faculty status and what it means at various universities—i.e., whether it comes with perks or is merely symbolic. In part, the article focuses on recent controversial cases in which emeritus status was denied. In one case, law professor Robert Natelson was denied emeritus status by a vote of his fellow faculty at the University of Montana; he believes the cause to be his outspokenly conservative political views. Another case involves Professor William Ayers of the University of Illinois at Chicago (whose right to speak FIRE has […]

‘Triangle Business Journal’ on UNC’s Revocation of Emeritus Professor’s Network Access

July 1, 2011

North Carolina’s Triangle Business Journal is the latest media outlet to report on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s (UNC’s) troubling action against Professor Emeritus Elliot Cramer when UNC succumbed to outside pressure to revoke Cramer’s university network access. The pressure had come from Joseph Villarosa, who has no affiliation with UNC but who drew UNC into his personal dispute with Cramer. FIRE’s Will Creeley commented for the article: “Once the university has established a set of rules, it has set a precedent,” says Will Creeley, director of legal and public advocacy for FIRE. “Professors expect that when they retire, the promise of network access […]

FIRE’s Shibley Raps UNC’s Punishment of Emeritus Professor in ‘Herald-Sun’

June 24, 2011

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s (UNC’s) decision to revoke the network access of Professor Emeritus Elliot Cramer continues to draw headlines, most recently with today’s column in the Chapel Hill newspaper The Herald-Sun by FIRE Senior Vice President Robert Shibley.  For those unfamiliar with the case, Cramer’s network access was revoked by UNC after an external critic, Joseph Villarosa (with whom Cramer had been in an ongoing, non-university related dispute), complained to UNC about a link Cramer posted on his university website. This link carried readers to a site for an animal welfare organization Cramer is affiliated with, through […]

FIRE Corrects the Record on ‘Inside Higher Ed’ Reporting of UNC Case

June 22, 2011

Inside Higher Ed runs a story today on the case of Elliot Cramer, Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), whose UNC network privileges were terminated by the university as a result of Joseph Villarosa’s attempts to draw UNC into a private dispute between him and Cramer. (Villarosa is unaffiliated with UNC.) Inside Higher Ed‘s story is informed by our press release about the case, released yesterday, and we’re grateful for its coverage of the situation. However, Inside Higher Ed‘s article overemphasizes the role of an earlier dispute involving the Friends of Orange County Animal […]

UNC-Chapel Hill Surrenders to ‘Heckler’s Veto,’ Revokes Emeritus Professor’s Network Access

June 21, 2011

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., June 21, 2011—The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) has surrendered to the “heckler’s veto” by revoking Professor Emeritus Elliot Cramer’s network access following outside complaints about a link on his website to an organization that advocates for animal welfare. Despite telling the complaining individual that the dispute was “not a University matter” and that the university did not monitor the content of websites maintained by professors, UNC nevertheless demanded that Cramer remove the link from his website and later canceled his network access entirely. Cramer came to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) for […]

Resolutions to Protect Academic Freedom of Faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill, University of Delaware

November 19, 2010

Faculty bodies around the country have been enacting new academic freedom protections in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2006 decision in Garcetti v. Ceballos, about which we have written plenty here on The Torch. In a footnote in Garcetti, the Court reserved the question of whether professors at public universities have academic freedom to criticize university policies or even enjoy academic freedom in their own research and teaching, but some lower court decisions in academic freedom cases since Garcetti have nevertheless further endangered faculty members’ traditional academic freedom. Joining the University of Minnesota, the University of Michigan, and the University of Wisconsin, the Faculty Senate at the […]

FIRE’s Robert Shibley Takes on UNC Speech Codes in ‘Chapel Hill Herald’ Op-Ed

October 18, 2010

Sunday’s edition of the Chapel Hill (N.C.) Herald contained a sharp op-ed by FIRE Senior Vice President Robert Shibley, who devoted his section of editorial real estate to an analysis of the problems presented by the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s (UNC’s) speech codes and an overview of the school’s recent history with free speech on campus.  UNC’s codes currently earn a “yellow light” rating from FIRE, and Robert—a new North Carolina resident as of last month—tells Herald readers one of the reasons why: UNC has several policies that can be used to ban or excessively regulate constitutionally protected speech. Among […]

‘The Daily Tar Heel’ on FIRE at UNC-Chapel Hill

October 6, 2010

I was privileged to be part of a panel discussion for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s First Amendment Day observance last Thursday. I joined Jenna Ashley Robinson of the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy and Stephanie Davis, president of UNC’s College Libertarians club, on a panel to discuss free speech at UNC in particular and on our nation’s campuses in general. The Daily Tar Heel campus newspaper covered the event and subsequently ran an editorial about free speech at UNC. The editorial board affirmed its support of FIRE’s mission, saying, “[w]e admire the organization’s pursuit of making speech […]

FIRE, AAUP, and Thomas Jefferson Center File Brief with Fourth Circuit in Support of UNC Professor

July 6, 2010

On Friday, FIRE joined the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression in filing an amici curiae brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on behalf of University of North Carolina-Wilmington professor Mike Adams. The brief argues that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Southern Division erred in analyzing Adams’ First Amendment claim. UNC-Wilmington denied Adams a promotion to full professor in 2006, and, with the backing of the Alliance Defense Fund, the conservative Christian professor filed suit against the […]

One Year Later, Heckler’s Veto Shelved at University of North Carolina

May 5, 2010

North Carolina’s Pope Center for Higher Education Policy is reporting that a visit to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill by former congressman Tom Tancredo went off without incident late last month. Why is this noteworthy, you ask? Because the last time Tancredo visited UNC, his speech was disrupted and he was forced to leave his speaking venue because of violent protests (pepper spray was used to disperse the unruly protestors). In a blog entry about the incident last year, FIRE praised UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp for refusing to back down to those who would shout down […]

Do North Carolina Students Have Freedom of Speech?

February 17, 2010

A complete copy of Do North Carolina Students Have Freedom of Speech? is available for download as an Adobe Acrobat file compatible with Adobe Reader. America’s colleges and universities are supposed to be strongholds of classically liberal ideals, including the protection of individual rights and openness to debate and inquiry. Too often, this is not the case. Across the country, universities deny students and faculty their fundamental rights to freedom of speech and expression. The report examines the speech, assembly and religious protections for students and faculty at North Carolina’s universities–both public and private. Using the speech code rating system […]

Watch the Video of Greg’s UNC Speech

November 19, 2009

FIRE President Greg Lukianoff has had a packed schedule of speeches this fall, having spoken at multiple campuses in Ohio, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington, DC. A video of his “Unlearning Liberty” speech given at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill is available below. The speech, given during UNC’s First Amendment Day, highlights some of FIRE’s most shocking cases and explores what is at stake if students are not made aware of their rights. As Greg says: “What I fear is that students feel that they have a duty to silence speech that is unprogressive or uncomfortable.  Worst of all, […]

UNC Rejects the Heckler’s Veto

April 24, 2009

The First Amendment scored a victory this week at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill when UNC removed and arrested six hecklers who disrupted a campus speech by former Virginia congressman and illegal immigration opponent Virgil Goode. Goode was invited to speak on campus by a group called Youth for Western Civilization. Problems with disruptive hecklers had been expected in the wake of a speech last week by former Congressman Tom Tancredo, another outspoken opponent of illegal immigration, which abruptly ended when violence erupted. During Tancredo’s speech, a window was shattered and police used pepper spray to disperse unruly protestors […]

Editorial Board of UNC’s Daily Tar Heel: “Protect Free Speech”

March 2, 2009

The editorial board of the University of North Carolina’s student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel, has published a strong editorial today in defense of freedom of expression on campus. Writing in response to UNC President Erskine Bowles and the UNC Study Commission to Review Student Codes of Conduct as They Relate to Hate Crimes, the editorial board urges that any forthcoming hate crime policy not infringe upon the First Amendment rights of UNC students. The editorial references letters written to the Study Commission by FIRE and the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation and argues: A consistent […]

FIRE Cautions University of North Carolina System against Implementing Hate Speech Policy

February 16, 2009

Today, FIRE sent a letter to University of North Carolina President Erskine Bowles and the UNC Study Commission to Review Student Codes of Conduct as They Relate to Hate Crimes arguing against the implementation of a system-wide hate speech code. Bowles formed the study commission following the discovery of racist comments painted in North Carolina State University’s Free Expression Tunnel after President Barack Obama’s victory last November. In FIRE’s letter, Director of Legal and Public Advocacy Will Creeley argues that new prohibitions against hate speech on campus would likely violate the First Amendment rights of students and are unnecessary in […]

Nearly Three Years Later, Significant Improvement at North Carolina’s Public Universities

September 22, 2008

In January 2006, FIRE and the John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy released a Report on the State of the First Amendment in the University of North Carolina System. The report took an in-depth look at the speech codes in force at each of the sixteen universities in the UNC System and made detailed recommendations for how those codes could be improved. At the time, 13 of the 16 schools in the system received a “red-light” rating from FIRE for maintaining policies that clearly and substantially restricted students’ right to freedom of speech. Happily, a number of the […]

Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Brought by Christian Fraternity Against U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

May 19, 2006

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a Christian fraternity against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which had previously refused to recognize the group because it bars non-Christians as members. The outcome was not a clear-cut victory for either side. That is because the university changed its nondiscrimination policy last year, allowing groups to select members “on the basis of commitment to a set of beliefs” — even though they are still forbidden to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, for example. …   To read the full article, please click here: http://chronicle.com/temp/reprint.php?id=6khxfctsx3yv4k4x7wy6yxs84l2g4ksc

‘UNC Chapel Hill Tries to Spin Away a Major Defeat’

May 18, 2006

The Clarion Call, the online newsletter of The John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy, has published an article Samantha and I wrote about UNC Chapel Hill’s anemic attempt to spin the dismissal of a Christian fraternity’s suit against them as a victory. Some of you may remember FIRE had not one but two cases at UNC Chapel Hill in less than two years, in which the university attempted to force Christian groups to sign a statement that they would not “discriminate” on the basis of religion. As we point out: [C]onstitutionally protected freedom of association is meaningless if […]

Laughable Spin at UNC

May 5, 2006

Check out David French’s post over at National Review’s Phi Beta Cons about the University of North Carolina’s lame attempt to spin its loss in a case involving a Christian fraternity’s right to free association into a vindication of what it had said all along. So I know not everyone in the world is a lawyer, but let’s take this hypothetical: (1) a public university refuses to recognize a student group because it will not let that group exclude people who do not share the beliefs of the group; (2) the college is then slammed in the newspapers, on the radio, […]

Newspaper Theft at Troy University: Facebook Article Involved?

February 15, 2006

Today’s Inside Higher Ed features an article about an instance of illegal censorship at Troy University in Alabama, which holds the dubious distinction of being one of the targets of FIRE’s Speech Codes Litigation Project because of its unconstitutional speech code. The latest instance of censorship at Troy came last Thursday, when nearly 2,000 out of 3,000 printed copies of the Tropolitan, Troy’s main campus newspaper, were stolen from their distribution sites. Tropolitan staffers surmise that the theft might be connected to the fact that an article in that edition of the paper revealed that university police officers might be […]

Liberty in the Balance in North Carolina

February 1, 2006

The number of battles FIRE has had to fight in North Carolina is staggering. Even before our recent (and victorious) headline-grabbing case at UNC Greensboro, we have defended embattled professors at UNC Wilmington, Shaw University, Forsyth Technical Community College, and Duke University; two Christian groups at UNC Chapel Hill; a student newspaper under attack at Craven Community College; and red-light speech codes across the state. The place clearly needs help, and that is exactly what FIRE is trying to give it. Last month, we (along with the John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy) released the landmark Report on […]

The War on Christians (and Muslims)

December 27, 2005

There has been a lot of talk the past few months about the “war on Christmas,” by which people generally mean the replacement of the religious symbols and language of Christmas with secular language and symbols of the holidays. This is often extended into an argument that there is a growing cultural hostility to the public observance of religion in general and Christianity in particular. It’s not in FIRE’s mission to address these issues with regard to society in general—we leave that to the dozens of groups and thousands of individuals who engage in extended disputes about this every year—but […]

UNC Restores Tradition of Holiday Travesties

December 15, 2005

The holiday season is upon us again. Christmas trees, menorahs, and lights festoon homes and streets. Shoppers drive around mall parking lots in a desperate search through a sea of cars for a parking space. Holiday specials take to the airwaves. Americans numbering in the millions travel to visit far-away family members. And some students in the University of North Carolina System get their fundamental rights stomped on. Yes, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. FIRE’s press release today details the newest story of repression in North Carolina’s public university system. Two students at UNC Greensboro (UNCG) face […]

Foggy Thinking about ‘Discrimination’ at UNC

May 31, 2005

In his column today, Mike Adams discusses a truly revealing exchange he had with the UNC-Wilmington student newspaper. As readers may know, UNC Chapel Hill has been at the center of a controversy because it wanted a Christian group to add language that to its constitution that said it would not “discriminate” against people who do not share its beliefs: I recently mocked the editors of UNC-Wilmington’s student newspaper, The Seahawk, for wanting Christian organizations to sign a non-discrimination clause that would clearly trump constitutionally protected freedoms of religious expression. I jokingly suggested that the paper believes that “students who […]

Princeton Victory Covered by AP

May 12, 2005

Check out the short and sweet article by Associated Press writer Chris Newmarker about the Princeton religious liberty victory we announced yesterday. I was quoted: “We found Princeton’s quick and fair response very encouraging. We’ve found other colleges who haven’t been particularly fair to religious groups, sometimes in an unconstitutional way,” which captures what I find refreshing about this case. Princeton joins schools like LSU in working in good faith to treat religious students fairly after FIRE raised concerns. This is in stark contrast to schools like UNC-Chapel Hill which would rather duke it out in court than allow their […]

What Is Up with North Carolina?

March 8, 2005

The recent injunction against UNC is only the latest development in a state that seems downright uncomfortable with basic freedoms. As I have often said on Viewpoints, a radio show in North Carolina on which I have frequently been a guest, North Carolina is a place where students and faculty are punished in violation of basic moral and legal principles right, left, and center. The case of Gale Isaacs at Shaw University is one of the most dramatic examples I have seen of non-political repression at a college. As we wrote in our press release in February 2003: At Shaw […]

Here Comes the Judge: UNC Enjoined

March 7, 2005

Those familiar with FIRE’s work over the years will remember our nearly continuous battles with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill over its policies on student organizations, particularly religious groups. UNC’s assault on the freedom of association of religious groups has stretched from December 2002 all the way to the present time. Today’s press release, however, indicates that UNC’s crusade against freedom of association is liable to grind to a halt soon. A federal judge in North Carolina last week issued a preliminary injunction that orders UNC to stop trying to force Alpha Iota Omega (AIO)—a Christian fraternity […]

Victory for Freedom of Association at UNC-Chapel Hill

March 7, 2005

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., March 7, 2005—Late last week, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s (UNC’s) attempt to prevent a Christian fraternity from choosing its members based on religious belief.  U.S. District Judge Frank W. Bullock of the Middle District of North Carolina found that UNC’s application of its expansive nondiscrimination policy “raises significant constitutional concerns and could be violative of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.”  The lawsuit against UNC was filed by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) in coordination with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education […]

Rhode Island College vs. Freedom—Again

February 23, 2005

FIRE unfortunately often deals with colleges and universities that repeatedly violate the fundamental rights of students or faculty members. The shining example of this is the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which keeps trampling on its students’ rights in almost the same way, confirming my suspicion as a Duke alumnus that UNC is up to no good. The University of Alabama also has been a notable example of a school that just seems unable to get a grasp on freedom. Yet a new contender for the title has arisen from the shores of the Ocean State—Rhode Island College […]

Good News for Religious Liberty

February 17, 2005

In a post Monday, I noted that oral arguments in Alpha Iota Omega v. Moeser were scheduled for yesterday. First reports out of Chapel Hill are extremely encouraging. The judge summarily denied the university’s motion to dismiss AIO’s complaint—thereby allowing the lawsuit to proceed—and he made some encouraging comments regarding the merits of AIO’s claims. The Durham Herald-Sun has reported on the hearing. Here are the principal paragraphs: A Christian fraternity at UNC is on the verge of regaining official status as a student organization following a hearing Wednesday in federal court. The three members of Alpha Iota Omega sued […]

A Big Week for Religious Liberty

February 14, 2005

This Wednesday, a federal court in North Carolina will hear oral arguments in Alpha Iota Omega Christian Fraternity v. Moeser. For those who have just started following our work, the lawsuit, filed by the Alliance Defense Fund, challenges the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s decision to “derecognize” a Christian fraternity because the fraternity limited its membership to Christian males. The fraternity had refused to comply with a university policy that prohibited the group from discriminating on the basis of religion. It is difficult to overstate the importance of this case for students of faith in our nation’s universities. […]

UNC’s lawsuit saga begins next chapter

October 25, 2004

BY STEPHANIE NEWTON STAFF WRITER October 25, 2004 The University is set to respond today to a federal lawsuit that was filed Aug. 25 by a Christian civil rights group when students were just returning to classes. The Alliance Defense Fund stands poised for combat on behalf of Alpha Iota Omega, a three-member Christian fraternity that was denied official UNC recognition. After refusing last fall to sign the nondiscrimination and sexual orientation policies that are required of all UNC organizations, the fraternity members enlisted the support of national civil rights organizations to fight for what they consider their First Amendment […]

A fraternity struggles for freedom

August 27, 2004

PHILADELPHIA — The year was 1956, and the NAACP faced a grave challenge to its civil rights advocacy in the South. The State of Alabama had just ordered the NAACP to produce a list of all “members” and “agents” of the NAACP that were operating in Alabama. The NAACP refused to produce this list. Given the historical context, the organization’s objection to Alabama’s demand is easy to understand. If the identities of all NAACP members became publicly known, those individuals could be subject to severe reprisals, including threats and even lynching. In court, the NAACP argued that the First and […]

Alpha Iota Omega Files Suit Against UNC-Chapel Hill

August 25, 2004

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., August 25, 2004—A federal lawsuit was filed today against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) by Alpha Iota Omega (AIO), a Christian fraternity that was denied recognition by UNC because it would not agree to open its membership to students of different faiths. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), which is fighting on behalf of AIO in its conflict with UNC administrators, is now joined by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which brought the suit against the university. “For too long, UNC has denied religious groups the basic rights that all student […]

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Denies Recognition to Another Christian Group

August 12, 2004

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., August 12, 2004—For the second time in less than two years, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) has denied recognition to a Christian group, claiming that the group’s desire to limit its membership to Christians constitutes “discrimination.” “A Christian group has a right to be Christian, a Muslim group has a right to be Muslim, and a Jewish group has a right to be Jewish,” said David French, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). “It seems absurd that anyone in a free society would have to make this argument, but […]

Letter from UNC-CH Chancellor James Moeser to FIRE, August 12, 2004

August 12, 2004

Tolerance in the Ivory Tower

August 2, 2004

As members of the House of Representatives return to their home districts during summer recess, Congressmen Walter Jones (R.-N.C.) and Jack Kingston (R.-Ga.) are praying for the success of HConRes 318. Kingston, Jones, and 38 other members of the House co-sponsored this resolution in 2003 based on the Academic Bill of Rights from David Horowitz and his group, Students for Academic Freedom. HConRes 318 is designed to “secure the intellectual independence of faculty members and students and to protect the principle of intellectual diversity” in America’s higher education system, according to the language of the bill. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R.-Ala.) […]

Letter from UNC Division of Student Afffairs Threatening ‘Derecogniton’ of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, December 10, 2002

December 10, 2002

Carolina Union A Department in the Division of Student Affairs December 10, 2002 Stephie Crowell IVCF – Off/Grantville 100 Dickens Court Apt. 6 Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514 Dear Ms. Crowell: On September 19, 2002, your group submitted an application for official UNC-Chapel Hill recognition for the 2002-2003 school year. As part of that application, you certified that your group complied with the University policy that “openness to full membership and participation must be available to all members of the University community without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, disability, age, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender(where applicable).” Recently […]