Table of Contents
What Every Student Should Know Before Starting College
FIRE's Essay Contest will award $20,000 in scholarships to high school juniors and seniors this fall! Visit https://www.thefire.org/resources/high-school-network/essay-contest to enter. Deadline Nov. 25, 2012.
Did you know that some colleges and universities restrict student speech rights? Don't be surprised by campus censorship when you get to college - know before you go!
Visit https://www.thefire.org to learn more. For more information on the cases and codes included in the video, visit https://www.thefire.org/article/14730.html.

Recent Articles
Get the latest free speech news and analysis from FIRE.

FIRE statement on FCC approval of Skydance-Paramount acquisition
The FCC has no business dictating the editorial choices of media outlets or conditioning merger approval on the viewpoints a network chooses to air.

The mercenary spyware industry is a menace to global free expression
As authoritarian regimes weaponize commercial spyware to silence critics, a booming mercenary surveillance industry thrives in the shadows — and even democracies aren’t immune.

Smile for the surveillance state
With mask bans spreading across college campuses, Nora Mitchell explores how these policies are eroding academic freedom.

FIRE statement on Columbia University's settlement with Trump administration
On July 24, 2025, Columbia University announced that it reached an agreement with the Trump administration to restore federal funding that was revoked over allegations of its handling of anti-Semitism on campus.