‘TheFIRE.org’ Archives
Writing about Attraction to Professors Gets Oakland U. Student Suspended
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG Here is today's press release: DETROIT, February 10, 2012—Oakland University near Detroit has suspended a student for three semesters, barred him from campus, and demanded he undergo "sensitivity" counseling because he wrote in a class assignment that he found his instructors attractive. [...]
Sixth Circuit Relies on High School Cases to Assess Graduate Student’s Rights
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG Last week here on The Torch, I discussed the interesting ruling from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Ward v. Polite (.PDF). Before discussing the facts of the case and the Sixth Circuit's holding, I noted that while the court reached the right result by allowing the First Amendment [...]
Towson University Should Not ‘Absolutely Want’ to be a ‘Yellow Light’ School
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG The Towerlight, a student newspaper at Maryland's Towson University, ran an article earlier this week on Towson's "yellow light" rating in FIRE's recent speech code report, Spotlight on Speech Codes 2012: The State of Free Speech on Our Nation's Campuses. The article does a good job of explaining [...]
Greg in ‘Huffington Post’ on Eleventh Circuit’s Important Message to University Administrators
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG FIRE President Greg Lukianoff weighs in today at The Huffington Post on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit's important ruling in Barnes v. Zaccari. As we highlighted in on our press release yesterday, the Eleventh Circuit's unanimous decision affirms a lower court's denial of qualified [...]
Does the Supreme Court’s ‘Hosanna-Tabor’ Decision Apply to Religious Student Organizations?
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG Here at FIRE, we review a wide variety of legal material that never makes it onto The Torch. Court decisions come down all the time that are relevant but not directly related to our core mission (decisions about civil procedure or election law, for example). One such case that we have followed closely is the [...]
Minnesota Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in ‘Tatro,’ with Student Speech Rights at Stake
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG Yesterday, the Minnesota Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Tatro v. University of Minnesota. As reported by The Chronicle of Higher Education, Tatro concerns the University of Minnesota's punishment of mortuary sciences student Amanda Tatro for off-campus comments she posted on Facebook that her [...]
Greg Takes On Proposed Arizona Law in ‘The Huffington Post’
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG In his latest piece for The Huffington Post, FIRE President Greg Lukianoff criticizes a newly proposed Arizona law dictating that all educational institutions follow FCC regulations concerning "indecent speech." Greg argues that the law is not only "hilariously" unconstitutional, but also [...]
Widener Settles Lawsuit Filed by Law Professor who was Punished for Protected Speech
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG For a year now, FIRE has been reporting on the case of wronged law professor Lawrence Connell, who was the target of a campaign spearheaded by Widener Law Dean Linda Ammons. Ammons sought Connell's termination and banishment from Widener mainly on the basis of Connell's use of hypothetical legal scenarios that [...]
Eleventh Circuit Affirms Ruling against Former Valdosta State President in Victory for Student Rights
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG Here is today's press release: ATLANTA, February 8, 2012—In a victory for student rights, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a unanimous decision late yesterday in the case of Barnes v. Zaccari, holding that former Valdosta State University (VSU) President Ronald M. Zaccari [...]
FIRE at Two Student Conferences This Month
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG Each year, FIRE staff attend national conferences hosted by groups from across the political and ideological spectrum in order to network and spread our nonpartisan message of liberty on campus. In February, FIRE will be attending two major student conferences in Washington, DC. This week, FIRE staff members will [...]
Speech Code of the Month: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG 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 [...]
Arizona State Restores Access to Change.org after National Outcry
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG Arizona State University (ASU) has restored access to the petition website Change.org after blocking it due to dubious concerns about "spam" emails coming from the site related to a petition advocating lower tuition costs at the university. On Friday, FIRE wrote ASU asking that it immediately restore [...]
FIRE in ‘National Review Online’ on Impact of Discriminatory ‘All-Comers’ Policy at Vanderbilt
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG This morning in National Review Online, FIRE Senior Vice President Robert Shibley explores the negative impact of the Supreme Court's 2010 decision in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez for students at Vanderbilt and nationwide.Focusing on Vanderbilt University's recent invocation of the case to justify its [...]
SPLC’s LoMonte: High Stakes for Student Speech in ‘Tatro’
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG Frank LoMonte, Executive Director of the Student Press Law Center, has an excellent piece in The Chronicle of Higher Education discussing what's at stake for student speech rights in Tatro v. University of Minnesota, which the Minnesota Supreme Court will hear this Wednesday.Frank writes: Hard cases, as Justice [...]
At Yale, Political Expediency Trumps Basic Rights
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG Last week, The New York Times ran an article on Patrick Witt, the star quarterback at Yale University whose candidacy for a Rhodes scholarship was suspended after the Rhodes selection committee learned of an "informal" complaint of sexual assault lodged against him within Yale's judicial [...]
‘Tulane Hullabaloo’ on Tulane’s Speech Codes
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG Today, the editorial board of The Tulane Hullabaloo, the student paper at Tulane University, has written an editorial in support of FIRE's analysis of Tulane's "red light" policies. The piece quotes FIRE Senior Vice President Robert Shibley and calls for the university to promote free speech on [...]
Will Columbia University Students Respect Jim Gilchrist’s Right to Free Speech This Time?
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG Recent articles in the Columbia Spectator address the recently announced plans of the Columbia University College Republicans (CUCRs) to bring Jim Gilchrist, the founder of the controversial Minuteman Project, to speak at Columbia this spring. Given the melee that ensued when he spoke at Columbia in 2006 (also as a [...]
After Vandy’s Ill-Advised Choice, Revisiting ‘CLS v. Martinez’ Warning
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG Last night, Vanderbilt University held a "town hall"discussion of its decision to require registered student groups to accept all students in leadership positions, barring belief-based student groups from requiring that leaders actually agree with the group's stated mission. According [...]
Second Chance for New Jersey to Protect Free Speech in Anti-Bullying Law
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG Here is today's press release from FIRE: TRENTON, N.J., February 1, 2012—Following a state council's ruling that New Jersey's new anti-bullying law is an unfunded mandate in violation of the New Jersey Constitution, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) notes that the law also [...]
Former FIRE Intern: UNC Should Not Be Comfortable With Unconstitutional Policies
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG 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 [...]
Debate Over Religious Freedom Comes to a Head at Vanderbilt
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG This evening, Vanderbilt University will hold a town hall “discussion” about its new nondiscrimination policy that prevents belief-based student groups from making belief-based decisions about their leadership. Vanderbilt effectively is discriminating against political and religious groups that seek [...]
Oregon Community College Drops Free Speech Zone
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG Last week, Chemeketa Community College (CCC) in Salem, Oregon, made significant changes to its "Free Speech Guidelines" and "Student Rights and Responsibilities Policy," which now allow students to spontaneously gather on campus. The revisions have done away with previous restrictions on [...]
In ‘Ward v. Polite,’ Sixth Circuit Reaches Right Result, but with Wrong Reasoning
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG On Friday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that expelled Eastern Michigan University (EMU) counseling student Julea Ward's First Amendment suit may continue, finding that a federal district court had improperly granted the EMU defendants summary judgment. Ward was expelled from [...]
‘Harvard Crimson’ Exposes Violations of Free Speech in Policies Identified by FIRE
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG FIRE's annual report on campus speech codes has reached more and more college and university campuses since we released it a few weeks ago. Today The Harvard Crimson's Rebecca D. Robbins reports on Harvard's poor, "red light" speech code rating in FIRE's report. We explained Harvard's rating in detail a [...]
Sixth Circuit: Expelled Counseling Student Will Have Day in Court
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG In an opinion (.PDF) issued today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that the civil rights suit filed by former Eastern Michigan University counseling student Julea Ward may proceed. Ward was expelled from her graduate program after she inquired about referring a gay client [...]
FIRE’s Open Letter to Vanderbilt Regarding Religious and Political Organizations
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG In an open letter today, FIRE asks Vanderbilt University Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos important questions about how Vanderbilt will handle the ramifications of its recent decision to ban political and religious student groups on campus from making leadership decisions based on their core beliefs. FIRE points out [...]
Supreme Court Decision in ‘Jones’ and Students’ Fourth Amendment Rights
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG This Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in United States v. Jones (PDF). There has been ample discussion of the decision around the blogosphere. Essentially, the majority opinion, penned by Justice Scalia, holds that a "search" for Fourth Amendment purposes occurs either [...]
‘Stossel in the Classroom’ Highlights FIRE Resources
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG Veteran journalist John Stossel's Stossel in the Classroom initiative, which has supplied over 140,000 teachers nationwide with multimedia materials for classrooms, now highlights FIRE as a resource for students and teachers looking for more information about freedom of speech and other fundamental rights. The [...]
‘Stossel in the Classroom’ Highlights FIRE Resources
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG Veteran journalist John Stossel's Stossel in the Classroom initiative, which has supplied over 140,000 teachers nationwide with multimedia materials for classrooms, now highlights FIRE as a resource for students and teachers looking for more information about freedom of speech and other fundamental rights. The [...]
Gina Luttrell Joins FIRE Staff
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG FIRE is pleased to welcome Gina Luttrell, Program Associate for FIRE's Public Awareness Project, as the newest member of our devoted staff. Gina graduated cum laude from Georgia's Agnes Scott College in 2011, receiving a B.A. in philosophy and political science. Gina is an alumna of the Koch Summer Fellowship [...]
Bonilla: Campus Free Speech Crucial During Election Season
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org FIRE's Peter Bonilla has a new article on PolicyMic discussing the importance of freedom of expression on campus during election season. Referencing FIRE's past fights for free political speech at colleges nationwide, Peter writes: The University of Oklahoma, for example, in 2008 banned "the forwarding of political [...]
Double Standard at Auburn
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org Auburn University has discriminated against a student by ordering him to remove a Ron Paul banner from his dormitory window. Although the university has nominally instituted a "total ban" on window decorations, a dozen or more other window decorations have been permitted. Moreover, the university has failed to [...]
January Student Spotlight: Moriah Costa
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org There are over 5,000 members of FIRE's Campus Freedom Network, our coalition of students, faculty members, and alumni committed to promoting free speech and individual rights on campus. Our members write op-eds for local and national publications, invite FIRE speakers to their schools, attend FIRE's CFN Conference in [...]
Syracuse Drops Expulsion Hours after FIRE Press Release
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org Syracuse University's School of Education has readmitted a graduate student it had expelled from its teaching program after he complained on Facebook about a racially charged comment made in his presence by a community leader. Syracuse had told Matthew Werenczak that his only chance for reinstatement was to undergo a [...]
The Month’s Survey of Legal Scholarship on Academic Issues
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org The past month has seen a number of articles regarding academic rights published in law reviews and law journals across the country. Two articles were published relating to the application of the Supreme Court's 2006 decision in Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410 (2006), in the public school teacher context. FIRE [...]
Auburn Student Blasts University’s Window Policy
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org Auburn University doctoral student Allen Mendenhall has written an op-ed for today's Montgomery Advertiser criticizing Auburn's decision to censor a Ron Paul banner in the dormitory window of student Eric Philips. Allen, a FIRE Campus Freedom Network member, explains that Philips' case is of particular concern to [...]
East Carolina University Digs Hole with Public Statement
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org Yesterday I deconstructed East Carolina University's pitiful public statement invoking the "just trust us" defense after it fired the adviser to The East Carolinian because the independent student newspaper (like it or not) published uncensored photos of a streaker at an ECU football game. Today, I repeat: Whoever [...]
University of Florida Revises 2011 Speech Code of the Year
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org Just one day after FIRE announced that the University of Florida (UF) maintained the only remaining Speech Code of the Year for 2011, UF deleted the offending language from its policy. UF earned co-Speech Code of the Year "honors" for its Student Rights and Responsibilities policy, which warned students that [...]
Univ of Denver Fails to Scare Prof Away from Teaching Course
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org Cory Lamz, Editor-in-Chief of the University of Denver (DU) student newspaper The Clarion, writes this week, as FIRE reported recently, that international studies professor Arthur Gilbert will again teach his course on "The Domestic and International Consequences of the Drug War." This is no small thing, given [...]
Student Press Law Center on Speech Code: Virginia is #1
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org Adam Goldstein of the Student Press Law Center (SPLC) blogged yesterday about FIRE's 2012 speech code report. SPLC's offices are in Virginia, so Adam was particularly proud of Virginia's designation as the best state for free speech in higher education: The SPLC's offices are in Virginia, and while it's possible [...]
Firing of ECU Media Adviser Sparks Widespread Response
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org East Carolina University’s decision to fire its Director of Student Media last week has sparked a widespread response. For those new to this case, Isom’s termination comes in the wake of a decision by the editorial board of student newspaper The East Carolinian to run uncensored photos of a streaker at an ECU [...]
Campus Speech Codes Decline Again
ACADEMIC FREEDOM, THEFIRE.ORG PHILADELPHIA, January 10, 2012—The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE; thefire.org) released its 2012 report on campus speech codes today. The vast majority of the 392 colleges and universities analyzed still maintain policies that seriously infringe upon the free speech rights of students. For [...]
‘New York Times’ Covers Theresa Wagner Case
FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG Adam Liptak, the Supreme Court correspondent for The New York Times, reports on Theresa Wagner’s recent victory at the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, which I analyzed in a recent blog entry here on The Torch. An outspoken conservative, Wagner is suing the University of Iowa School of Law, [...]
Speech Code of the Month: University of Southern California
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for January 2012: the University of Southern California (USC). USC’s policy on “Advertising, Promotion, and Literature Distribution” prohibits the posting or distribution of any printed materials that contain “derogatory language or material that is aimed at [...]
Answering a Critic of Friday’s Open Letter to OCR
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org Brett Sokolow’s response to our call for clarity on campus harassment standards from the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is misleading and disappointingly inaccurate. Commenting on FIRE President Greg Lukianoff’s op-ed in last Friday’s edition of The Washington Post, Sokolow—a risk [...]
FIRE Intervenes after East Carolina University Fires Adviser
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org, Adam Kissel On Friday, Jaclyn wrote about East Carolina University's ill-advised decision to fire Paul Isom, adviser to student newspaper The East Carolinian, after the newspaper printed an uncensored photo of a man who streaked at a football game. The East Carolinian and the Student Press Law Center had already run [...]
Following Publication of Photos, Newspaper Adviser Fired
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org The East Carolinian and the Student Press Law Center both reported yesterday that Paul Isom, Director of Student Media at Eastern Carolina University (ECU), was fired on Wednesday. Isom's advising portfolio included the campus radio station, television station, yearbook, and several student magazines. But it was a [...]
FIRE Urges Department of Education to Protect Speech
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org In an open letter sent today, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and ten other organizations urge the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to defend free speech on campus by ending the lingering confusion surrounding the definition of student harassment. "Since the 1980s, [...]
FIRE Intervenes at Harvard after Economics Professor Fired
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org Today, FIRE has asked Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) to reverse its action against a controversial economics professor after it canceled all of his courses due to an op-ed he published in India in the wake of last year's Mumbai terrorist bombings. Although Harvard's administration had defended [...]
A Roundup of 2011′s Faculty First Amendment Rights Case Law
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org Last year saw a handful of important cases related to university faculty First Amendment rights in the courts. Particularly, a number of cases dealt with the application of the United States Supreme Court case Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410 (2006). Yesterday marked the first day of the annual meeting of the [...]
