‘TheFIRE.org’ Archives
IU Students Advocating for Speech Code Reform Profiled in ‘Indiana Daily Student’
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org In the Indiana Daily Student this week, reporter Bailey Loosemore chronicles the ongoing efforts of Indiana University - Bloomington (IU) students to reform speech codes on their campus. Nico Perrino, an IU senior and former FIRE intern, started a committee with three other students last fall to challenge [...]
6 Tips To Protect Your Rights in College
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org A couple of weeks ago, I emphasized the importance of knowing your free speech and due process rights on campus. This will give you a leg up when you are facing charges on campus, but it will not always be enough. College administrators frequently violate their own policies and procedures. Even when you [...]
Former Fitchburg Freedom Fighters Reunite to Share Triumph
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org Today, The Boston Globe has a compelling article (free sign-up required) about a group of former college newspaper staff members from Fitchburg State College who fought against their administration for their First Amendment rights and won back in 1969. Now, more than 40 years later, they are [...]
‘Inside Higher Ed’ Highlights Concerns about Proposed UIUC Electronic Communications Policy
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org Yesterday, I wrote about the successful outcome of our joint effort with the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) to prevent passage of an electronic communications policy riddled with First Amendment problems at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). On Monday, Inside Higher [...]
D.C. Folks, Join Us for Happy Hour on September 28!
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org In two short weeks, FIRE is visiting the District of Columbia and joining our friends at Reason magazine and Students For Liberty to host a civil liberties happy hour. The event is set to take place on Wednesday, September 28th, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Front Page in Dupont Circle. It's open to all who want to [...]
Kelly Jemison on JMU’s New Green Light Rating
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org When James Madison University (JMU) became our newest green light school this week, perhaps no one was more thrilled about this important development than Kelly Jemison. Kelly, a recent JMU graduate, contacted FIRE in 2009 because she wanted to reform her school's policies. She worked with [...]
FIRE Congratulates James Madison University for Abolishing Speech Codes
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org FIRE is proud to announce that James Madison University (JMU) has eliminated the last of its speech codes, earning our highest, "green light" rating for free speech. While two-thirds of the nation's colleges maintain policies that clearly and substantially restrict freedom of speech, JMU is now [...]
Victory: University of Illinois Shelves Proposed Email Policy Due to Free Speech Problems
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org Proving that positive change can come even at the last minute, FIRE took on a proposed policy with only two days to spare (across a weekend, at that), and is now proud to announce that our efforts have been successful. Late last week, we obtained a copy of a proposed electronic communications policy at the [...]
FIRE’s Harvey Silverglate and Adam Kissel Take on Harvard’s Civility Pledge at ‘Minding the Campus’
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org In an excellent article published today at Minding the Campus, FIRE Co-founder and Board Chairman Harvey Silverglate and FIRE Vice President of Programs Adam Kissel take on Harvard College's recently enacted civility pledge for students. We have written about the pledge here on The Torch, as well as The [...]
FIRE Welcomes Lyzi Diamond
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org FIRE is pleased to announce a new addition to our staff, Lyzi Diamond. Lyzi graduated from the University of Oregon in 2011, earning B.S. degrees in Geography and in Planning, Public Policy, and Management. While at Oregon, Lyzi was the managing editor and editor-in-chief of the Oregon Commentator, a [...]
Adam to Speak at Tarleton State Constitution Day Celebration This Week
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org Adam Kissel, FIRE's Vice President of Programs, will address students and faculty at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, this week as part of the school's Constitution Day celebration. On Thursday, September 15, Adam will give a talk entitled "Free Speech in the Academic Environment" [...]
Peter in ‘PolicyMic’ on Harvard Freshman Pledge
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org FIRE's Peter Bonilla has a new article in PolicyMic today discussing Harvard College's "Class of 2015 Freshman Pledge," which, as Peter points out, "asks incoming freshmen to sign a statement saying that they are 'expected to act with integrity, respect, and industry, and to sustain a [...]
Did the Office for Civil Rights’ April 4 ‘Dear Colleague’ Letter Violate the Law?
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org As Torch readers are aware, we have spent significant time exploring the problems with the April 4, 2011, "Dear Colleague" letter issued by the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR). That time has primarily been spent examining the negative effects of OCR's mandate that [...]
FIRE, AAUP Warn University of Illinois about Proposed Electronic Communications Policy
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org In a joint letter sent today to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Chancellor Robert Easter, FIRE and American Association of University Professors (AAUP) President Cary Nelson (who is also a professor at UIUC) issued a strong warning about a proposed electronic communications policy that [...]
Renewed Focus on New Jersey’s Anti-Bullying Law, But Little Recognition of Impact on College Student Speech
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org Last week, The New York Times published a front page story on New Jersey's new anti-bullying law, which took effect on September 1. In the article, reporter Winnie Hu documents complaints about the law's requirements, which some school district officials throughout the state have found to be expensive, confusing, [...]
First Amendment Rights: Students versus Prisoners
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org Who gets better treatment from the courts with respect to their First Amendment rights, prisoners or students? Frank LoMonte of the Student Press Law Center says the answer might surprise you. Used with the permission of The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.
Nassau Community College Affirms Free Speech Rights for Faculty in Response to FIRE
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org Two weeks ago, we wrote about the quick resolution to a free speech controversy at Nassau Community College (NCC) in New York once FIRE intervened. On two separate occasions, faculty who had gathered in the NCC Plaza area to protest recent budgetary decisions by the college were required to remain behind [...]
Greg Examines Harvard’s New Civility Pledge in ‘The Huffington Post’
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org FIRE President Greg Lukianoff writes today in The Huffington Post on the introduction of a civility pledge at Harvard College, the undergraduate college at Harvard University. The "Class of 2015 Pledge" commits students to building a "place where all can thrive and where the exercise of [...]
2011 FIRE Intern Promotes Free Speech at Brown University
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org In an opinion piece published in The Brown Daily Herald today, Brown University junior and 2011 FIRE intern Oliver Rosenbloom makes principled arguments against restrictive speech codes and in favor of free speech on campus. Oliver writes:There is no guarantee that the campus orthodoxies of today will always [...]
Speech Code of the Month: University of Wisconsin Whitewater
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for September 2011: University of Wisconsin Whitewater (UWW).Remember a few years back when Taco Bell decided that three meals a day were not enough and created "fourthmeal," "the meal between dinner and breakfast"? Well, UWW has done something [...]
In Verdict Against Sewanee, Federal Jury Sends Important Message About Proper Handling of Sexual Assault Cases
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org Last week, a federal jury in Tennessee delivered a key verdict in a former student's suit against Sewanee: the University of the South after the school found him guilty of violating its sexual assault policy. In a decision that should send some rumblings through the world of higher education and make [...]
Whistleblowing UCLA Professor Wins One More Year
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Professor James Enstrom, whose department had tried to get rid of him for not fitting the department's "mission," has been granted an additional year of employment at UCLA, FIRE has learned. Dr. Enstrom had engaged in successful whistleblowing against a [...]
East Georgia College Settles Lawsuit for $50,000 After Firing Professor Who Criticized Sexual Harassment Policy
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org East Georgia College (EGC) has paid $50,000 to Professor Thomas Thibeault and his attorneys after firing Thibeault and having him escorted away by police for criticizing the school's sexual harassment policy. Thibeault was reinstated due to lack of evidence, but EGC President John Bryant Black refused to [...]
This Week in FIRE News
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org As college students across the nation settle into their back-to-school routines, we've been reminding them on The Torch how to ensure that their free speech rights stay intact this year. If you haven't yet, check out our new "Free Speech Toolbox" for students, professors, parents, concerned [...]
Robert in ‘Daily Caller’: How New Federal Regulations Are Making Some Higher Ed Lawyers Rich
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org In The Daily Caller, FIRE Senior Vice President Robert Shibley criticizes the fact that some higher ed "risk management" lawyers are profiting from the new threat to campus due process prompted by the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights' April 4, 2011, guidance letter. Robert points [...]
Peter Bonilla to Speak at University of Arizona Tuesday
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org Peter Bonilla, Assistant Director of FIRE's Indivdiual Rights Defense Program, will discuss campus free speech rights and speech codes at the University of Arizona (UA) next Tuesday, September 6. The talk will be hosted by the UA College Republicans.Liberty in Peril: Speech Codes on our Nation's College [...]
University of Arizona Eliminates Unconstitutional Civility Policy, Earns ‘Yellow Light’ Rating from FIRE
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org Congratulations to the University of Arizona (UA) for eliminating its one remaining "red light" speech code, a policy on "Civility," from its Community Living Guide. As a result of this policy change, UA now has a "yellow light" rating from FIRE. UA's former policy [...]
At University of North Carolina, Choral Group’s Vote Prompts Investigation–And Raises First Amendment Concerns
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org 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 [...]
How You Can Ensure That FIRE Remains Strong on Campus
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org If you have been visiting The Torch this week, you probably have noticed we are in full-swing back-to-school mode. We have created a one-stop shop for students, professors, parents, concerned citizens, and members of the legal community to get prepared for the 2011–2012 academic year: our "Free [...]
Former FIRE Intern Discusses OCR and Due Process
Liberty Alerts, TheFIRE.org In a blog post for Students for Liberty today, 2011 FIRE intern David Deerson discusses how the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights' (OCR's) April 4 "Dear Colleague" Letter erodes due process on campus. On OCR's requirement that schools use a "preponderance of the [...]
