New threats to freedom of expression
"Although a recession may propel some people to seek more procedures, many consumers will reduce or forego cosmetic treatments, [academics] said." Well, if you define free expression like this:
Things are looking up
I'm not exactly sure what rubric this site uses (it seems to only pull from the first page of the blog), but the good news is: What got us here: porn (6x), dangerous (3x), sex (2x). Thanks, Ethan, Andy, and Kevin!
a slippery slope
Happy New Year, everyone.
FCC plan to remove porn filtering from internet plan
Kevin Martin, the Chair of the Federal Communications Commission, is still working to push a plan to create a free wireless broadband network. Public Knowledge, which supports the plan, writes: We appreciate the potential of a new service that could provide a genuine alternative to the current wireline cable modem/DSL duopoly, to apply pressure on cable and telecom providers to [...]
On the significance of LOL cats
Ethan Zuckerman, who founded Global Voices Online, has an excellent talk in which he explains how web 2.0 services (that allow people to socially network, share LOL cats, and organize politically) play a critical role in getting around government censorship. You can read it here, with images he used at the talk. One gem, which [...]
Nevermind, bring on the cinema-style ratings!
Because if we can be G-rated, then why can't the rest of you? Words that might get us in trouble, though: dangerous (2x) sex (1x) For a good roundup of the UK ratings story, click here.
UK push for Internet ratings, “cinema-style”
The UK culture secretary Andy Burnham has recently spoken out about making the internet safer by adopting a rating system similar to the movie ratings. His take on the web: “quite a dangerous place.” According to the Telegraph: His plans to rein in the internet, and censor some websites, are likely to trigger a major row with online advocates who [...]
Prior Review- A Student Press Nightmare
At Faribault High School in Faribault, MN, students have refused to allow their superintendent to review a particular article before going to print. The Student Press Law Center reported that the students, citing their 1st Amendment rights, told the Superintendent: “What you believe [is] inappropriate concerning the Prieve story is not a legal standard for prior review or from stopping [...]
Antievolution bills die in committee, Texas science standards change
Two antievolution bills in Michigan died in committee on December 19th. The Michigan bills were modeled after the Louisiana Science Education Act which passed in June 2008. According to the National Center for Science Education: If enacted, the [Michigan] bills would have required state and local administrators “to create an environment within public elementary and secondary schools that encourages pupils [...]
Breast-feeding photos censored on Facebook
Mothers International Lactation Campaign (MILC) protested in front of Facebook headquarters after photos of mothers breastfeeding their children were removed from Facebook. Facebook said the images violated the terms of agreement (see also: Lori Drew). Heather Farley, a protest organizer, responded that Utah state law, for example, doesn't consider breastfeeding obscene and that Facebook should change its policy to allow [...]
Resource: Wikileaks
Wikileaks (not affiliated with Wikipedia) is an impressive project to collect leaked documents relating to government and corporate corruption. According to the website: Wikileaks is developing an uncensorable Wikipedia for untraceable mass document leaking and analysis. ... We believe that transparency in government activities leads to reduced corruption, better government and stronger democracies. All governments can benefit from increased scrutiny [...]
Brighton Michigan’s decision to punish “annoying” behavior
The new ordinance lets police ticket and fine ($100!) those who "repeatedly commit acts that alarm or seriously annoy another person and that serve no legitimate purpose." Seriously. Snark award goes to hotair.com: Michigan finds itself in such financial distress that its Congressional contingent has successfully harangued the White House into multi-billion-dollar loans to private enterprise. I find that extremely [...]
Schools to monitor online activities of students
There’s a push nationwide to monitor and punish students’ online behavior. According to the Des Moines Register, West Burlington is believed to be the first Iowa school district to consider including cyberspace as part of its student conduct policy, which says bad behavior can sideline children from sports, dances and other school activities. The plan not only raises the hackles [...]
The reason for the season: year end analyses
FIRE analyzes two big online speech cases in colleges. Looking at the MSU student found guilty of spamming for sending out emails to professors, and the blocking of JuicyCampus at TSU, the article looks at the legal and social implications of these decisions and how they could shape expression on campus. Gene Policinski looks at the state of the First [...]
Student Press Goes to Washington
With what promises to be the most crowded inauguration in US history, SPLC has issued an advisory to student journalists planning on covering the event: The Student Press Law Center is advising college journalists who plan to cover events surrounding the Presidential Inauguration to be held January 20 in Washington, D.C., to take several precautionary steps to avoid being arrested [...]
Tango stays in the elementary school library
We were delighted to hear that the Ankeny, Iowa, School Board voted 6-1 this week to keep And Tango Makes Three in the district’s elementary school libraries without restrictions. The book had been challenged by two parents who objected to the story of two male penguins who parent a baby penguin named Tango together. The Kids’ Right to Read Project [...]
NCAC signs letter to MSU President
NCAC and 10 other civil liberties organizations have joined FIRE and the Electronic Frontier Foundation in an open letter to the president of Michigan State University. The letter defends MSU student Kara Spencer who was charged with spamming. Here are excerpts from the letter: We the undersigned write to express our profound concern about the state of free expression at [...]
Brave New Vote
Last night, the Coeur d’Alene School Board voted unanimously to return 26 titles (among them Brave New World, Tom Sawyer, and Alice in Wonderland) to district middle and high school classrooms. A committee of educators had reviewed them and recommended that they be approved by the board for classroom use. The board voted in November in a 2-2 split vote [...]
Avoiding Controversy in Rowlett (AKA: Censorship)
Listening to: La Vie Boheme On December 12, the Dallas Morning News reported that Rowlett High School had canceled a production of the musical Rent after protest from some parents in the community. According to the article, the school’s theatre director made the decision in the interest of the students involved: “In light of everything that has happened, I need [...]
NC State Update
An incident at North Carolina State University in early November involving hateful words directed at President-elect Obama has sparked debate on campus about the extent to which Hate Speech is Free Speech. The debate has apparently spread to the UNC campus as well. ABC News, Chapel Hill reports: After the controversy over racist comments spray-painted in the Free Expression Tunnel [...]
2nd Amendment: Censored evolution editorial was plagiarized
We left for the weekend with a piece on a student's editorial that was pulled from the school paper. From the student's perspective, and from the principal's response, it seemed the article was pulled because it defended evolution and failed to mention creationism. Unfortunately, as reported today in the Roanoke Times, the article was plagiarized. According to the editorial, the [...]
1st Amendment: BYU student’s photos back in art show
As jayhova pointed out in our comments section, the BYU photographer's pieces have been put back into the art show. Excerpted on the artist's blog, BYU's official statement stated that a "miscommunication" led to the removal of photographs of gay BYU students and a friend/partner/family member. We're glad to see that the pieces will be in the show and they [...]
Student editorial on evolution pulled by principal
A dispiriting story in the Roanoke Times on a student who's opinion piece on evolution was pulled by the principle principal (amusing typo, Sarah). Brandon Creasy, who is a student at Leonard A. Gereau Center for Applied Technology and Career Exploration wrote the article for the school magazine. The crux of his piece (printed in the Roanoke Times) is that: [...]
‘Girl, Interrupted’: The Uncensored Version
We were pleased to see that the Board of Education in New Rochelle, NY, will replace censored copies of Susanna Kaysen's memoir, Girl, Interrupted, with full text copies in New Rochelle High School classes. The Kids' Right to Read Project sent this letter to the school board, commending its decision. Here's an excerpt: We applaud your recent decision to replace [...]
A School Grows in Brooklyn?
A new article in Color Lines revitalizes the discussion around the Khalil Gibran International Academy in Brooklyn, NY. The school, which teaches classes in both Arabic and English, was conceived of in 2005 as a multicultural learning environment. “Since 9/11, Arabs have been targeted in New York,” said one Arab parent who did not want to be named for fear [...]
Students, Principals and fake Myspace profiles
Yesterday we wrote about the student who was suspended for a Facebook page she created criticizing her teacher. Today: we look at two Myspace student cases facing the court. In Layshock v. Hermitage School District, high school senior Justin Layshock created a fake Myspace profile of Hickory High School principal Eric Trosch. The profile said that Trosch was a “big [...]
Consumer tools to compare hospital care
The Boston Globe reported the launch of a new website that allows Massachusetts residents to compare the cost and quality of care at different hospitals in the state. Patients now have access to previously confidential information that they can use to make informed decisions about the medical care they seek. Consumers can compare, for example, patient satisfaction data and safety [...]
High School Censorship Poll
[polldaddy poll=1188091] Sherman Alexie book pulled Student sues for Facebook suspension RENT cancelled by director Bumper sticker suspension upheld Censored Girl, Interrupted replaced
The Absolutely True Story of a Book Banning
Sometimes, book banning is as simple as: Parent complains to school board about book (offending excerpts in hand). School board member agrees book is “inappropriate.” Good-bye, good literature. The Crook County School Board in Prineville, Oregon, did just that with nationally-renowned author Sherman Alexie’s National Book Award-winning young adult novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. The book [...]
Former Student Sues School After Suspension for creating Facebook Page
In November 2007 Katherine Evans, a senior at Pembroke Pines Charter High created a Facebook group criticizing her teacher. Three other students weighed in to comment: all supporting the teacher. Two days later Evans took down the page. Two months later, the school principal Peter Bayer told Evans that she would be suspended for three days for “bullying and cyberbullying [...]
RENT CANCELED
Rowlett High School (TX) has canceled a scheduled production the musical, RENT: School Edition, after controversy arose over the play's content. the Dallas Morning News reports: After weeks of community debate and a packed school board meeting, the school's theater director canceled the upcoming performances of Rent: School Edition. ''In light of everything that has happened, I need to think [...]
Arab on Radar? Which college news is JuicyEst?
Listening to: God is Dad [polldaddy poll=1187464] Juicy Campus v TSU "Spamming" student at MSU Professor Habib in the USA BYU and photos of gay students
It gets juicier
JuicyCampus sues Tennessee State University. Bonus: Excellent editorial from Brandeis University's student newspaper on why Brandeis should not ban JuicyCampus. Excerpt: "Students encouraging administrative control of which pages students can and cannot view on Brandeis' network are encouraging a restriction of their First Amendment rights."
I Fucked Your Boyfriend: The Update
Maria Gonzalez covers the “I Fucked Your Boyfriend” bumper sticker story at the Walla Walla Union Bulletin in which a student was suspended for keeping a bumper sticker on her car after the school asked her to remove it. In a letter to the board, NCAC asks the district to “reconsider and repeal the discipinary action, and to [...]
Girl, Uninterrupted: Board replaces censored books
The New Rochelle Board of Education announces that it will replace the 50 censored copies of Girl, Interrupted and that [N]o further modifications of this type, i.e., removal of pages, shall be permitted under any circumstances. It has always been the policy of the City School District of New Rochelle that students be advised in advance if a particular assigned [...]
MSU Student Government Leader Charged with Spamming
Michigan State University student Kara Spencer sent out an email to 391 MSU faculty stating her concerns about plans to shorten the change the fall 2009 academic calendar and schedule. Her email called for a review of the decision. One recipient of the email - a plant biology professor - complained to university administrators, who called in Spencer for a [...]
ACLU’s case for Professor Adam Habib continues
Professor Adam Habib has been barred from speaking at US universities, presumably for his critique of the US and Middle East foreign policies. Today, After the government moved to dismiss the case, Judge George O’Toole of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled that the case will proceed. A South African scholar, Habib has written at the [...]
Barney Rosset
Following Barney Rosset's National Book Award in November (and NCAC's honoring Rosset as a Free Speech Defender), Newsweek has published a long piece on Rosset, his work and his role in bringing new literature and thought to the American conversation. An excerpt: Before Rosset challenged federal and state obscenity laws, censorship (and self-censorship) was an accepted feature of publishing. His [...]
BYU takes down photos of gay students
According to the artist, his series of photographs of gay BYU students and their "support person" (which the artist defined as a family member, friend, or partner) was taken down from the Fine Art Classes show because "the topic of homosexuality is a bit much for the BYU audience". In his blog, he writes: While I knew this topic would [...]
Hate Speech is Free Speech
And yet not without consequences. After the November 4th election of Barack Obama, 4 North Carolina State students hit the “Free Expression Tunnel” to spray paint messages that have now sparked a fierce debate on campus about how to respond to hate speech. The messages, including one that read “let’s shoot that Nigger in the head”, have prompted strong response [...]