Virtual Luncheon: Resolving Tensions Over Race & Representation in Public Art
Free virtual luncheon will explore the approaches to resolving tensions around WPA murals representations of race and history, particularly on college campuses.
Zoom, Facebook and YouTube Threaten Academic Freedom
NCAC is deeply concerned by Zoom, Facebook and YouTube's recent censorship of an academic forum due to the affiliation of one of the speakers with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
NCAC Opposes Removal of Mural Depicting Slavery
NCAC is asking the University of Kentucky (UK) to cancel recently announced plans to remove a 1930’s-era mural depicting aspects of Kentucky history, including slavery. Some students have demanded its removal because they consider it demeaning to people of color on campus. In 2018, the university commissioned an installation by Karyn Olivier, a noted Black artist, that was painted above [...]
Libel Judgment Threatens Free Speech on College Campuses
NCAC has joined several free speech organizations in supporting Oberlin College’s appeal of a $44 million libel judgment that threatens the free speech rights of its faculty and students. They filed an amicus brief in an Ohio appeals court on June 5. The case grew out of the arrest of three African American students in 2016 for attempted theft at [...]
NCAC Calls on Zoom to Defend Educators from Chinese Censorship
On June 15, the National Coalition Against Censorship, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), and PEN America joined in protesting Zoom’s decision to close the account of Humanitarian China, a U.S.-based nonprofit that promotes the development of human rights in China. Zoom acted at the request of Chinese officials who wanted to suppress a virtual meeting commemorating the [...]
Student Journalist Coronavirus Toolkit from Student Press Law Center
Assistance and support for student journalists and advisers reporting on COVID-19 who may experience interference, obstruction or censorship of their work.
UPDATE: VICTORY! Pepperdine University Censors Student’s Art
Pepperdine University is refusing to display an art student's works alongside her peers because the works depict nudity.
National Groups Urge Washington College (Maryland) to Reschedule Student Production of ‘The Foreigner’
Washington College, Maryland, has censored a student-directed production of The Foreigner due to the appearance of the Ku Klux Klan as the play's villains.
Department of Education Threatens Academic Freedom at Duke–UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies
Government intervention into the content of higher education courses is very likely to suppress certain views, chill dissent, and restrict academic discourse.
Coalition Objects to Universities Monitoring Chinese Students and Scholars
The FBI and other government officials have advised some U.S. universities to develop protocols for monitoring students and scholars from Chinese state-affiliated research institutions, based solely on their country of origin.
Professor Under Fire for Quoting James Baldwin | UPDATE: Victory!
Laurie Sheck, a professor at the New School, is under investigation after using the N-word in a class while quoting James Baldwin.
UPDATE | University Suspends Library Director Over Controversial Photo Display
Doane University in Nebraska has closed a library display and suspended the library director over the inclusion of historical photos of students wearing blackface.
Panel Addresses the Challenges of #MeToo and the Morally Compromised Artist
A discussion of what to do with the art of morally compromised artists, how morally compromised is "too" morally compromised, whether it matter if the artist is alive and, ultimately, who decides upon these issues of what is acceptable
Proposed Executive Order Threatens Academic Freedom
The National Coalition Against Censorship is gravely concerned about President Trump's vague announcement of a proposed executive order tying federal research funding to universities' adherence to a free-speech code.
Art Schools Must Prepare Artists to Resist Self-Censorship
NCAC is offering support to Allegheny College in encouraging its student artist to re-display their work after social media controversy and to offer students support in navigating such controversies around their work.
Student Art Exhibition Challenged at University of Colorado Boulder; UPDATE: the University Comes to a Resolution with the Student
A student artist at CU Boulder may have been censored by his university. Investigation in progress.
NCAC Protests Political Censorship at Cleveland State University
NCAC urges Cleveland State University to remove the cover the University used to block from view a political text featured on a sculpture displayed on campus.
Remembering Robert M. O’Neil
Former NCAC board member and leading First Amendment attorney Robert O'Neil leaves behind a legacy of inclusion and equal rights.
University of Kentucky Unveils Installation to Encourage Dialogue about Race
The University of Kentucky has unveiled a new site-specific public artwork by Philadelphia artist Karyn Olivier, commissioned in response to a heated controversy around a fresco that students said was traumatizing, creating a model for balancing conflict and tensions around campus art.
NCAC Joins FIRE and the ACLU Urging the University of Kansas to Restore American Flag Artwork
NCAC has joined the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kansas in a letter to the University of Kansas (KU) strongly urging it to take a stand against censorship by restoring a public artwork that the university removed last week.
Kansas Governor and Secretary of State Pressure University to Remove Artwork | UPDATE: NCAC Co-Signs Joint Letter
Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer and Secretary of State Kris Kobach separately pressured officials at the University of Kansas (KU) to remove an art display, threatening the free expression of the artist, curator and KU students.
NCAC Urges University of Southern Maine to Restore Paintings Removed from Exhibit
The University of Southern Maine has removed three works following a complaint to the university, citing the painter's previous conviction for sexual offenses. NCAC is urging the university to restore the works.
Political Artist Excluded from Faculty Show at Polk State College
The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) has joined with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) to express concern about the state of freedom of expression at Polk State College.
NCAC Supports University of Mary Washington’s Efforts to Protect Free Speech on Campus
The university was sued by a group of students for failing to protect them from peer-on-peer harassment by not banning a social media app. NCAC writes in support of the university's commitment to free speech.
NCAC Joins FIRE and SPLC to Support Student Press Freedom at Texas State University
Following the publication of a controversial editorial, an independent student newspaper at TSU has been threatened with revocation of funding and an imposed review of its editorial process.
Life Imitates Art: By Cancelling Play in Response to Controversy, Brandeis Compromises Freedom of Academic Discussion
Brandeis University has had to cancel a scheduled production of a play by Michael Weller after the playwright and the Theater Department failed to come to terms as to how the play would be presented.
Censored on Campus: Paul Rucker’s Exhibition on Race in America
Paul Rucker's traveling exhibition REWIND, an urgently relevant multi-media installation that addresses the history of racial injustice in America, was closed to the public by York College of Pennsylvania, less than one week into its run. Paul sat down with NCAC to discuss the incident.
NCAC Calls Trump Administration’s Travel Ban a Violation of Core Free Speech Principles
The brief argues that freedom of speech includes the ability to facilitate the free international exchange of people and ideas.
Why NCAC Objects to ‘Restore Campus Free Speech’ Bills
Yesterday, NCAC sent a letter to North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper urging him to veto a bill dubbed as a measure to “restore” and “preserve” free speech on state college campuses. But why would an organization devoted to free expression like NCAC object to an effort to safeguard free speech at universities?
NCAC, AAUP Urge NC Governor to Veto ‘Restore Campus Free Speech’ Bill; UPDATE: Bill Made Law
NCAC and AAUP argue that the bill will create more problems than it solves, burdening universities with provisions that existing free speech protections already account for.
Supreme Court Urged to Safeguard Student Speech Against ‘Ideological Litmus Tests’
NCAC has joined the Student Press Law Center, the Cato Institute and the Electronic Frontier Foundation in urging the Supreme Court to take the case of Craig Keefe who was expelled from a nursing program for 'unprofessional' remarks.
Violent Protestors Misunderstand the First Amendment
The violent protesters of Charles Murray need to understand a basic principle: the right to speech exists for all, or for none.
NCAC Responds to American University Museum’s Removal of Controversial Sculpture; UPDATE: NCAC Advises AU Museum on Strategies to Avoid Future Controversy
American University Museum in Washington D.C. flubbed its approach to a controversial sculpture after it claimed it did not want the message of the sculpture to be deemed the institution's own.
NCAC & FIRE Respond to Fordham’s Feeble Justification for Denying Club Status to pro-Palestine Group; UPDATE: SJP Students File Lawsuit Against Fordham
The University have justified the decision based on the group’s “political goals” and support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, which they say are contrary to Fordham’s “mission and values.”
NCAC & FIRE Defend Winthrop University Student Threatened With Expulsion for Anti-Lynching Art; UPDATE: Winthrop Drops Expulsion Threats
The disciplinary charges constitute a neglect of Winthrop's role as a ‘marketplace of ideas’ and its responsibilities under the First Amendment.
Dealing with Difficult Art in Post-Election America at Salem State U.
An artwork depicting the Ku Klux Klan, intended to make a statement about post-election U.S.A, was labeled "hate speech" by students at Salem State U.
NCAC Asks Radio Station at Columbia U. to Prove Commitment to Free Expression
NCAC’s letter condemns the producer’s actions and describes how Columbia’s University's commitment to free speech, academic freedom, and journalistic excellence are incompatible with censorship.
After Censorship Request, Author Cancels Reading on Columbia U. Radio
Author Laurie Stone was abruptly asked to censor her reading because it did not match the university's values.
New PEN Report on Campus Free Speech, Trigger Warnings and Title IX
The report assesses the reality of the narrative espoused by the loudest critics of contemporary campus culture: that free speech at the American university is facing an existential crisis.
Uni. of Wisconsin-Stout Moves to Censor Paintings of First Nations People; UPDATE: Chancellor Modifies Course, Paintings to be Relocated
The University's Diversity Leadership Team expressed concern the painting's colonial subject matter would reinforce racial stereotypes.