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.
NCAC to Dept. of Ed: Proposals to Regulate Private Online Speech Would Run Afoul of the First Amendment
Calls to ban social media platforms to combat campus discrimination threaten students' free speech rights.
Trump Chalk at Emory University
Students upset about pro-Trump chalk messages at Emory University make headlines.
Anti-Racism Activism Stifled at Boston College?
Sometimes the real threat to free speech doesn't come from campus activists but administrators.
Is a Phallus a Firing Offense?
Did a dispute over phallus props in a theater production cost an adjunct professor his job?
Victory: A Year On, University of Kentucky Uncovers Controversial Mural Depicting Slaves
After students voiced their objections, the University of Kentucky has covered a historical mural. The school should seize the opportunity to have serious dialogue.
Ivory Tower Sex Panic?
Is there a new sex panic taking place in academia? Sexual expression is once again under attack as harmful to women, and possibly as a form of sexual harassment.
Campus Protests and Free Speech Values
As protests rock several campuses, free speech rights seem to be up for debate. But there is no reason that equality and free speech should be considered opposing values.
Was a Professor Suspended for Speaking at a Black Lives Matter Protest?
A professor who spoke at a Black Lives Matter protest on her campus was promptly suspended. Now students are demanding that she be reinstated.
At Wesleyan, Protesting a Paper—And Threatening to Destroy It?
Protests and criticism are one thing-- calls to defund a Wesleyan student newspaper over an op-ed go too far. Student government officers, and the newspaper itself, must do more to support free expression.
Northwestern Prof Resigns Over Censorship Scandal
A prominent Northwestern University professor resigns in the wake of a censorship scandal involving a faculty magazine.
Untangling the Steven Salaita Case
By now, the controversy over University of Illinois Chancellor Phyllis Wise's August 1, 2014 decision to terminate the faculty appointment of Professor Steven Salaita has gone viral. A multitude of opinions have poured forth from blogs, news stories, editorials, and protest letters. The debate brings into focus the continuing problem of efforts by adamantly pro-Israel groups to suppress campus protests [...]
Free Speech Groups Condemn Firing of LSU Professor
NCAC and FIRE weigh in on the controversy over the firing of LSU professor Teresa Buchanan, who reportedly told a number of jokes that some students found uncomfortable.
Good News: No ‘Disclaimer’ for a College Literature Course
After protests from NCAC and other groups, a California college won't be adding a 'trigger warning' to the description of an English course.
Expelling Oklahoma Frats
According to black students, the problems they face on campus — like poor retention and graduation rates and less financial aid — existed before the video surfaced. Perhaps there’s a problem at OU that goes beyond the reprehensible acts of some students on a party bus.
Showing American Sniper in Missouri
A dispute over showing a controversial film on campus shows how student groups can manage such controversies without resorting to censorship.
Oklahoma’s Free Speech Fail and the Bigger Picture
The University of Oklahoma's decision to expel two students over a racist fraternity video violates the First Amendment. But what are the deeper lessons about this incident?
Professor Labeled a ‘Threat’ for Criticizing University Leadership Files Lawsuit
Last January, we reported on the story of Tim McGettigan, a sociology professor at Colorado State University–Pueblo (CSU-Pueblo) who was an outspoken critic of the administration’s financial management. After CSU-Pueblo President Lesley DiMare informed faculty and staff in December 2013 that “as many as 50 positions at CSU Pueblo” could be eliminated to compensate for a $3.3 million budgetary shortfall, McGettigan sent out a series of mass emails to the CSU-Pueblo community passionately expressing his concerns and encouraging students and faculty to peacefully protest the planned layoffs. But when McGettigan, in a January 17, 2014 email, invoked metaphorical imagery from […]
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Koch Foundation Buys Academic Slots
The Koch brothers, Charles and David, are best-known for donating millions to the election campaigns of Tea Party candidates and others committed to fighting regulation of business and to protecting the oil and gas industries from efforts to combat climate change. It turns out that Charles Koch, through his foundation, is now also heavily invested in higher education. The money [...]
In Praise of Emotional Discomfort
The United States is proud of its freedoms, but it is also – and increasingly – a country of the easily – and proudly - offended. Being offended has become something of a political badge of honor: if I find sexist (or racist, or anti-gay) jokes appropriately offensive I am an enlightened feminist (or champion of minority groups or gay [...]
Threats of Violence Lead Feminist Critic to Cancel Speech at Utah State
Most often, when FIRE talks about “disinvitations,” the conversation revolves around colleges formally rescinding invitations to speakers because of something controversial associated with the speaker, or students protesting the speaker so much that the school either withdraws its invitation or the speaker backs out “voluntarily.” In more extreme cases, sometimes students will shout down the speaker on stage. However, a different type of disinvitation happened last week at Utah State University—thanks to a heckler’s veto of the worst kind. Feminist video game critic Anita Sarkeesian was slated to speak at Utah State until the university received an anonymous terrorist threat […]
The post Threats of Violence Lead Feminist Critic to Cancel Speech at Utah State appeared first on FIRE.
Untangling the Steven Salaita Case
By now, the controversy over University of Illinois Chancellor Phyllis Wise's August 1, 2014 decision to terminate the faculty appointment of Professor Steven Salaita has gone viral. A multitude of opinions have poured forth from blogs, news stories, editorials, and protest letters. The debate brings into focus the continuing problem of efforts by adamantly pro-Israel groups to suppress campus protests [...]
This Compromise Is Not Acceptable: Constitutionally Suspect South Carolina Budget Measure is an Assault on Academic Freedom
National Coalition Against Censorship, American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina, American Association of University Professors , American Booksellers Foundation for Freedom of Expression, Association of American Publishers, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Dramatists Guild, Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, Modern Language Association and National Council of Teachers of English As national organizations dedicated to freedom of speech [...]
NCAC, ACLU-SC and Allies Decry South Carolina Legislature’s Infringement On Academic Freedom
Political Micromanaging of College Curriculum and Punishing Colleges for Teaching Books with LGBT Content is an Assault on Academic Freedom June 9, 2014 Media Contacts: Michael O'Neil, Communications Director, National Coalition Against Censorship; [email protected], (212) 807 6222 x 107 Victoria Middleton, Executive Director, ACLU of South Carolina; [email protected], (843) 720 1424; The National Coalition Against Censorship, ACLU of South Carolina [...]
Baptist College seizes student newspaper, mutes LGBT community
Cedarville University officials in Ohio confiscated and halted distribution of the independent student newspaper The Ventriloquist after it featured two essays critical of the school’s attitude toward gay students. “The Final Decision” tells the story of Avery Redic, who was removed from student government and other school leadership positions after coming out, and “Fear at Cedarville” seeks to open a [...]
Tyler Clementi Act: Still Well-Intentioned, Still a Threat to Free Expression
The Huffington Post reported last week that Senator Patty Murray of Washington will reintroduce the Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act after learning of harassment suffered by one of her interns while attending college. The intern’s ...
More Trouble in Academia: the Middle Eastern Debate
With by now predictable regularity, student activism - and even academic debate - on the conflict in the Middle East is met with punitive sanctions and attempts at silencing. Such attempts exist on both sides, but disproportionately punish students and speakers critical of Israeli politics. The latest episode took place this March on the Campus of Northeastern University, where a [...]
Letter Urges S.C. Legislature to Restore Funding to Universities With LGBT Curricula
In a joint letter with the ACLU-SC and eight other partner organizations, NCAC defended academic freedom and criticized attempts by the South Carolina State Legislature to punitively defund state universities for assigning LGBT-themed books.