University of Chicago: Censorship of Student's Online Speech by University Police
- "University of Chicago Repeatedly Censors Student Facebook Posts," March 24, 2010: For the second time in two years, the University of Chicago has censored a student's post on a private Facebook page. Undergraduate Joseph "Tex" Dozier posted a joke that he had had a dream about assassinating University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer "for a secret Israeli organization." Mearsheimer is co-author of the controversial book The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy. This post prompted an investigator from the university's police department to question Dozier about his political views, suggest that he would investigate Dozier's comments on his university radio show, and demand that Dozier remove the post or else have the post reported to Mearsheimer, one of his professors. Dozier came to FIRE for help.
- "FIRE Letter to University of Chicago President Robert J. Zimmer," March 2, 2010
- "Transcript: Investigator Martinez (UCPD) & Joseph Dozier," February 23, 2010
- "Screen Capture of Tex Dozier's Facebook Page," December 7, 2009
Case Materials
- "Which One Is a Real Threat?," by Adam Kissel, March 26, 2010
- "Is This How You Would Treat a 'Death Threat'?," by Robert Shibley, March 24, 2010
- "Facebook/Twitter Joke about ‘Israel Lobby’ Author’s Assassination Leads to Police Investigation at University of Chicago," by Adam Kissel, March 24, 2010
Blog Entries
- "University Of Chicago Censors Student’s Post On Facebook,"
The Bulletin, March 26, 2010 - "U. of Chicago Student Questions University's Reaction to Facebook Post,"
by Jill Laster, The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 25, 2010
