Rutgers University: Bias Investigation of Satirical Newspaper
In April 2011, as part of its annual April Fools' edition, Rutgers student satire publication The Medium published a fake editorial titled "What about the good things Hitler did?", jokingly attributed to another student columnist known on campus for his frequent commentary on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Rutgers President Richard L. McCormick denounced the article and announced that the school had launched an investigation of its publication as a possible "bias incident." Just days after FIRE sent a letter to Rutgers airing our concerns and hours after FIRE publicized the investigation, Rutgers notified FIRE that the administration would not punish The Medium, stating that "students are not punished for exercising their right to free speech, including speech in student publications."
- "Response to FIRE from Assistant General Counsel Sarah Luke, April 25, 2012," April 25, 2012
- "Letter from FIRE to Rutgers University President Richard L. McCormick, April 20, 2012," April 20, 2012
- ""The Daily Medium," April 4, 2012," April 4, 2012
Case Materials
- "Victory: Rutgers Will Not Punish Satirical Newspaper," by Peter Bonilla, May 1, 2012: Three weeks after announcing a "bias investigation" against the satirical student newspaper The Medium, Rutgers University has promised not to punish the publication for its protected expression. Rutgers had opened the investigation following the publication of a parody article which satirized the newspaper columns of another Rutgers student. In response to a letter from FIRE, Rutgers stated that "students are not punished for exercising their right to free speech, including speech in student publications."
- "Rutgers’ Bias Investigation of Satirical Newspaper is No Laughing Matter," by Peter Bonilla, April 27, 2012
