The Torch
May 17, 2012
Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012 (VAWA), which includes millions of dollars in federal funding to create a "National Center for Campus Public Safety." The proposed Center raises serious concerns for students, faculty, colleges and universities, taxpayers, and campus rights advocates. As the Senate and House versions of VAWA appear poised to be reconciled in conference committee, FIRE is urging Congress to reexamine support for the Center. Read Full Article
Press Release
May 16, 2012
A professor has filed a free speech lawsuit against Purdue University Calumet after the university punished him in the wake of his remarks about Muslims on Facebook. The PUC Muslim Student Association and several students and faculty members had filed harassment complaints against professor Maurice Eisenstein after he criticized moderate Muslims who he believed had not condemned "radical Muslim" terrorism in Nigeria. Two faculty members had also filed retaliation complaints against Eisenstein, who came to FIRE for help. Read Full Article
The Torch
May 10, 2012
Exciting new changes are coming to our annual high school essay contest! This year our scholarship prizes will be bigger, the essays will address brand-new FIRE videos, and both juniors and seniors will be eligible to participate. Students will now have the chance to win a $10,000 scholarship award, along with smaller prizes of $5,000, $1,000, and $500. Most importantly, contestants will learn invaluable lessons that will prepare them to exercise their expressive rights as college students in America. Learn more at thefire.org/contest. Read Full Article
Press Release
May 7, 2012
In an open letter sent today, FIRE and 19 other signatories urge the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to address the threats to student rights posed by OCR's "Dear Colleague" letter regarding sexual harassment and sexual assault on campus. Read Full Article
The Torch
May 4, 2012
Facing a rising tide of criticism and intervention from FIRE, Tufts University President Tony Monaco reinstated the suspended members of the men’s crew team late on Thursday. After the members wore T-shirts reading “check out our cox” (referring to a team’s coxswain), the university had suspended them, pressed as many as four team captains to resign, and asked the members to deliver apologies for the “offense” caused by the T-shirts. Read Full Article
The Torch
May 2, 2012
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for May 2012: Framingham State University. Framingham State's "Freedom of Expression" policy prohibits religious student organizations from sponsoring any displays that "promote" one religion over another or are not "secular in purpose." This is impermissible viewpoint-based discrimination against religious student groups. Just as the College Republicans may sponsor a display promoting conservative beliefs over liberal ones, the university's Christian student groups must be permitted to sponsor a display promoting Christianity over atheism. While the policy seems to be grounded in an honest misunderstanding of Establishment Clause law, its effect on the expression of religious student organizations is severe, and it must be revised immediately.
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The Torch
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." Read Full Article
Press Release
April 30, 2012
The U.S. Senate made bipartisan progress on college student rights on Friday as it passed the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2011 (VAWA). Heeding the concerns of FIRE, Senators altered language in the final bill that might have required colleges and universities to employ our nation's weakest standard of proof in adjudicating allegations of sexual misconduct.
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