Forsyth Technical Community College: Dismissal of Professor for Criticizing Iraq War

Case Materials

• "Writing Instructor Loses Job for Discussing Iraq War in Class," FIRE Press Release, January 27, 2004: In Winston-Salem, NC, Forsyth Technical Community College (FTCC) writing instructor Elizabeth Ito has been dismissed for criticizing the war in Iraq during a writing class. Her remarks lasted only ten minutes—and served as the basis for a subsequent writing assignment—but prompted administrators at the college not to renew her contract. FIRE is defending Ito's academic, moral, and legal rights.
• "FIRE Letter to Forsyth Technical Community College President Gary M. Green, November 12, 2003," November 12, 2003

Media Coverage

• "Under the Radar: Political Correctness Never Died," Cathy Young, Reason, July 1, 2004: These days, talking about political correctness in academia makes you sound like a quaint throwback to the 1990s. It seems utterly irrelevant to the post-9/11 era, a threat dwarfed by (depending on whom you listen to) either terrorism or losing our liberties to the war on terrorism. Eric Wasserman, executive director of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), says many people have a knee-jerk reaction to the very phrase political correctness, seeing it as an old story.