Marquette University: Political Quote Banned from Office Door

Case Materials

"FIRE Letter to Marquette University President Robert A. Wild, January 12, 2007," January 12, 2007
"Letter from Marquette University Provost Madeline D. Wake to FIRE, November 20, 2006," November 20, 2006
"FIRE Letter to Marquette University President Robert A. Wild, November 7, 2006," November 7, 2006
"Envelope Showing Postmark for Marquette University's 'October 16' Letter to FIRE," October 19, 2006
"Marquette University Student Handbook," October 18, 2006
"Marquette Bans Dave Barry Quote from Office Door," FIRE Press Release, October 18, 2006: Writer and humorist Dave Barry probably never expected that one of his jokes would spark a university free speech dispute. But in early September, a Marquette University administrator removed a Barry quote about the federal government from Ph.D. student Stuart Ditsler’s office door because the quote was “patently offensive.” Facing this arbitrary exercise of political censorship, Ditsler contacted FIRE for help.
"Letter from Marquette University President Rober A. Wild to FIRE, October 16, 2006," October 16, 2006
"FIRE Letter to Marquette University President Robert A. Wild, September 27, 2006," September 27, 2006
"E-mail from James South to Stuart Ditsler, September 5, 2006," September 5, 2006

"Campus Alert: Banning Dave Barry," New York Post, June 11, 2007
"It's all a free-speech zone," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, October 22, 2006
"Jesuit university faces fresh heat," Tom Schalmo, The Badger Herald, October 20, 2006
"University bans humor quotation from student's door," Nathan Burchfiel, Cybercast News Service, October 19, 2006
" Free speech group ridicules Marquette for removal of Barry quote," Ryan J. Foley, Associated Press, October 19, 2006
"Free speech group ridicules Marquette for removal of Barry quote," Associated Press, WBAY-TV (ABC Affiliate, Green Bay, Wis.), October 18, 2006
"Free-speech group decries Marquette removal of quote," Megan Twohey, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, October 18, 2006
"I am not making this up: Dave Barry is “patently offensive”," Nick Gillespie, Reason Magazine, October 18, 2006