FIRE’s Shibley in ‘Washington Post’: Lawsuits ‘About to Become a Lot More Common’

Following yesterday’s launch of FIRE’s Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project, FIRE Senior Vice President Robert Shibley takes to The Washington Post today to explain why litigation is necessary:

Six years ago, 79 percent of America’s largest and most prestigious public universities chilled student speech with laughably unconstitutional codes. Today, thanks to increased awareness of the problem, that number is down to 58 percent. That’s a real improvement, but it’s still far too high when the law requires that number to be 0 percent. Higher education cannot live up to its fantastic (and now, fantastically expensive) promise if this pervasive culture of censorship doesn’t change. The ugly truth is that far too many of our campuses are now places where making t-shirts, collecting petition signatures, blogging, or distributing pamphlets can get you in trouble.

FIRE supporters know that Robert’s absolutely right about the climate for free speech on campuses nationwide—just check out FIRE’s case archives!

Be sure to read Robert’s full op-ed for more of his thoughts on the litigation project and the four cases we filed yesterday.

Learn more about the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education at The Washington Post.