Table of Contents
People for the Ethical Treatment of Students
Community colleges in Florida seemingly have a lot to answer for when it comes to respecting students’ rights. First, Indian River Community College tried to stop students from showing The Passion of the Christ. Now, Seminole Community College near Orlando has decided that students with a passion for animal rights are equally unwelcome. FIRE’s latest press release will fill you in on the details.
What strikes me about these cases (and, frankly, many FIRE cases) is how innocuous these students’ requests are, and how inflexible and unreasonable colleges can be when it comes to allowing just a little bit of our constitutional rights to seep through to their students. At Seminole, Eliana Campos simply wanted to set up a table and pass out some pamphlets from PETA that decried brutality in slaughterhouses. Many people disagree with PETA’s message and aims (although I think genuine supporters of slaughterhouse brutality are hard to find), but it’s hard to think of a more harmless method of getting that message out than having one lone student sit at a table and pass out brochures. Sometimes it seems like all it would take to eliminate a lot of these controversies is a sense of proportion among college administrators, coupled with a little respect for our basic American freedoms.
Recent Articles
FIRE’s award-winning Newsdesk covers the free speech news you need to stay informed.
![Peaceful protest outside the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago](/sites/default/files/styles/334x250/public/2024/08/Peaceful%20protest%20outside%20the%202024%20Democratic%20National%20Convention%20in%20Chicago.jpg.webp?itok=lsoTlJ92)
How Milwaukee and Chicago circumvented free speech at the RNC and DNC
‘The city really created this culture of fear, this idea that we don’t approve of any type of protest,’ a RNC protester told FIRE.
![UN flag at the United Nations in New York.](/sites/default/files/styles/334x250/public/2024/08/UN%20flag%20at%20the%20United%20Nations%20in%20New%20York.jpg.webp?itok=d4MsOX89)
UN may hand authoritarian governments new weapon to silence dissent
A cybercrime treaty headed to the General Assembly targets ‘serious’ online crime. In much of the world, free speech is a serious transgression.
![Former President Donald Trump speaks in Detroit on Monday August 26 2024](/sites/default/files/styles/334x250/public/2024/08/Former%20President%20Donald%20Trump%20speaks%20in%20Detroit%20on%20Monday%20August%2026%202024.jpg.webp?itok=o6s4fMOi)
Trump’s proposed constitutional amendment banning flag burning would have unintended consequences
FIRE examines how an amendment would play out in the courts and how it would affect First Amendment protections for freedom of speech.
![Rustic road sign covered in kudzu in country field at sunrise.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/334x250/public/2024/08/Rustic%20road%20sign%20covered%20in%20kudzu%20in%20country%20field%20at%20sunrise.jpg.webp?itok=RkY5MPaj)
Rooting out bad arguments against free speech
Like the battle against kudzu in my yard, the battle for free speech is never-ending — and always worth the fight.