Rights in the News: Media Keeps Pressure on CCAC

The higher education and mainstream presses were awash last week with the news of the Community College of Allegheny County's (CCAC's) suppression of a student's attempt to organize a chapter of the national student association Students for Concealed Carry on Campus. CCAC stayed in the spotlight this week after offering a feeble defense of its unconstitutional treatment of student Christine Brashier. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review—each of which carried multiple stories on CCAC last week—have kept up their interest in Brashier's case and FIRE's involvement. WorldNetDaily has taken notice this week as well. Most prominently, news of the case held the top spot on FoxNews.com, in a story that also highlighted recent gun speech-related incidents with which FIRE has been involved at Central Connecticut State University and Tarrant County College.

As Adam mentioned yesterday, and as he points out this week to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, slight modifications to the University of Wisconsin system codes of academic and nonacademic student conduct pose a risk of diluting the rights of students charged with serious offenses. The UW Regents are set to vote on the final draft of UWS 17 and 18 today. FIRE is among the many keeping an eye on the outcome.