Table of Contents
This Week in FIRE News: Reactions to 'Firefly' Censorship and SHSU 'Box Cutter' Cases
On Monday morning we reported that University of Wisconsin-Stout (UWS) professor James Miller has been censored twice, reported to the university's "threat assessment team," and threatened with criminal charges because of satirical postings outside his office door.
The first poster depicted a quotation from actor Nathan Fillion's character in the television series Firefly. After taking it down, the UWS Chief of Police threatened Miller with criminal charges for disorderly conduct if he posted similar content in the future. After UWS censored his second poster, which satirically stated, "Warning: Fascism," Miller came to FIRE for help.
On Wednesday, we reported that the chancellor of UWS has declared that he will not defend faculty First Amendment rights from censorship, in an email sent to all UWS faculty and staff. UWS's claim continues to be that "the posters in question constituted an implied threat of violence. That is why they were removed."
Between this and the absurd act of censorship involving a "free speech wall" and a box cutter at Sam Houston State University, FIRE news has made countless headlines this week. Here's a recap:
On the Firefly censorship:
- Nathan Fillion, star of Firefly, on Twitter
- Adam Baldwin, Fillion's co-star on Firefly, on Twitter
- Neil Gaiman, writer, producer, and director, on Twitter
- Reason.com: The Clear and Present Danger Posed by Space Captains
- Popehat: I Swear by My Pretty Floral Bonnet, I Will Censor You
- Instapundit: IN WISCONSIN, IT'S BROWNSHIRTS VS. BROWNCOATS
- The Daily Caller: Insult to injury: Quote from sci-fi classic 'Firefly' censored on campus
- Escapist Magazine: University Threatens Criminal Charges Over Firefly Poster
- Gawker: Theater Professor's Firefly Poster Declared Threatening
- A.V. Club: College campus police save students from threat of Firefly poster
- Techdirt: University Police & Administration Freak Out Over Nathan Fillion Firefly Poster; Censor, Threaten Professor
- Wisconsin Law Journal: THE DARK SIDE: A First Amendment showdown at UW-Stout
- Popehat: Chancellor Charles W. Sorensen Vigilant Against Threat of Satire, Figurative Speech, Hurt Feelings
- The Chronicle of Higher Education: U. of Wisconsin Professor and Administrators Clash Over Posters Called Threatening
- TwinCities.com: UW-Stout professor claims free speech violated after posters removed
- The Huffington Post: Censoring Joss Whedon's Firefly and the Chancellor Who Cried Wolf
- PJTV: 'Firefly' and Common Sense Under Fire: Wisconsin Criminalizes Free Speech
- JSOnline: UW-Stout police take down professor's posters
- UPI: UW-Stout in trouble with 'Firefly' fans
- Linking and Thinking on Education: Warning: Idiocy at UW-Stout
- Pierce County Herald: UW-Stout professor denies promoting violence as posters near office taken down by police
- National Review Online: The Speech Police Return to Campus
- WEAU News 13: Posters cause rift at university
- WQOW News 18: Professor's posters taken down at area college, draws controversy
- OpenMarket.org: University of Wisconsin Administrators Violate the First Amendment to Silence Dissent and Criticism
- The Blaze: Wis. university allegedly labels prof's movie poster 'unacceptable' & removes it
- Legal Insurrection: U-Wisc Prof May Not Have Aimed To Misbehave, But Is Busted By PC Police Anyway
On the Sam Houston State University Free Speech Wall vandalism:
- The Daily Caller: Insult Obama? Not on this campus!
- Fox Nation: Students Insult Obama, Professor Calls the Cops
- The Houstonian: National rights group writes letter to SHSU President, gets response
- Students for Liberty: You Can Cut Paper, But You Can't Cut Freedom
- The Houstonian: Key words: What the F#@K
- The Houstonian: Disorderly end to orderly protest
- The Houstonian: Editorial: Free Speech
- First Amendment Center: FIRE backs students after professor censors free-speech wall
On the University of California, Berkeley "Affirmative Action Bake Sale":
- The Daily Californian: Free speech is the right ingredient for Republican bake sale
- The Morning Call: Bake sale free speech, or bigotry?
On the controversy over religious student groups at Vanderbilt University:
- The Tennessean: Vanderbilt University nondiscrimination policy called unfair to religious groups
- The New American: University Targets Christian Groups With "Non-Discrimination" Policy
On the University of Georgia's unconstitutional "free speech zone" policy:
- The Red and Black: University's free speech zones are incompatible with Constitution
Recent Articles
FIRE’s award-winning Newsdesk covers the free speech news you need to stay informed.
Debating social media content moderation
Can free speech and content moderation on social media coexist? Jonathan Rauch and Ren?e DiResta discuss the complexities of content moderation on social media platforms. They explore how platforms balance free expression with the need to moderate...