Tag: FIRE

Report: College Free Speech Codes Mostly ‘Yellow Lights’

The Center Square
College Students

Although public colleges and universities operate under First Amendment guidelines and many private schools pledge to uphold the principles of free speech, a new report says most still enforce policies that restrict it in some way.

After reviewing the policies of 489 of America’s top colleges and universities, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, has released its Spotlight on Speech Codes 2024. The schools earned red, yellow, or green light ratings based on the extent to which their written regulations threaten free speech.

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Teachers Fired for Challenging Gender Ideology Get Legal Support from Doctors, Lawyers, Feminists

Just the News

First Amendment experts, radical feminists and doctors are pushing back against a court ruling that held two educators responsible for their own firing because their opposition to a proposed gender identity policy sparked student protests and community complaints to Oregon’s Grants Pass School District.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Clarke botched Supreme Court precedents on the speech rights of public employees and qualified immunity from personal liability, upheld restrictions that disproportionately target women and adopted pseudoscientific language, according to ideologically diverse friend-of-the-court briefs filed with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

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Arizona State University Sees Scrutiny over Conservative Event Backlash

The Center Square

An Arizona lawmaker wants the state’s collegiate governing body to investigate why an Arizona State University employee lost her job shortly after organizing an event featuring conservative speaker. 

State Rep. Austin Smith, R-Surprise, wrote to the Arizona Board of Regents on June 21 following the decision by ASU to terminate the employment of administrator Ann Atkinson.

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FIRE: Street Preacher’s Arrest at Pennsylvania Pride Event and Subsequent Dismissal Is a Free-Speech Lesson

Bradley Vasoli

Charges were dropped this week regarding Christian street preacher Damon Atkins who was arrested for speaking negatively about an LGBTQ pride-flag-raising he attended at Reading, Pennsylvania City Hall on Saturday. 

“After review of the video of the incident, including body-worn cameras, and a review of the case law, we did not believe we could prove a criminal case of disorderly conduct,” Berks County’s District Attorney’s office said in a statement.

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No Word Yet from Pennsylvania State University on FIRE’s Freedom Concerns

Bradley Vasoli

The Pennsylvania State University has reportedly yet to answer a Philadelphia-based free-speech nonprofit’s request that the school confirms adherence to freedom of association.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) asked Penn State to do so after a brief disagreement this spring between administrators and the College Independents. This student group hosts political discussions featuring “a wide variety of viewpoints.” 

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Free Speech Advocates Win Case for Political Expression in Pennsylvania Park

Bradley Vasoli

A federal court on Wednesday ruled that local authorities wrongly forbade political activists from gathering candidate-petition signatures at Fort Hunter Park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Last June, the Keystone Party of Pennsylvania’s candidate for state House District 104 Dave Kocur worked alongside party board member Kevin Gaughen in asking park visitors to sign petitions to get Kocur on the ballot. Park security guards directed them to stop. After the activists refused, citing their constitutional right to free expression in a public forum, Dauphin County Parks Director Anthea Stebbins ordered them to desist, explaining that the county disallows any political activity at Fort Hunter. 

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Pennsylvania Lawmaker Proposes Forcing Social Media to Police ‘Unwelcome’ Speech

Bradley Vasoli

A Pennsylvania legislator is asking her colleagues cosponsor a measure to police “unwelcome” speech on social-media platforms. 

In a memorandum describing her emerging bill, state Representative Darisha Parker (D-Philadelphia) wrote that her policy “would require social media network companies to establish and maintain effective and transparent complaint procedures for reporting hate speech content.” She further stated the legislation would “mak[e] it clear that hate speech is unwelcome on social media in Pennsylvania.”

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FIRE Presents ‘Free Cheesesteaks for Free Speech’ to Philadelphians

Bradley Vasoli

On Wednesday, hundreds stopped by Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) tables on 9th Street in South Philadelphia this weekend for two things Philadelphia has generated lots of over the years: cheesesteaks and liberty. 

FIRE, a Philadelphia-based institution since its founding in 1999, held the “Free Cheesesteaks for Free Speech” event as part of a larger $3.1-million pro-free-expression campaign featuring broadcast ads, billboards and digital promotions. The group, which initially focused on fighting speech restrictions on college campuses and recently broadened its mission to include other forums, hopes the effort will raise awareness of ongoing battles to honor the text and the spirit of the First Amendment. 

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Commentary: The Coming Dark Age, Courtesy of our 21st Century Government

Admin

Certain basic functions of everyday life distinguish us from animals. Our use of fire is among them. We cook with it, heat with it, and light the darkness with it. In many ways, fire on the stove is the center of our family life. In days of our ancestors, we even kept wild animals at bay with torches burning hot with the rendered fat of animals.

Now the United States federal government is coming for our fire. It’s to protect the children, the federal government says, through an unelected bureaucrat who wants to regulate gas cookstoves out of existence.

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State Senators Propose Pennsylvania Law Against Social Media Censorship

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania State Senators Doug Mastriano (R-Gettysburg) and Scott Hutchinson (R-Oil City) Thursday announced they would reintroduce a bill proposed in the last legislative session designed to prevent social media platforms from censoring Pennsylvanians. 

Mastriano and Hutchinson introduced the original measure in May 2021. They secured the cosponsorship of four other senators, all Republicans, but the bill did not receive a vote in the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee. The two lawmakers said new developments impelled them to try again in the new session. They cited the recently released “Twitter files,” internal documents pertaining largely to the social-media company’s decision in late 2020 to deny users access to a New York Post story concerning Joe Biden’s son Hunter’s personal computer.

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Michael Knowles After Disinvitation to Speak: University of St. Thomas ‘Pretends to Be Catholic’

Admin

Michael Knowles is now speaking out after he was denied the ability to address students at a St. Paul, Minnesota, college.

In the spring 2022 semester, College Republicans at the University of St. Thomas, a Catholic institution, attempted to invite The Daily Wire host, a practicing Catholic, to speak. The university denied the request due to Knowles’ past statements related to past comments expressing socially conservative opinions.

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Florida A&M University Pushes Policies in Tension with the State University System’s ‘Statement on Free Expression’

Admin

According to official Florida A&M University (FAMU) student residential policy, “[b]ehavior and/or activities that are considered offensive to others that do not constitute ones freedom of expression is prohibited, while in public areas of the residential facilities.”

This is just one of a multitude of FAMU policies that, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), are in tension with the freedom of speech and expression at the school.

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Campus Group in Pennsylvania Calls Surprise $1,800 Security Fee ‘Unfair and Irresponsible’

Admin

After an April 27 event held by the pro-free speech group Uncensored America at Pennsylvania State University, the campus group was hit with more than $1,800 in security fees from the school.

The event was a debate on the topic ‘Ukraine is Evil’, featuring Elijah Schaffer, a reporter for Blaze Media, and Steven “Destiny” Bonnell, a political YouTuber.

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Separate Fires Destroy Two Pieces of Minnesota Agricultural Infrastructure

Admin

A Minnesota barn containing 200,000 chickens and an agricultural equipment dealer both burned down recently in two separate fires.

The chicken barn belonged to Forsman Farms, a major egg producer that sells three million eggs per day. The specific building that was destroyed sat on the company’s Howard Lake farm and was described by a spokesperson as a “substantial facility.” The spokesperson said tens of thousands of chickens were killed, at the very least.

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Professor Canceled Because He Wasn’t Upset over a Fake Racial Bias Incident

Admin
Steven Earnest

A professor at Coastal Carolina University was canceled after he emailed his department questioning their reaction to a perceived racial bias incident that proved to be baseless.

“Free speech and basic civility are disappearing,” the theater professor Steven Earnest told Campus Reform. “So, I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I still am.”

On Sept. 16, a non-White visiting artist working with non-White theatre students at the South Carolina university wrote a list of names on the board so that the students could connect as a group.

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Campus ‘Diversity’ Training Challenged as Unconstitutional Compelled Speech

Admin
Last week, employees from BSEE and its sister agency the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) participated in training sessions offered by the Diversity Change Agent (DCA) team to increase cultural awareness, knowledge, and skills. Topics of the workshops included attitude, inclusion, change management, overcoming stereotypes, and conflict management.

Two public universities responded very differently to recent allegations of unconstitutional “compelled speech.”

Rutgers University’s law school apparently told its student government to ditch a requirement that student organizations host events on critical race theory to be eligible for funding.

The University of Oklahoma, on the other hand, refused to stop requiring faculty and staff, including some graduate students, to complete a diversity training that requires them to say things they don’t necessarily believe.

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Survey: ‘Troubling’ Freedom of Association, Speech Concerns on U.S. College Campuses

The Center Square

A newly released survey of students at over 500 colleges and universities who belong to Greek-letter fraternities and sororities found that the majority of students don’t feel comfortable publicly disagreeing with their professors on a controversial topic.

“Students who aren’t able to freely express ideas among professors or peers are unlikely to realize the full measure of what higher education has to offer,” Nathan Harden, editor of RealClearEducation, said. “Students are equally underserved by campuses where they don’t feel that their student organizations are treated equally or welcomed on campus. Fostering an environment where students are free to explore a diversity of ideas is one of the chief goals of the university – and this includes the right to form voluntary associations based on shared interests or beliefs.”

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Pharmacy Student Sues University of Tennessee for Alleged Free Speech Violations

Corinne Murdock

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) initially expelled a student for content on her personal social media accounts. Officials claimed that the nuclear pharmacy student, Kimberly Diei (’23), used speech that violated the university’s conduct policies, though Diei has claimed they never informed her of which specific policies she’d violated. Neither of her profiles or any of her content identified Diei as a UT student or mentioned the school in any capacity. Only after Diei obtained legal help did the university reverse her expulsion.

Diei was investigated by the school’s Professional Conduct Committee on two separate occasions based on anonymous complaints. The first investigation occurred during Diei’s first month on campus in September 2019 regarding her Instagram and Twitter accounts in general. Following its review, the committee required Diei to write an apology letter. About a year later, Diei came under investigation again and was expelled for posting several explicit tweets referencing pop culture.
Diei was investigated by the school’s Professional Conduct Committee on two separate occasions, instigated by anonymous complaints from other program students. The first investigation occurred during Diei’s first month on campus, September 2019, regarding her Instagram and Twitter accounts in general; the committee required her to write an apology letter. About a year later, Diei came under investigation again and was expelled for posting several explicit tweets referencing pop culture.

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Arrests Made After Looters Targeted Evacuated California Homes During Wildfires

Admin

More than a dozen people have been arrested for looting or planning on looting California homes that have been vacated by those fleeing wildfires, according to a Sunday report.

A total of 13 people have been apprehended as Californians continue to report looting cases, Sheriff Jim Hart told the Associated Press. Thousands have fled their homes in anticipation of wildfires spreading from south San Francisco, AP reported.

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Fire Destroys Much of 249-year-old Church in California

The Associated Press

A fire early Saturday destroyed the rooftop and most of the interior of a Catholic church in California that was undergoing renovation to mark its upcoming 250th anniversary celebration.

Fire alarms at the San Gabriel Mission rang around 4 a.m. When firefighters arrived, they saw smoke rising from the wooden rooftop in one corner of the historic structure, San Gabriel Fire Capt. Paul Negrete said.

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‘I Am Antifa’ Professor Receives Sizeable Payout After Suing Iowa College

Admin

The professor who resigned in 2019 after telling a local news outlet, “I am Antifa” just got a sizeable payout from the college that let him go.

As Campus Reform reported in August, Kirkwood Community College professor Jeff Klinzman posted on his personal social media messages in support of the far-left extremist group Antifa, which President Donald Trump was considering at the time labeling a domestic terror organization. When a local television station contacted Klinzman, he replied, “I affirm I am Antifa,” unleashing nationwide backlash eventually leading to the college making the “decision to remove” him from the classroom.

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