As the 2012 election season begins, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) is reminding college students and faculty across the nation of their right to engage in political speech on campus. FIRE has released an updated and expanded Policy Statement on Political Activity on Campus detailing the protection for political expression enjoyed by students and faculty at public and private colleges nationwide.
Standard of Evidence Survey: Colleges and Universities Respond to OCR’s New Mandate
FIRE has compiled a survey of the standards of evidence employed by the nation’s top colleges and universities in an effort to gauge the impact of the new requirements announced by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). FIRE’s survey demonstrates that OCR’s requirement will have a significant impact on university judicial processes.
FIRE’s ‘One Trick’: Protecting Civil Liberties
FIRE Director of Legal and Public Advocacy Will Creeley responds to recent criticism of FIRE’s efforts on behalf of individual rights on campus. Answering a blog entry written by Rick Olshak, Dean of Students of Illinois State University, Creeley defends FIRE’s position as a respected civil liberties advocate and provides a thorough justification for our opposition to newly proposed guidelines for adjudicating campus sexual harassment and assault cases put forth by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
Brandeis: Still Abusing A Professor
Minding the Campus posted this incisive examination of recent events at Brandeis University authored by FIRE co-founder Harvey Silverglate and Director of Legal and Public Advocacy Will Creeley. Silverglate’s and Creeley’s article takes Brandeis University President Jehuda Reinharz to task for his handling of both the Rose Art Museum fiasco and the case of Professor Donald Hindley.
Policy Statement on Political Activity on Campus
In recent years, political speech on our nation’s campuses has come under sharp attack. FIRE has investigated open and blatant attacks on political expression at colleges and universities across the country, from a previously unreported case at Oklahoma, to better-known cases at Illinois and Texas, to cases at other schools nationwide. This alarming trend towards silencing political expression prompted FIRE to release a Policy Statement on Political Activity on Campus.