Daily Archives: September 6, 2013

Jacob Appelbaum - War On The Internet and Free Speech
Jacob Appelbaum speaking out on the current war on the Internet and Free Speech.

By: EducateKnowledge

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Jacob Appelbaum - War On The Internet and Free Speech - Video

Hate speech vs. free speech
One person #39;s free speech is another person #39;s hate speech. Is hate speech allowed to enjoy free speech? An article appearing in The Dallas Morning News reprin...

By: PropagandaBuster

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Hate speech vs. free speech - Video

EUGENE, Ore. The Lane County Board of Commissioners voted to close Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza Wednesday, effective immediately.

This comes after protesters with the group SLEEPS set up tents at the plaza to protest the lack of housing for the homeless.

The protesters moved out after the Boards meeting.

Health concerns were among the biggest issues for the Board. The closure enables crews to clean up the area. But protesters say theyve cleaned up their act.

What Ive invited people to do is come see, says demonstrator Angie Bartow. Even to the county commissioners, I would ask that they would come in and see whats going on, not just kind of take everyone elses word for it.

Lane Countys public health officer did tour the site recently and declared it a public health risk. Police reports also reveal that the area has recently seen a 20-percent increase in serious crime, including drug overdoses and sex abuse.

The last time the county cleared out the plaza was when it was sued and the judge ultimately ruled in favor of the protesters. Thats why, this time around, the county is making sure that this is a public process. Commissioners say theyll also look at updating the county code with details on how the Free Speech Plaza can be used. The Board will take up the issue at another meeting in a couple of weeks.

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Protesters Leave Free Speech Plaza

A federal appeals-court ruling has found that a Washington State University professor who circulated a controversial proposal to revamp the schools communications department was protected by the First Amendment.

A lawyer for the American Association of University Professors, which supported the former WSU professor in a brief, called it a significant ruling protecting the academic freedom of professors at public institutions.

Aaron Nisenson, senior counsel for AAUP, said the degree of free-speech protection afforded to university professors was thrown in doubt by a 2006 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Garcetti v. Ceballos, which restricted the free speech of public employees.

The question in the courts has been, When is speech considered academic speech, that is protected? Nisenson said. This was a significant case in that it further clarified when that speech is protected.

The case involves David Demers, a former WSU communications professor, who distributed a two-page pamphlet in 2007 that outlined a plan to improve WSUs Edward R. Murrow School of Communication. At the time, the future of the school was being debated.

Later, Demers who now teaches at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University sued WSU in U.S. District Court, claiming administrators retaliated against him, in part by giving him negative performance reviews.

The district court said that Demers writings were distributed as part of his official duties and therefore were not protected under the First Amendment. That decision drew on the 2006 Supreme Court ruling which held that public employees acting or speaking in their official capacity were not protected by the First Amendment, Nisenson said.

Demers appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which on Wednesday reversed some parts of the ruling.

In a statement he distributed by email, Demers called it a great victory for those who cherish academic freedom, free-speech ideals and shared governance.

Demers said professors should have the freedom to criticize administrators and their policies, and said the decision bolsters the idea that free-speech protection for professors extends beyond their academic research programs and the classroom. It covers our service role, too.

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Court rules for free speech in former WSU professor’s lawsuit