Daily Archives: March 4, 2015

Ring of Fire on Free Speech TV - 08/31/2014 (FULL EPISODE)

By: Moises Marvin

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Ring of Fire on Free Speech TV - 08/31/2014 (FULL EPISODE) - Video

No War for israel in Iran Keep Americans Safe.
FIRST Uploaded on May 20, 2010 http;//www.davidduke.com DON #39;T LET MY VIDEOS BE CENSORED! Due to organized efforts to stifle free speech and ban my videos -- YouTube restrictions have led.

By: The River Mersey

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No War for israel in Iran Keep Americans Safe. - Video

Free speech on campus
Time to stop indulging privileged militant progressive puritan student bigots. Free speech? Not at four in five UK universities http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/feb/02/free-speech-u...

By: Pat Condell

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Free speech on campus - Video

Aftermath of Free Speech near David Cameron
After a 10 minute "Big Business and War Party" talk in Witney town centre, the angry locals actually called the Police on us. Never have I felt more like a 13th century gibbering heretic who...

By: Charles Veitch

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Aftermath of Free Speech near David Cameron - Video

Turi Munthe

By: Free Speech Debate

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Turi Munthe - Video

College is the place where students should be encouraged to, as Yale promises, "think the unthinkable, discuss the unmentionable, and challenge the unchallengeable." Unfortunately, schools all across the country not only fall short on promises of free expression and academic freedom but openly suppress constitutionally protected speech on campus by using tools such as speech codes to shut down forms of expression that might be uncomfortable, disagreeable, or even offensive to some members of the campus community.

To give a clearer picture of campus censorship, we at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) today announce our fourth annual list of the top 10 threats to free speech on campus.

While I explained in December why I think 2014 might be remembered as the "Year of the Heckler," the most significant event for FIRE last year was the launch of our ambitious and large-scale Stand Up for Speech Litigation Project. In order to try to end the problem of campus speech codes once and for all, students and faculty members worked with the law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine to file lawsuits against six colleges, including Ohio University, Iowa State University, Chicago State University, the University of Hawaii at Hilo, Citrus College in California, and, most recently, Western Michigan University.

We're happy to report that some colleges, like the University of Hawaii at Hilo, were receptive to working with FIRE and our lawyers to swiftly and amicably fix their unconstitutional codes. But as you will see, some colleges, including Chicago State University, acted quite differently.

Note that not every "honoree" is a college or university, the list is presented in no particular order, and several honorees like Brandeis University and the Department of Education are repeat offenders.

Let us know if your school or alma mater should've been on the list, or if you have been censored on campus. FIRE is happy to work with schools to improve their speech codes. You can find more information on our website at http://www.thefire.org.

University of Iowa

Observers were quick to criticize art professor Serhat Tanyolacar's installation of a statue he intended to be anti-racist: a collage of newspaper headlines and images covering instances of racial violence printed on a robe and hood reminiscent of that of the Ku Klux Klan. The University of Iowa (UI), however, responded not with a defense of Tanyolacar's First Amendment rights but by censoring and publicly denouncing the artist for offending students. One public statement proclaimed that there was "no room for divisive, insensitive, and intolerant displays," and UI President Sally Mason publicly apologized to students who felt "terrorized" by the artwork and for failing to provide a "respectful, all-inclusive, educational environment." Despite heavy criticism from FIRE and the National Coalition Against Censorship, UI has shown remarkable indifference to Tanyolacar's First Amendment rights, which most definitely protect the work it brazenly censored. If UI were serious about its legal and moral obligations to protect freedom of speech, it would apologize to Tanyolacar for failing in its duty to reject demands for censorship. And then it would apologize to its students for the exceedingly poor education on freedom of speech it has given them.

U.S. Department of Education

The Departments of Education and Justice mandated an unconstitutional speech code in May 2013 for all colleges receiving federal funding. The federal requirement came as a result of the agencies' year-long joint investigation into the University of Montana's practices and policies regarding sexual misconduct. The resolution of that investigation defined sexual harassment in a shockingly broad way, prohibiting "any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature," including "verbal conduct" (i.e., speech). No wonder Chris Rock said he wouldn't play college campuses anymore! Worse, the resolution was labeled a "blueprint for colleges and universities throughout the country," suggesting that if schools didn't adopt the new definition, they risked losing their federal funding.

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Free Speech on Campus: The 10 Worst Offenders of 2014 ...

Dixie State officials declined to comment Wednesday.

The lawsuit is directed by the Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, part of a nationwide series of lawsuits over free speech issues on college campuses.

"The function of an education is the free exchange of ideas," said Catherine Sevcenko, a lawyer with the group. "You got there to sort of have your ideas tested."

The students Jergins, Joey Gillespie and Forrest Gee say in court documents that the public school requires students to get permission before posting things on campus. They asked to put up three fliers featuring the photos with satirical captions last October. But they say they were denied because the fliers violated school policy by mocking people.

Later that fall, the students wanted to put up "Free Speech Wall" in the center of campus covered with blank sheets of paper for students to write their own messages.

The students say they got four signatures from different administrators required to hold on-campus events, but officials said it had to be held in a designated free-speech zone. The students say the area is a patio in an out-of-the-way spot where few students pass by.

The lawsuit says even fewer people stopped after a police officer came to watch for about 30 minutes, even though they had declined a police presence.

The students also say the event-approval process is arbitrary, pointing to a water-gun fight they wanted to hold to recognize the Second Amendment that was denied by administrators, even though a different water-gun fight was approved.

The lawsuit names seven Dixie State administrators, including President Richard Williams. Dixie State has about 8,600 students.

Young Americans for Liberty is a libertarian-leaning organization associated with former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul.

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Dixie State violates free speech, students say in lawsuit

Students sue, saying Dixie State violates free speech

By Lindsay Whitehurst, Associated Press

March 4th, 2015 @ 4:01pm

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Three Dixie State University students filed a lawsuit Wednesday saying that administrators at the southern Utah college violated their free speech rights by refusing to let them post fliers with satirical pictures of President Barack Obama, former President George W. Bush and the revolutionary leader Che Guevara.

The members of Young Americans for Liberty also say one of their events designed to celebrate free speech was wrongly relegated to a small, out-of-the-way part of the St. George-based campus. The lawsuit filed in federal court seeks damages and changes to rules the students call arbitrary.

"I don't think we have any other options," said plaintiff William Jergins, a 24-year-old senior studying political science, economics and math. "Things like we did, kind of poking fun at public figures, I don't think should be disallowed."

Dixie State officials declined to comment Wednesday.

The lawsuit is directed by the Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. The legal action is part of a nationwide series of lawsuits over free-speech issues on college campuses.

"The function of an education is the free exchange of ideas," said Catherine Sevcenko, a lawyer with the group. "You got there to sort of have your ideas tested."

The students_Jergins, Joey Gillespie and Forrest Gee_say in court documents that the public school requires students to get permission before posting things on campus. They asked to put up three fliers featuring the photos with satirical captions last October. But they say they were denied because the fliers violated school policy by mocking people.

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Students sue, saying Dixie State violates free speech

Reuters

The University of Oxford had to cancel a debate on abortion last year because people objected that both panelists were male.

Concern that the Islamic State militant 'Jihadi John' may have been radicalised while attending a London university has re-stoked the debate about free speech in academic institutions.

Mohammed Emwazi was last week identified as the IS militant who has appeared in numerous beheading videos for IS. Emwazi attended the University of Westminster between 2006 and 2009. Former students have told the press that the university "created a hostile environment towards non-Muslims" and that it was heavily reliant on the income from foreign students, many of whom were Muslim, and so did not sufficiently scrutinise those invited to speak there.

The university has strongly defended the claims. And although the concerns may not prove true, they have prompted the institution to suspend all student events of a "sensitive" nature.

These fears come amid an ongoing debate about the freedom of expression at British universities and it doesn't just apply to religious groups. Recent cases include Oxford University cancelling a debate on abortion last year because people objected to the fact it was being debated by two men. And among the more bizarre examples are Birmingham University's ban on sombreros because they were deemed "racist" and UCL's student union banning the Nietzsche reading group.

Concerns were raised earlier this year by both academics and religious groups about the potential effect of the new Counter-Terrorism and Security Act. Guidance accompanying the Bill, which was issued in January, said universities would have to monitor groups on campus and vet talks and speakers.

While most Christians would support attempts to crack down on radicalisation, there were fears that this could have a negative impact on Christian unions and evangelical organisations hosting events at British universities.

The Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF) said at the time the Bill was being debated that although they supported government efforts to combat terrorism, there needed to be a distinction between Islamist radicalisation and the work of Christian unions. "The basic tenets of the Christian faith have nothing to do with terrorism, so what possible justification can there be for jeopardising time-honoured freedoms in an attempt to counter Islamist threats?" the chairman of the board of trustees John Lenton and director Richard Cunningham said in a joint statement.

Academics also saidin February that the proposed legislation was a threat to freedom of speech and would place an "unenforceable duty on educational institutions". The government responded to these concerns, and proposed amendments to protect the freedom of expression in universities.

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Is extremism putting free speech in UK universities under threat?

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW)-- The Kansas Board of Regents finds itself among the "worst of the worst" abusers of free speech on colleges campuses in the country.

In fact, because the board oversees the state's six universities, it holds a special distinction among the annual top ten list of First Amendment violators, as compiled by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE).

With the exception of U.S. Dept. of Education, which also appeared on the list, every other institution listed was a single college or university. The non-profit foundation noted that, even though it wasn't a college, the Regents still deserved to be included because of "the profound effect they had on campus expression throughout the country last year."

Specifically, FIRE said the Board of Regents "enact(ed) an overly broad policy on the 'improper use of social media.'"

"Our colleges and universities are supposed to be where students go to debate and explore new ideas," said FIRE President Greg Lukianoff.

"But too often the on the modern college campus, students and their professors find their voices silenced by administrators who would rather they be absent from the often contentious marketplace of ideas," he says in the group's report.

Other examples of free speech violation from other schools on the list included a college that wouldn't let a student hand out copies of the Constitution on Constitution Day, then punished a professor who came to the student's defense as well as a university that tried censoring a professor's blog that criticized the school.

Besides the Board of Regents and U.S. Dept. of Education, the other institutions on the list were:

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Watchdog: KS Board Of Regents "Worst Of The Worst" On Free Speech