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Foundation for Individual Rights in Education

FIRE Update

by Newsletter

Table of Contents
February 25, 2008

1. FIRE Launches Weekly Podcast Series: FIREside Chats
2. Brandeis University Joins Red Alert List; FIRE Releases New Podcast on Case
3. FIRE on the Continuing Situation at the University of Delaware
4. Victory for Free Speech at the University of Utah
5. Recent Media Coverage
6. Recent Posts to The Torch

FIRE LAUNCHES WEEKLY PODCAST SERIES: FIRESIDE CHATS

On February 18, FIRE debuted the first episode of our weekly podcast series, "FIREside Chats." The series focuses on students' rights on campus and FIRE's ongoing casework and events. The podcasts are available on our Multimedia Project page, or on iTunes. To hear the first complete podcast, featuring FIRE's Director of Legal and Public Advocacy Samantha Harris and Campus Freedom Network Associate Director Luke Sheahan, please click here.

BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY JOINS RED ALERT LIST; FIRE RELEASES NEW PODCAST ON CASE

In spite of widespread condemnation from faculty, the media, and the public, Brandeis University remains unrepentant about its mistreatment of Professor Donald Hindley, and today Brandeis joins FIRE's Red Alert list. Brandeis declared Professor Hindley, a nearly 50-year veteran of teaching, guilty of racial harassment and placed a monitor in his classes after he criticized the use of the word "wetbacks" in his Latin American Politics course. Hindley was neither granted a formal hearing by Brandeis nor provided with the substance of the accusations against him in writing. Brandeis's faculty reacted to Hindley's mistreatment with outrage, and Brandeis's actions were roundly condemned by FIRE, the media, and the general public. Brandeis then attempted to sweep the matter under the rug by informing Hindley that it "considers this matter closed," despite the complete lack of due process Hindley was afforded. To make matters worse, Brandeis implied that the reason the matter was closed was because it seemed Hindley—not Brandeis—had learned a lesson. Until Brandeis learns the lesson that it must live up to its stated commitments to free speech and due process, FIRE believes that its students' and faculty members' rights are not secure. For this reason, Brandeis joins our Red Alert list. For more information, listen to our newly released podcast on the topic.

FIRE ON THE CONTINUING SITUATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE

Despite outrage from the national media, students, and civil libertarians, indoctrination is still the goal of the University of Delaware Residence Life (UD ResLife) staff. The UD Faculty Senate's Student Life Committee has rejected a ResLife proposal to run essentially the same, highly politicized "sustainability" program in the Delaware dorms next year. Reports from inside UD agree that ResLife officials are entirely unrepentant. The rejected proposal maintains the intrusive one-on-one sessions with resident assistants (RAs), aims to affect students' "thoughts, values, beliefs, and actions," and includes the inculcation of specific views about "citizenship" for a "global society." The proposal shows that the ResLife directors cannot be trusted to administer any residence life program at UD. The faculty is starting to step in, but ResLife remains the domain of heavy-handed oppressors who seek to use RAs to do what no student should be expected to do to another student.

VICTORY FOR FREE SPEECH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH

The University of Utah—FIRE's February 2008 Speech Code of the Month—has eliminated its unconstitutional speech code and now earns FIRE's most favorable speech code rating, a "green light." Less than a week after the policy was named Speech Code of the Month, administrators from the university's Department of Housing and Residential Education informed FIRE that the posting policy we highlighted was no longer the university's practice and was being removed from the residence life handbook effective immediately. A new handbook has been posted online, and the offending policy is now gone. The policy, which prohibited the posting of any material "deemed to be racist, sexist, indecent, scandalous, illegal, inciting, advertise alcohol or illegal substances, or in any way oppressive in nature," earned the university a poor, red-light rating on FIRE's Spotlight. With that policy now off the books, FIRE has updated the University of Utah's Spotlight entry to a green-light rating for having no policies that inhibit free expression. FIRE is thrilled that the University of Utah has taken the steps necessary to ensure its students' First Amendment rights. We hope that more universities will follow this example.

RECENT MEDIA COVERAGE

Inside Higher Ed, February 25, "Adjunct dismissal questioned," by Scott Jaschik and Doug Lederman

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ABC7 KGO San Francisco, February 22, "Teacher fired over sexual orientation talk," by Lyanne Melendez

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The Michigan Daily, February 20, "Litter, legal ambiguity and your First Amendment rights," by Andy Kroll

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More media coverage at thefire.org »

RECENT POSTS TO THE TORCH

February 25, "Red Alert: Brandeis University," Samantha Harris

February 25, "Rash of Newspaper Thefts Last Week," Emily Guidry

February 22, "Community College Fires Professor for Discussing 'Nature versus Nurture' in Classroom," Adam Kissel

February 22, "You Can't Make This Stuff Up," Samantha Harris

February 22, "Keeping Campus Speech Codes in Perspective: A Response to Eugene Volokh," Kelly Sarabyn

Read The Torch at thefire.org »

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