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Foundation for Individual Rights in Education

FIRE Update

by Newsletter

July 23
Victory at Southwestern Community College in 'Adam and Eve' Case
The American Humanist Association's (AHA) legal center has reached a settlement in
the case of Steven C. Bitterman, a professor at Iowa's Southwestern Community
College who was fired in September—over the phone—after students complained about
his argument in a Western Civilization course that the biblical story of Adam and
Eve should not be taken literally. Bitterman is satisfied with the settlement. FIRE
helped Bitterman compose a letter to the college in defense of his academic freedom,
and a group of Iowa faculty circulated an open letter on his behalf. Thanks to the
AHA for taking up Bitterman's case and defending academic freedom.

Lawsuit Filed by Professor Fired by San José City College in Nature/Nurture Case
The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) and Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) have filed a
lawsuit on behalf of June Sheldon, a San José City College biologist who was fired
after she briefly discussed aspects of the nature-versus-nurture debate regarding
sexual orientation and a student complained. Although Sheldon denied having said the
wild things the student had accused her of saying, a weak investigation by her dean
(without a proper hearing) led the dean to declare that Sheldon had not been
teaching "science," which led to Sheldon being fired. The lawsuit cites FIRE's
February 6 letter to the San José/Evergreen Community College District and
emphasizes the district's violations of Sheldon's constitutional rights. Thanks to
the ADF and PJI for taking up Sheldon's case and defending academic freedom.

Colorado College President Takes on FIRE, Misrepresents "Monthly Bag" Case Again
Last week, Colorado College (CC) President Richard Celeste blogged in defense of
CC's disgraceful prosecution of two male students following the publication of their
satirical flyer "The Monthly Bag," which has landed CC on FIRE's Red Alert list.
Celeste continues to assert that the sanction letters in the students' files are not
a sanction, and he reveals for the first time that the appeals panel recommended no
sanctions whatsoever. In his appraisal of FIRE, Celeste implicitly faults FIRE's
speech code ratings by noting that only 2% of schools in our recent speech codes
survey have a fully "green" rating, as though this excuses CC's shameful actions.
FIRE is calling on Celeste to admit that the letters constitute sanctions and then
remove them in accordance with the appeals panel recommendation.

Recent Media Coverage

Naples Daily News, July 18, "Editorial: Make sure rules are clear at FGCU"

National Association of Scholars, July 14, "If I Ran the Zoo XI," by Harvey Silverglate

The New York Times, July 14, "IUPUI says sorry to janitor scolded over KKK book," by
Associated Press

Naples Daily News, July 13, "FGCU makes code of conduct changes to protect free
speech," by Candace Braun

More media coverage at thefire.org »

July 23, "This Month in FIRE History: FIRE Defends Student "Shock Jock" at
Occidental College," Claire Jenkins

July 22, "Support FIRE's Cause by Posting Our Speech Code Widgets," Peter Bonilla

July 22, "Victory at Southwestern Community College in 'Adam and Eve' Case," Adam
Kissel

July 22, "Now I'm Offended," Jake Summerhays

July 21, "Lawsuit Filed by Professor Fired by San José City College in
Nature/Nurture Case," Adam Kissel

Read The Torch at thefire.org »
Recent Multimedia Content

Video, Voices of Vision Part II

FIREside Chats, Episode 121: FIRE's Samantha Harris Defines Unprotected Speech

FIREside Chats, Episode 120: Harvey Silverglate on "Changing the Culture"

More multimedia at thefire.org »

2008

The mission of FIRE is to defend and sustain individual rights at America's colleges
and universities.

Speech Code of the Month

Delta State's harassment policy provides that harassment occurs when the work or
learning environment "is one that a reasonable person would objectively find hostile
or abusive or one that the particular person who is the object of the harassment
perceives to be hostile or abusive." Defining harassment on the basis of the
perception of the allegedly harassed individual completely eliminates any semblance
of objectivity in Delta State's harassment policy. In other words, harassment occurs
when either a reasonable or an unreasonable person finds the environment to be
hostile. This means that students at Delta State are at the mercy of the most
sensitive members of the community—if they feel harassed, they have been harassed,
no matter how unreasonable those feelings may be. Delta State's policy stands in
stark contrast to applicable First Amendment law, which Delta State—as a public
institution—is bound to uphold. Moreover, it is a moral outrage. Under this speech
code, students at
Delta State must tailor their expression to avoid offending those with the most
tender sensibilities, a requirement that undoubtedly has a powerful chilling effect
on expression at the university. Delta State's harassment policy undermines the
entire purpose of a university, turning it into a place where people walk on
eggshells rather than the marketplace of ideas it is supposed to be.

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