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Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
PAtownhall.com
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
Pennsylvania's Marketplace of Ideas
by Newsletter
August 6
Victory for Free Speech as Third Circuit Issues Ruling against Temple University
On Monday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued an opinion in DeJohn v. Temple University upholding a decision by a federal district court that Temple University's former speech code is unconstitutional. Temple's code prohibited, among other things, "generalized sexist remarks and behavior." In September 2007, FIRE filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the Third Circuit to uphold the lower court's ruling.
Harvey Silverglate Laments the Death of Parody on Campus
In the current issue of The Boston Phoenix, FIRE Co-Founder and Board Chairman Harvey Silverglate decries the downfall of parody and satire as legitimate forms of expression on college campuses. Among the cases from the past twenty years discussed in the piece, titled "Parody Flunks Out," Harvey mentions FIRE's work defending the publishers of the conservative Tufts University newspaper The Primary Source, which was the subject of a harassment investigation following the publication of a satirical Christmas carol. Given the popularity of the satirical newspaper The Onion and television personalities Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert with the college crowd, Harvey notes the disconnect that students face today: "the political arts of parody and satire are, ironically, experiencing a renaissance among the young. But these parodies should come with a warning label to students: don't try this on campus."
FIRE Again Urges Colorado College to Lift Sanction for Parody
In a widely distributed letter, FIRE has called on Colorado College President Richard Celeste to remove the disciplinary letters from the files of two male students who were sanctioned after they posted a parody of a feminist flyer. Celeste never responded directly to FIRE's first letter urging him to respect the school's stated commitment to free expression, but he has falsely claimed that the students were never sanctioned. Since Celeste has recently acknowledged that the appellate committee in the case recommended no sanctions whatsoever, both justice and honesty demand that the disciplinary letters be removed.
Promo Video for Second 'Voices of Vision' Episode Featuring FIRE Now Available
To expand our growing Multimedia Project, we have uploaded a short video that previews the latest Voices of Vision episode featuring FIRE. This two-minute trailer provides a brief glimpse into FIRE's cases at Le Moyne College, where a graduate student was expelled for defending corporal punishment in the classroom, and SUNY Fredonia, where a professor was denied promotion for publicly disagreeing with the university's student conduct policies and affirmative action practices. If you would like to embed or link to this video on your blog or website, it is also available on YouTube and Veoh.
August 5, "DeJohn Decision Garners Widespread Attention," Peter Bonilla
August 5, "DeJohn and the Fate of Speech Codes on Campus," Kelly Sarabyn
August 5, "Third Circuit Lays to Rest a Dangerous Argument and Upholds Rights of College Students," Samantha Harris
August 5, "DeJohn v. Temple: The Facts of the Case," Adam Kissel
August 4, "Victory for Free Speech in DeJohn v. Temple," Kelly Sarabyn
Read The Torch at thefire.org »
Recent Media Coverage
Inside Higher Ed, August 5, "Court strikes down 'overbroad' harassment policy," by Doug Lederman
The Phoenix, July 30, "Parody flunks out," by Harvey Silverglate
Indiana Daily Student, July 30, "The case isn't closed," Staff Editorial
Indiana Daily Student, July 23, "IUPUI chancellor: Race-based incident is 'closed'," by Kaitlin Shawgo
Naples Daily News, July 18, "Editorial: Make sure rules are clear at FGCU," Staff Editorial
More media coverage at thefire.org »
Recent Multimedia Content
Video, Voices of Vision II Trailer
FIREside Chats, Episode 123: John Leo on University Speech Codes at the CFN Conference
FIREside Chats, Episode 122: Speech Codes
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
Jackson State University's harassment policy provides, in relevant part, that "The scope of any form of harassment includes language to physical acts which degrades, insult, taunt, or challenges another person by any means of communication, verbal, so as to provoke a violent response, communication of threat, defamation of character, use of profanity, verbal assaults, derogatory comments or remarks, sexist remarks, racists remarks or any behavior that places another member of the University community in a state of fear or anxiety." This policy is so extraordinarily jumbled that it is impossible to tell exactly what is prohibited—a sure prescription for an unlawful chilling effect on campus speech. Moreover, although the full scope of the policy is impossible to discern, it is clear that much of what is prohibited is constitutionally protected expression. Jackson State's student handbook promises that "[a]s U.S. citizens, students enjoy the same freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, and right of petition that other citizens enjoy." But under the university's current regulations, nothing could be farther from the truth.
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