Tag Archives: Free speech

Clark drops Holocaust scholar Finkelstein

Boston Globe: Clark drops Holocaust scholar
Schedule conflict, controversy cited

Clark University canceled a campus talk scheduled for later this month by controversial Holocaust scholar Norman Finkelstein, saying his presence “would invite controversy and not dialogue or understanding,” and would conflict with a similar event scheduled around the same time.

The Clark University Students for Palestinian Rights, a student-run group on the Worcester campus, had arranged for Finkelstein to speak on April 21, said Tom MacMillan, the group’s president. School administrators, however, contend the topic and the timing conflict with a similar university-sponsored event.

Md. Lawmakers Vote to Require Reports on University Porn Policies

Washington Post: Md. Lawmakers Vote to Require Reports on University Porn Policies

Budget negotiators from the Maryland General Assembly agreed this afternoon to require reports from public universities about their policies on displaying or screening pornographic films. But the provision adopted by lawmakers does not make university funding contingent on the report.

Ward Churchill’s $1 Damage Award Said to Have Been Product of Jury Compromise

The Chronicle News Blog: Ward Churchill’s $1 Damage Award Said to Have Been Product of Jury Compromise

Thursday’s jury verdict in Ward Churchill’s lawsuit against the University of Colorado has given rise to a mystery: How is it that a jury could rule that the university had acted illegally in firing Mr. Churchill, and yet still award him only $1 in damages?

Jury Says Ward Churchill Was Wrongly Fired

The New York Times: Jury Says Professor Was Wrongly Fired

DENVER — A jury found on Thursday that the University of Colorado had wrongfully dismissed a professor who drew national attention for an essay in which he called some victims of the Sept. 11 attacks “little Eichmanns.”

Ward Churchill, who was a tenured professor at the University of Colorado, left, walked with his lead attorney David Lane out of the courtroom after a jury ruled that he was wrongly fired by school administrators, on Thursday.

But the jury, which deliberated for a day and a half, awarded only $1 in damages to the former professor, Ward L. Churchill, a tenured faculty member at the university’s campus in Boulder since 1991 who was chairman of the ethnic studies department.

BC won’t air Ayers lecture by satellite

Boston Globe: BC won’t air Ayers lecture by satellite
Decision frustrates student organizers

Boston College, citing pressure from Brighton residents and Boston police officers, refused to allow former radical William Ayers to deliver a student-sponsored lecture via satellite yesterday, frustrating student organizers who accused the college of sacrificing academic ideals to assuage public anger.

Court Upholds Dismissal of Delaware State Professor

Inside Higher Ed: Court Upholds Dismissal of Delaware State Professor

A federal appeals court on Friday upheld Delaware State University’s firing of a professor, Wendell Gorum, after he was found to have changed grades and enrollment status in official university records for 48 students. Gorum claimed that he was fired in retaliation for certain statements he made in the context of his job duties — statements that disagreed with administration positions. The court rejected Gorum’s free speech claims, citing a Supreme Court ruling in 2006 that limited the free speech rights of public employees when they are speaking on job-related matters, not simply speaking as public citizens. That decision has concerned advocates for public college faculty members, fearing that they could be punished for criticizing administrators. In the Delaware State case, however, the appeals court found that Gorum’s conduct changing grades would have led to his firing, for legitimate reasons, even if he had never spoken out in ways that may have offended the administration. Gorum’s actions changing grades, the court found, showed “disregard for the academic integrity of DSU.”

Ayers video conference canceled, students to hold lecture on academic freedom in its place

BC Heights: Ayers video conference canceled, students to hold lecture on academic freedom in its place

The Boston College administration has decided not to allow a video conference with Bill Ayers, who was scheduled to speak in person at the University tonight, to take place on campus. The event was originally organized by the BC chapter of Americans for Informed Democracy (AID); it was canceled on Friday out of what a statement from the Division of Student Affairs cited as “concern for the safety and well being of our students and respect for the local community where the alleged actions of the Weather Underground continue to reverberate today.”

Ayers BC speech moved off campus

Boston Globe: Ayers to speak at BC via satellite link

In an example of what a student organizer referred to as “academic freedom for the 21st century,” William Ayers, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and former member of the Weather Underground Organization, will address Boston College students – but not on campus. After administrators on Friday cancelled Ayers’ appearance, scheduled for this evening, students scrambled to find an off-campus venue, said Melissa Roberts, vice president of the College Democrats of Boston College. They found a large enough location at the last minute, Roberts said, so Ayers will speak via satellite from Chicago. The talk, which is open only to BC students, faculty, and staff, will be held at 6 p.m. in Devlin Hall.

Ayers Banned in Boston

Inside Higher Ed: Banned in Boston

The norm for protests over a William Ayers appearance on campus these days is for conservative critics to say that the University of Illinois at Chicago professor shouldn’t be given a forum to speak because of the past violence of the Weather Underground, of which he was once a leader.

At Boston College, the debate has taken a new twist — with the college calling off a talk by Ayers planned for tonight and citing a police killing that has never been definitively linked to the Weather Underground and that Ayers and others insist his group had nothing to do with. Nonetheless, that 1970 police killing is still associated by many in Boston with the Weather Underground and remains a political flashpoint — as became clear on Friday.

Michael Graham, a local talk radio host, started calling on Boston College to revoke the invitation to Ayers, and he encouraged alumni, donors and others to call the college to demand that it deny Ayers a forum. Graham repeatedly linked Ayers and the Weather Underground to the 1970 killing of Walter Schroeder, the police officer, who was responding to a bank robbery by a group of radical students. Schroeder left a wife and nine children. His killing is periodically back in the news, and last received extensive coverage in 1993, when Katherine Ann Power — one of those involved in the incident, who had evaded capture and lived under another name — turned herself in.

Universities Are Betraying Their Central Mission


This poster for Israeli Apartheid Week was taken down by staff at Carleton University & the University of Ottawa.

CAUT Bulletin: Universities Are Betraying Their Central Mission

Over the past few weeks, CAUT has become aware of a number of disturbing cases in which university administrations have limited or suppressed debate on controversial issues. Whether it is banning posters or noisy demonstrations, we believe such heavy-handed actions constitute a clear threat to the purpose of post-secondary education.

Not surprisingly, the failures involve bitterly contentious issues. One is Middle East politics. Last month Carleton University and the University of Ottawa banned a student organization poster for Israeli Apartheid Week because the universities felt it too provocative. The poster, by noted political cartoonist Carlos Latuff, shows a stylized Israeli warplane firing a missile at a child holding a teddy bear and standing on ground emblazoned with the word “Gaza.” York University has gone even farther, invoking a noise policy to justify handing club suspensions and fines to student organizations that held counter-protests for and against Israeli

Anti-abortion activists defy university

The Calgary Sun: Anti-abortion activists defy university

Potential new trespassing charges didn’t scare away anti-abortion crusaders who are back at the University of Calgary campus with their controversial display.

Washington: Denial of tenure spurs grievance, accusations; Clark College newspaper adviser suspects retribution

The Columbian: Denial of tenure spurs grievance, accusations

Clark College newspaper adviser suspects retribution

Clark College got a surprise in 2006-07 when the new faculty adviser for the school’s student-run newspaper pushed an aggressive, investigative style that pleased some on campus but chafed at several administrators.

Edgy stories and editorials in The Independent questioned campus security, the competence of student advising and top-level decisions to eliminate academic programs or trim services in response to the current deep state budget crisis.

Obama Must Tread Fine Line on Scholars Barred From the U.S. for Their Views

The Chronicle: Obama Must Tread Fine Line on Scholars Barred From the U.S. for Their Views

Imagine a world where people can say whatever they want but are forced to wear earplugs at all times. What value would free speech have? The First Amendment does not just protect our right to express ideas; it protects our right to take them in. Its whole point is to ensure access to the thoughts of others, based on a belief that a successful democracy requires an informed citizenry and open debate.

Nursing Student Sues After U. of Louisville Expels Her for Online Posts About Patients

The Chronicle News Blog: Nursing Student Sues After U. of Louisville Expels Her for Online Posts About Patients

A former nursing student at the University of Louisville sued the institution in federal court yesterday, alleging that it had violated her free-speech and due-process rights by expelling her for her posts on MySpace, where she wrote about her patients, gun rights, and abortion, among other issues.

Explosive Problem for the University of Louisville – Nursing Student Expelled for MySpace Blog

PageOneKentucky.com: Explosive Problem for the University of Louisville – Nursing Student Expelled for MySpace Blog

On Thursday, March 5th we learned that a nursing student at the University of Louisville was expelled because of a post on her MySpace account.

And it’s official. A law suit was filed today alleging the University has violated rights to free speech.

Washington: Spokane college sued for blocking anti-abortion display

Seattle Times: Spokane college sued for blocking anti-abortion display

The Alliance Defense Fund filed a lawsuit on behalf of a Spokane Falls Community College student after she and other students were denied permission to put on an anti-abortion event on campus and were told they might be expelled if they proceeded.

Spokane Falls Community College student Beth Sheeran and several fellow Christian students wanted to put up an anti-abortion display and distribute fliers on campus in January to mark the 36th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision.

Peking Uni transfers outspoken prof to west China

AP:  Peking Uni transfers outspoken prof to west China

BEIJING (AP) — University authorities reassigned an outspoken Beijing law professor to teach in remote western China — a move he said Thursday may be retaliation for his signing a landmark petition calling for political reform.

He Weifang said administrators at elite Peking University in Beijing approached him earlier this year about transferring to the Central Asian border region of Xinjiang. Though the school frequently sends professors to remote schools for stints, He said he was given no explicit reason for the move.

Canadian groups wage campaign against Israel Apartheid Week

Jerusalem Post: Canadian groups wage campaign against Israel Apartheid Week

Israel activism groups in Canada launched a viral campaign this week called “Students for Peace on Campus” to battle Israel Apartheid Week (IAW).

In just the second day of the week-long series of anti-Israel events, Canada’s Center for Israel Activism and the Hasbara Fellowship and Hillel of Greater Toronto combined their efforts to set up a Web site and distribute YouTube videos aiming to “spread awareness and combat this unacceptable atmosphere on college campuses.”

Canadian universities blasted for ban on anti-Israel ‘apartheid’ poster


Haaretz: Canada schools blasted for ban on anti-Israel ‘apartheid’ poster

Two Canadian universities came under criticism this week for banning a poster which is seen to be depicting Israelis as child-killers and accusing Israel of apartheid. Brazilian politicians and scholars, meanwhile, lambasted a recent student exchange accord between Tel Aviv University and a Catholic academy from Sao Paulo.

Canada: Middle East tensions flare at universities

Globe and Mail: Middle East tensions flare at universities

Tensions over the conflict in the Middle East are igniting a fierce debate at Canadian universities, raising questions about freedom of speech and the rights of students to feel welcome and safe on campus.