The First Amendment & Campus Speech: Navigating Your Rights
With schools nationwide embroiled in conflict amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, we compiled our campus speech educational materials and coverage for students and educators.
FIRE’s Will Creeley on Campus Speech Controversies Amid Israel-Hamas War
In an interview in January, FIRE's legal director Will Creeley discussed the First Amendment questions surrounding recent campus controversies.
Panel Discussion: Leading Experts on Campus Speech Controversies
Moderator Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, was joined on stage by Jeannie Suk Gersen, professor of law at Harvard Law School; Nadine Strossen, professor of law at New York Law School and former ACLU president; and Will Creeley, legal director at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
The Supreme Court's ruling in Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. was a big victory for cheerleader Brandi Levy. Still, George Washington Law Professor and student speech expert Catherine J. Ross warns that the decision left unanswered many questions regarding school's authority to regulate off-campus speech.
Supreme Court Rules that Student’s Off-Campus Speech Is Protected By the First Amendment
In an 8-1 decision on June 23rd, the Supreme Court ruled that a student’s off-campus speech was protected by the First Amendment. The case, Mahanoy Area School District v B.L., involves a message posted on Snapchat by a then-14 year old student identified as “B.L.”, after she learned she failed to advance from the junior varsity to the varsity cheerleading squad. The message, posted on a Saturday afternoon when she was off-campus, stated, in part, “f*** cheer, f***everything.”
First Amendment Watch and FIRE Release New Campus Speech Modules
As the end of the current semester quickly approaches, First Amendment Watch and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education are already thinking ahead to this fall’s freshman orientation season on America’s college campuses. Use our latest orientation modules to talk about student press freedom and student's online speech rights.
Campus Speech Module: Student’s Online Speech Rights
In this module we discuss what students can expect when they speak online, as well as how they can respond productively and effectively to views they find distasteful. We also discuss the proper role of college administrators, who can be a resource for students to help guide discussion, without engaging in restrictive practices and censorship.
Campus Speech Module: Recommended Common Reads from FIRE and First Amendment Watch
Choose from a selection of fiction and non-fiction titles with free expression themes. This reading list is great for administrators looking to assign summer reading, faculty members building syllabi, and student reading groups.