Liberty University’s President Defends Right to Censor Student Newspaper
Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. defended his right to censor the university’s student newspaper, arguing that the practice does not violate First Amendment rights to freedom of the press […]
Bakery Awarded $44 Million in Total Damages in Defamation Suit Against Oberlin College
A jury in Ohio awarded $33 million in punitive damages to a local bakery that had sued Oberlin College for libel and slander. The complaint filed in Ohio state court in November 2017, alleged that Oberlin was complicit in supporting and encouraging student protests against Gibson’s bakery following the arrests of three African American students. Oberlin students began protesting the store, passing out fliers calling the bakery “a racist establishment with a long account of racial profiling and discrimination.”
Nonprofit Sues University of Illinois Over “Unconstitutional” Student Policies
Speech First, a conservative legal organization, sued the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign over its free speech policies. The group objects to the University’s position on political pamphlets, its bias reporting system, and its no-contact policy for students accused of bias. “On a regular basis, the University of Illinois sends a clear message to students who wish to engage in political and religious speech: there are some views that are welcome, and others that are not," Speech First President Nicole Neily said in a statement. "Students deserve to be able to express themselves and voice their opinions without fear of investigation or punishment – which is why these policies must be reformed.”
Book Talk Interrupted by White Nationalist Group At Popular D.C. Bookstore
A group of white nationalists disrupted an author’s book talk at a Washington, D.C. bookstore, chanting “this land is our land,” before exiting a few moments later. About a dozen […]
Gene Policinski Commentary: Student Journalism: More Needed Than Ever
The Newseum Institute’s First Amendment expert, Gene Policinski, originally published this commentary on January 31, 2019, on the Newseum blog, and has given First Amendment Watch permission to reprint. In […]
State of the First Amendment Scores a B-
Every quarter the Newseum Institute produces a “report card” on how the current administration is faring on the five freedoms: religion, speech, press, assembly and petition. Thirteen First Amendment experts […]
Wisconsin High Court Sides With Professor In Academic Freedom Case
On July 6, 2018, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that Marquette University breached its contract with a former professor after he lost his job over a critical blog post in […]
Every year the First Amendment Center of the Freedom Forum Institute conducts the State of the First Amendment survey, which examines Americans’ views on freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition, and samples their opinions on contemporary First Amendment issues. The survey, conducted in partnership with Fors Marsh Group, an applied research company, has been published annually since 1997, reflecting Americans’ changing attitudes toward their core freedoms.