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@TheFIREorg

31 Aug

NEW REPORT:

“Scholars Under Fire” documents 426 attempts to penalize collegiate scholars for their expression since 2015.

An alarming 74% of the attempts were successful.

Press release:

go.thefire.org/scholars-under…

Database:

thefire.org/research/schol…

We found that these incidents increased significantly in recent years, quadrupling since 2015 and peaking in 2020 at 113 incidents.

This year is on pace to match or exceed 2020’s record.

Other findings:

* Most incidents occur because of speech or expression on social media.

* Campuses where the most targeting incidents occur tend to also have severely restrictive speech codes

* Incidents occur most often in disciplines at the core of liberal arts education.

Read 7 tweets

FIRE

@TheFIREorg

5 Aug

Idaho officials launched a task force to root out liberal "indoctrination" in education. But encountering views you find objectionable isn't a problem in higher ed — it's an indispensable feature.

So far, the task force has come up short in its quest.

go.thefire.org/idahoedfreedom

The task force asked for public comments on indoctrination "to protect our young people." But when reporters sought those comments, the lt. gov.'s office clammed up, claiming a litany of bogus exceptions to public records laws.

FIRE ultimately obtained some of those records.

While a handful of comments cited troubling interactions with students or faculty, the overwhelming majority of the thousands of comments were sharply critical of the task force and its claims of widespread indoctrination.

Read 5 tweets

FIRE

@TheFIREorg

22 Jun

@UofOklahoma

BREAKING:

A recording of an “Anti-Racist Rhetoric & Pedagogies” workshop acquired by FIRE raises alarm bells about the state of free expression and conscience at @UofOklahoma.

go.thefire.org/l/869921/2021-…

@UofOklahoma

@UofOklahoma “I, in this case, usually look for my students who might be, like, entertaining the idea of listening to a problematic argument. Then I say, ‘we don’t have to listen to that.’”

That’s right — even thinking about listening to a disfavored argument is apparently to be discouraged.

One instructor notes that if students use “derogatory remarks, critiques, and hate speech,” as well as “white supremacist ideas or sources,” she will call the student out.

And if it happens again, “report them.”

Read 8 tweets

FIRE

@TheFIREorg

8 Oct 20

@StJohnsU

“Do the positives outweigh the negatives?”

It's a standard question asked of history students.

But when a @StJohnsU prof. posed it to his students about the “Columbian Exchange,” he was removed from his class, investigated, and found guilty of bias.

thefire.org/teaching-histo…

@StJohnsU

@StJohnsU Three days after this lesson, professor Richard Taylor was removed from teaching.

A month later, he was informed he violated the “University’s Policy against Bias, Discrimination, and Harassment."

He was not told which part of the over 2,300-word policy he allegedly violated.

@StJohnsU

@StJohnsU Taylor was denied access to the evidence used to support the finding that he violated university policy.

“St. John’s might want to ask a history professor about other authority systems that would punish you based on vague wrongdoing with no evidence,” said FIRE's @AdGo.

Read 5 tweets

FIRE

@TheFIREorg

7 Oct 20

@duqedu

BREAKING:

Duquesne University fired professor Gary Shank this morning, violating his academic freedom rights.

Shank was on leave following controversy over his utterance of a racial slur in class while discussing why the word is inappropriate.

thefire.org/breaking-duque… @duqedu

@duqedu

@duqedu The professor’s use of the slur was pedagogically relevant and protected under Duquesne’s promises of free expression and academic freedom.

@duqedu

@duqedu Last week, FIRE wrote to @usedgov about this matter, alerting the Department that Duquesne appeared to be substantially misrepresenting the nature of its academic program — and violating its promises to its accreditor — by promising rights it does not provide in practice.

Read 7 tweets

FIRE

@TheFIREorg

17 Jul 20

@FordhamNYC

Once again, @FordhamNYC should be ashamed of itself.

This perennial “worst college for free speech” is now punishing a student who emigrated from China for posting two photos on Instagram ...

thefire.org/fordham-studen…

@FordhamNYC

@FordhamNYC One photo, posted on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, is of the student lawfully holding a gun off-campus, captioned “Don’t Tread on me.”

@FordhamNYC

@FordhamNYC The other photo is of St. Louis police officer David Dorn, who was killed by looters last month.

It's captioned, “Y’all a bunch of hypocrites,” referencing his frustration with what he refers to as “the nonchalant societal reaction over [Dorn’s] death.”

Read 9 tweets

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