The purpose of this "Equity by Design" brief is to aid administrators in protecting sexual and gender minority students from discrimination and harassment. Specifically, this Brief presents Title IX's conceptualizations of sex and harassment to identify who is protected, and from what. Further, it discusses how to navigate backlash…

In this engaging interview, John D. Inazu identifies confident pluralism as the way for us to thrive in connection even when divided by deep differences. Since our differences are not just going to go away, we need to learn to live with others with whom we do not agree. Inazu explains that tolerance, humility, and patience are the foundational…

While freedom of speech is a defining characteristic of the United States, the First Amendment right is often regulated within certain environments. For years, schools have attempted to monitor and regulate student communication both within the educational environment and in student use of social media and other online communication tools.…

The U.S. Supreme Court has called America's colleges and universities "vital centers for the Nation's intellectual life," but the reality today is that many of these institutions severely restrict free speech and open debate. Speech codes--policies prohibiting student and faculty speech that would, outside the bounds of campus, be…

Each year, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) conducts a rigorous survey of restrictions on speech at America's colleges and universities. The survey and accompanying report explore the extent to which schools are meeting their legal and moral obligations to uphold students' and faculty members' rights to freedom of speech,…

Each year, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) conducts a rigorous survey of restrictions on speech at America's colleges and universities. The survey and resulting report explore the extent to which schools are meeting their legal and moral obligations to uphold students' and faculty members' rights to freedom of speech,…

Each year, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) conducts a wide, detailed survey of restrictions on speech at America's colleges and universities. The survey and resulting report explore the extent to which schools are meeting their obligations to uphold students' and faculty members' rights to freedom of speech, freedom of…

An examination of recent cases involving press releases and public relations writers indicates that courts have devised several ways, including the use of guidelines set out by the Ollman (from "Ollman v. Evans") four-factor test, to make the distinction between fact and opinion. The four-factor test helps courts to assess (1) whether…

Both the poem "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams and the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights show the power of language as vehicles for message. Using them in class as exercises to look at language and meaning will help students understand the importance of connotation and grammar; the use and validity of sources; and the…

Noting that the "marketplace of ideas" metaphor often used in the study of freedom of speech is drawn from classical economics, this paper cites J. Murray's definition of the concept as "the idea that citizens in a democracy are well served if opinions of all kinds, accurate or inaccurate, are freely circulated." The first…

The establishment of First Amendment protection for statements of opinion has extended the category of protected expression, but judicially created tests for distinguishing fact from opinion provide limited guidance for judges and place little constraint on judicial interpretation of language. In writing the Supreme Court's majority opinion in…

This paper examines the government's authority to regulate indecent broadcasts, beginning with a historical overview of the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) involvement with broadcast indecency and its application in case law. First Amendment considerations are discussed and some suggestions are made regarding how the Commission should…

Discusses a court case involving a student's use of puns in an assembly speech, Shakespeare's use of puns, the relationship between banning offensive words and the censorship of ideas, and the difficulty with placing a ban on the expression of "indecent" puns and double entendre and of deciding what is "appropriate." (EL)

Since freedom of thought and expression is essential in a democracy, censorship of language is rightly regarded as a threat to all other freedoms. Still, it is inevitable that certain restrictions will occasionally be imposed on language in America and in other societies. Restrictions on language date back to the Ten Commandments, which condemned…

The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes of teenagers toward the First Amendment, to compare the attitudes of Florida teenagers with those of non-Florida teenagers, and to compare the attitudes of journalism students with teenagers not in journalism classes. A total of 430 students from Florida high schools and 457 from high…