Heated battles over free speech have erupted on college campuses across the United States in recent months. Some of the most prominent incidents involve efforts by students to prevent public appearances by speakers espousing controversial viewpoints. Efforts to silence offensive speakers on college campuses are not new; in these endeavors, one can…

One central aspect of a healthy democracy is the practice of democratic dissent. For the first time in many years, dissent is being widely practiced in town hall meetings and on street corners across the United States. Despite this presence, dissent is often suppressed or omitted in the prescribed, tested, hidden, and external curriculum of US…

Reviews court cases and current issues involving nonverbal communication and the First Amendment. Concludes that many modes of nonverbal expression have won a firm place under the umbrella of protection of the First Amendment but that some modes (flag and draft card burnings, economic boycotts, and coercive persuasion) still raise troublesome…

We are in the midst of a genuine First Amendment Crises. Government officials, who are totally immune from libel or slander suits for anything they write or say or do in office, are free to sue the people they are supposed to serve. Examples are provided. (RM)

The Connick vs. Myers Supreme Court decision regarding public employees' right to express themselves has been applied to public schools in two recent federal court cases. The rulings suggest school boards may discipline school employees for disputes over internal office matters but must tolerate their dissent over public matters. (DCS)

Examines the hecklers and their tactics as well as the major candidates' strategies for dealing with this phenomenon during the 1968 campaign. Assesses the heckling's legitimacy in light of the First Amendment which protects the rights of both the hecklers and speakers to be heard. (JMF)

Discusses libraries and issues relating to censorship, social protest, and First Amendment rights. Topics addressed include materials selection based on objective criteria; removing inappropriate material; intellectual freedom; limited versus absolute censorship; and possible errors in selection decisions. (LRW)

Images of heretics burning at the stake or of traitors being drawn, hanged, and quartered for disloyalty to the king seem well removed from twenty-first century America. Yet the laws that defined these offenses--which included heresy and blasphemy, sedition and treason--were at the heart of some of the most significant debates defining the shape…

Contends that, although religious freedom is a key feature of U.S. democracy, it has had a relatively short and modern history. Discusses the issues, court opinions, and historical significance of the 1940 "Minersville School District v. Gobitis" U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding Jehovah's Witnesses and the Pledge of Allegiance to…

Presents a simulation in which a student political action committee organizes to protest budget cuts affecting their high school. Seeks to engage students in legal reasoning over First Amendment issues. Poses possible protests, then asks students whether they believe First Amendment rights would protect them. Includes Supreme Court precedents for…