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Free Speech Org FIRE Blasts Syracuse U. with ‘Lifetime Censorship Award’

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has issued Syracuse University a “Lifetime Censorship Award” — a dubious award reserved for colleges that appear so frequently on the organization’s annual “worst list,” that “they deserve special recognition.” FIRE’s criticism of the university is based on its “unashamed assault on expressive freedoms that has continued despite a pandemic, a new chancellor, lawsuits, and countless FIRE letters, blog posts, and press releases.”

Syracuse University

FIRE: 88 Percent of Universities Restrict Free Expression

A new study by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) found that 88 percent of American colleges maintain policies that restrict speech protected under the First Amendment, and that half of top American colleges and universities maintain policies that restrict online expression protected under First Amendment standards.

Free Speech College

U. of California Spent $800K+ in Legal Battle with Satirical Student Newspaper

The University of California system spent over $800,000 on legal fees during a court battle with a student-led satirical newspaper that came under fire in 2016 when it mocked “safe spaces.” The ACLU filed a lawsuit in 2016 against the University of California over its decision to strip the student newspaper of its university funding. This week, public records revealed that the university spent far more on fighting its students in court than it would have spent if it had simply funded the paper.

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 20: Newly redesigned $100 notes lay in stacks at the Bureau of Engrav

Stockton U. Student Faces Suspension for Zoom Background of President Trump

A student at Stockton University is facing a possible suspension and other disciplinary charges for making his Zoom background a photo of President Donald Trump and for a subsequent political Facebook post defending his freedom of expression, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). According to the university, the image of President Trump caused students “to feel offended, disrespected, and taunted.”

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - DECEMBER 9: President-elect Donald Trump looks on during a rally at the