FIRE Update: February 15, 2006

Table of Contents   February 15, 2006     1. McElroy Demands Reform in Sexual Harassment Policies 2. Apply Now for FIRE Summer Internships! 3. New E-mail Subscription Options 4. Recent Media Coverage 5. Recent Posts to The Torch 6. Upcoming Events MCELROY DEMANDS REFORM IN SEXUAL HARASSMENT POLICIES Fox News columnist Wendy McElroy has penned an important column entitled “Sexual Harassment Policies Need Reform.” She joins FIRE and syndicated columnist Debra Saunders, among others, in criticizing the dangerously overbroad redefinition of sexual harassment recently promulgated by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and present in so many university speech codes. McElroy aptly rebukes the AAUW for “the harm wrought to children by biased reports that lump ‘comments, jokes, teasing, gestures, or looks’ in with real violence.” FIRE salutes Wendy McElroy for bravely drawing attention to the ongoing national scandal of overbroad and vague campus sexual harassment policies. APPLY NOW FOR FIRE SUMMER INTERNSHIPS! We are now accepting applications from undergraduates and law students for FIRE’s Summer Internship Program. FIRE is looking for dynamic, energetic, responsible, and versatile individuals who possess a thorough understanding of FIRE’s mission and work. All FIRE interns work alongside FIRE’s staff in our Philadelphia office and complete substantive work on behalf of rights, liberty, and individual dignity. FIRE’s Summer Internship Program runs from mid-June to mid-August. In addition to daily research and other duties, the program features weekly seminars by experts on campus civil liberties, a mentoring relationship with FIRE staff members, social activities, and outings to attractions in historic Philadelphia. An intern from last summer offers this insight into the program: “Being an intern for FIRE was a great experience. I was able to learn the ins and outs of a nonprofit, explore the East Coast, and defend the Constitution. It’s hard to beat a summer like that.” If you are an undergraduate or law student, please visit FIRE’s internship page at thefire.org/internships for more details about the program, several testimonials from former interns, and application instructions. If you have friends or relatives who you think would be interested in the program, please encourage them to apply! NEW E-MAIL SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS We recognize that the volume of e-mails from FIRE in the past few months has increased as our efforts to defend liberty on campus have broadened and intensified. There are often periods in which it is not unusual for FIRE to issue two or three press releases a week. Since they are breaking news, press releases follow an irregular schedule, but we have averaged about eight to ten a month. We understand that even our most enthusiastic fans and supporters may not have the time to read all the news and updates we send. Therefore, we now offer members of our e-mail list the option to receive this FIRE Update newsletter only. We send the FIRE Update two times a month. By default, all current members of our e-mail list will continue to receive both the FIRE Update newsletter and our breaking press releases. If you would like to alter your subscription choices, please update your preferences on our subscription form or write to us at subscriptions@thefire.org. We appreciate your steadfast interest in FIRE’s mission. We also encourage you to ask your friends and colleagues who would like to receive occasional updates on our work to subscribe to the FIRE Update newsletter. RECENT MEDIA COVERAGE Fox News, February 14, "Sexual Harassment Policies Need Reform," by Wendy McElroy [The AAUW reports] should never be a basis for law or policy.  As Lukianoff observes, this is precisely what has happened. "With millions of students allegedly believing they were 'harassed' by merely rude or bawdy speech, it is no wonder that colleges and universities are inundated with frivolous harassment claims and lawsuits." ·    ·    · Rocky Mountain News, February 14, "On Point: Speak no evil," by Vincent Carroll Here's a current example from Jacksonville State University in Alabama (thanks to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education for the tip): Under "personal abuse," the university policy reads, "No student shall threaten, offend, or degrade anyone on University owned or operated property." No student shall offend anyone? Shouldn't students at least enjoy immunity while ordering lunch in case their request for a cheeseburger offends a passing vegan? ·    ·    · Cybercast News Service, February 14, "DePaul Investigates Mock Bake Sale for Possible 'Harassment'," by Nathan Burchfiel Although Shibley declined to predict the outcome of the DePaul investigation, FIRE has successfully convinced four other universities to allow affirmative action bake sales to continue. Administrators at the College of William and Mary, the University of Colorado-Boulder, Northeastern Illinois University, and the University of California-Irvine all allowed the bake sales to continue after public pressure from FIRE. ·    ·    · National Review, February 13, "The Week" With the help of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education and the Center for Individual Rights, McConnell took his case to court and won, successfully arguing that his school had acted in bad faith: It had promised him freedom of expression and then expelled him when he expressed himself. ·    ·    · Newsday, February 9, "Sexual harassment commonplace on college campuses, study says," by Olivia Winslow The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a nonprofit group that is based in Philadelphia and often engages in campus free-speech and academic issues, criticized the report for a definition of sexual harassment -- "unwanted and unwelcome sexual behavior that interferes with your life" -- that was "so broad that the report's conclusions are highly misleading and dangerous to free expression on campus." ·    ·    · The Stanford Review, February 6, "Stanford Review Indicted," by Ryan Tracey The distribution on January 21 followed a string of events that occurred after a majority of students supported an advisory referendum to change the distribution policy in last year’s Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) election. In response to the referendum, the ASSU Senate met with RFs, ResEd, and passed a bill asking for a change in the policy. Since then, The Review published an op-ed and news piece about the policy. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) subsequently cited the news article in a “spotlight” on Stanford. Yet, after all of these efforts, the policy remains intact. ·    ·    · Agape Press, February 2, "FIRE Doubts New Report's Campus Sexual Harassment Stats," by Jim Brown "To have a study that includes things that are actually, in some cases, criminal acts on the same continuum of someone cracking a joke that someone doesn't happen to find funny -- it just shows how detached from reality this study actually is," Lukianoff says. Harassment, he contends, is the most abused rationale for censoring clearly protected expression on campuses today. ·    ·    · Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire, Wis.), February 2, "Speaker was shocked by RA-Bible study ban," by Mary Steigmeir "Being offended is what happens when you have your deepest beliefs challenged," he said. "If you have not been offended by the time you graduate from college, ask for your money back." ·    ·    · The Spectator (UWEC), February 2, "FIRE president speaks on campus," by Brian Reisinger Restricting free speech to prevent people from feeling offended or uncomfortable should not be the prerogative of government or its affiliates, said Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. ·    ·    · Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, February 2, "Harassment report flawed from get-go," by Greg Lukianoff By defining harassment to include speech protected by the First Amendment, the report elevates personal feelings over fundamental freedoms. As its authors freely admit, “What may be a laughing matter for one student may be offensive to another.” Students living with such a definition of harassment would be at the mercy of every other students’ sensitivities. ·    ·    · More media coverage at thefire.org » RECENT POSTS TO THE TORCH February 15, "The UW Waiting Game Begins," Charles Mitchell February 15, "Newspaper Theft at Troy University: Facebook Article Involved?," Robert Shibley February 14, "Happy Valentine’s Day—Harasser!," Charles Mitchell February 10, "DePaul, Meet Kutztown," Charles Mitchell February 9, "Free Speech Suffers a Near-Miss at LSU," Tara Sweeney Read The Torch at thefire.org » UPCOMING EVENTS April 22: Conference at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communications, Los Angeles. Hosted by the California Association of Scholars, the conference is cosponsored by FIRE, NAS, CAS, Pacific Legal Foundation, Intercollegiate Studies Institute, Pacific Research Institute, and American Council of Trustees and Alumni. FIRE Chairman Alan Charles Kors will deliver the keynote address. Panels will discuss the nature and causes of the decline in intellectual quality and openness to ideas caused by politicization of the campuses and educational faddism; the effects of this problem on teaching and learning; and proposed remedies to this problem. For more information on the program and registration, please contact CAS Executive Director Rick White. (Kors) More upcoming events at thefire.org » About This Newsletter This newsletter may be redistributed in its entirety. If you would like to subscribe to receive future newsletters, please sign up here. Please direct any comments or questions concerning this newsletter to: subscriptions@thefire.org. 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