I'm quite grateful to Erika Christakis, not only for inviting me to speak at Harvard next Tuesday, but also for writing an excellent piece on the importance of "using your words." In it, Christakis laments that today's college students seem unwilling to engage in meaty debate. When faced...

If those of us who defend civil liberties had to name our greatest historical adversary, the leading candidate could be summed up in two words: moral panic. Moral panic is a sudden, powerful, and often highly exaggerated perception within a society that people or their values are facing a dire...

Earlier today, a federal jury in Georgia found former Valdosta State University (VSU) President Ronald Zaccari personally liable to the tune of $50,000 for violating the due process rights of former student Hayden Barnes.

Barnes was expelled from VSU in 2007 after posting a collage on Facebook mocking...

Looking back at what 2012 had in store for the fight for free speech and basic rights on campus, the best I can say is that it was a mixed bag. There were some encouraging signs along the way, but also many setbacks. For instance, for the fifth straight year,...

In my new book, Unlearning Liberty: Campus Censorship and the End of American Debate, I wanted to include a section with all of the pictures that have been the cause of censorship, controversy, or punishment on campus. Unfortunately, by the time it came to print the book, we...

Two and a half years ago, I announced here on The Huffington Post my intention to write a book. In one week, Unlearning Liberty: Campus Censorship and the End of American Debate will finally hit bookshelves across the country.

When I announced the book--delightfully enough, coinciding...

Did you know that free speech wasn't really valued in the United States until the 1960s?

Hopefully you didn't just say "yes" to that question. But if you did, I can understand why: Ever since the infamous "Innocence of Muslims" video surfaced on YouTube and was used...

Everyone is a blasphemer to someone.

I know it doesn't feel like it. I know it's hard for modern Americans to imagine going to jail (or worse) because of what you believe in your heart, but every single person reading this has a belief that in some part of...

In my 11 years with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), I've learned that fighting censorship on our nation's college campuses isn't just about filing First Amendment lawsuits or reminding colleges -- sometimes quite sharply -- of their promises to protect student speech. It is also important to...

When I posted the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education's (FIRE, where I work) list of the 12 Worst Colleges for Free Speech back in March, we chose not to present the schools in any particular order. But it was no accident that we opened our list with...

Free exchange of ideas is the lifeblood of any university, and for the second year in a row my organization, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), presents its list of the worst colleges and universities for freedom of speech.

Many of the 12 are repeat...

In the nearly five years since I first began blogging about student rights here on The Huffington Post, I've written many times about the incredible case of former Valdosta State University (VSU) student Hayden Barnes, who was expelled from Georgia's VSU in April 2007 for peacefully protesting the...

In what has to be the most hilariously unconstitutional piece of legislation that I've seen in quite some time, senators in the Arizona state legislature have introduced a bill that would require all educational institutions in the state -- including state universities -- to suspend or fire professors...

As I reported back in September, a drama professor at a campus in the University of Wisconsin System appeared to be in danger of losing his job for two posters he had placed outside his door. The first poster included a quote from the beloved yet short-lived science-fiction...

Last week I wrote about a remarkable case of censorship at the University of Wisconsin-Stout (Stout). Stout Professor James Miller was threatened with "disorderly conduct" for posting outside his office door a quote from the beloved yet short-lived sci-fi TV show Firefly, and a second

A time comes in the life of every campus leader when a regrettable or silly mistake is made. If you serve long enough, errors are inevitable, but leaders should be judged not for their errancy, but how they handle mistakes when they do come up. By that measure, let's take...

Freshmen arriving at Harvard this year may not know it, but they are making history -- and not in a good way. For the first time in Harvard's multi-century history, students are being asked to sign a pledge to warm and fuzzy values. Students will pledge...

In my last post, I talked about how Delta Kappa Epsilon's decision not to fight its suspension at Yale University could have serious ramifications for the free speech rights of college students across the country. In this post, I plan to take a step back and explain to...

This will likely come as a surprise to no one: Fraternities consistently produce some of the least sympathetic cases for campus free speech advocates. Those of you who have followed my work over the years know that college students can and do get in trouble for remarkably tame...

Yale University's decision last month to punish a fraternity that made pledges chant offensive slogans was heralded by some as a blow against sexual harassment in the college setting. But it may be the beginning of a new wave of campus censorship of politically incorrect speech. The...