Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

mahatmakanejeeves

(60,969 posts)
Tue Feb 12, 2019, 02:28 PM Feb 2019

FIRE presents the 2019 edition of its annual list of the 10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech.

{Edited to add the part about Liberty U., due to popular demand.}

YourFiveHatsAreUp Retweeted

FIRE is not quite pleased to present the 2019 edition of our annual list of the 10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech!

Which schools made the list?

https://www.thefire.org/10-worst-colleges-for-free-speech-2019/



10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech: 2019
by FIRE

Last Update February 12, 2019
....

Liberty University (Lynchburg, Va.)

If you promise free speech, you better deliver. Censoring the student newspaper is not delivering.

In 2016, Liberty University President Jerry Falwell, Jr., proclaimed that the university “promotes the free expression of ideas unlike many major universities where political correctness prevents conservative students from speaking out.” What, then, do we make of repeated efforts by the school to censor its student newspaper, the Liberty Champion?

On Aug. 16, WORLD magazine issued a report alleging repeated efforts to silence the Liberty Champion that date back years. WORLD highlighted a 2016 situation when Falwell reportedly cut sports editor Joel Schmieg’s column criticizing President Donald Trump for saying he “grab[s] [women] by the pussy” during a leaked recording from a 2005 filming of “Access Hollywood.”

The censorship continued into 2018 when writer Jack Panyard’s article about unmarried pregnant students was cut before publication. It was his second article to be censored that year. Dean of the School of Communication and Digital Content Bruce Kirk warned Panyard that Liberty intended to restructure the Champion and that Panyard’s position of editor-in-chief would no longer exist, leading four members of the paper to resign. Kirk also reportedly told the Champion’s new staffers:

“Your job is to keep the LU reputation and the image as it is. … Don’t destroy the image of LU. Pretty simple. OK? Well you might say, ‘Well, that’s not my job, my job is to do journalism. My job is to be First Amendment. My job is to go out and dig and investigate, and I should do anything I want to do because I’m a journalist.’ So let’s get that notion out of your head. OK?”

....
1 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
FIRE presents the 2019 edition of its annual list of the 10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech. (Original Post) mahatmakanejeeves Feb 2019 OP
No! NOT LIBERTY!!! underpants Feb 2019 #1

underpants

(186,672 posts)
1. No! NOT LIBERTY!!!
Tue Feb 12, 2019, 02:33 PM
Feb 2019

It’s all about image for them. And it ain’t working...other than bilking money out of the gullible

Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Civil Liberties»FIRE presents the 2019 ed...