FIRE
(the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education) has attracted
important support for its open letter asking the Department of Education
to define harassment
narrowly enough to allow genuinely free speech on campus. Many colleges
and universities ban expression that might be considered “offensive” or
cause “embarrassment” or “ridicule.” The January 6 letter, sent to
Russlyn Ali, assistant secretary for civil rights
in the Education Department, has been signed by, among others, the
National Association of Scholars, the Alliance Defense Fund Center for
Academic Freedom, Feminists for Free Expression and ACTA, the American
Council of Trustees and Alumni.
