It has also been involved in at least two lawsuits alleging campus discrimination against conservatives -- one supported by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, and another in which the group was represented by the anti-LGBTQ hate group Alliance Defending Freedom. FIRE, by contrast, raised under $16 million in its last fiscal year. The Times Jennifer Schuessler reported last weekend that although [t]he conventional wisdom surrounding American college life these days views campuses as hotbeds of intolerance for free speech, the PEN report questions that story line while warning of a different danger: a growing perception among young people that cries of free speech are too often used as a cudgel against them., In other words, one thing threatening freedom of expression on campus is the free speech crusade itself. Other students praised Hindley's pedagogical approach as encouraging "students to face racist narratives head on" and that any disagreement "is a dispute for students and faculty to solve through rational dialogue, not one for the administration to settle in secret inquisitions. No. FIRE wrote a letter to the Temple administration hinting at the possibility of legal action. [30], FIRE has challenged "free speech zones" on college campuses, claiming they are unconstitutional restrictions on First Amendment rights. The school suspended it. ', "Comedy, Outrage, and Free Speech: Can We Take A Joke is Available for Download Now! In addition to pushing hate in state laws, court cases, and public schools, ADF has also represented Turning Point USA in at least one lawsuit alleging campus discrimination against a conservative student, and has partnered with chapters of Students for Life to create draft legislation for newly elected Republican legislatures in 2010. Tel: 215-717-3473; Fax: 215-717-3440; e-mail: fire@thefire.org; Web site: http://www.thefire.org Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive Education Level: High Schools; Higher Education Audience: N/A Language: English Sponsor: N/A (Response due August 20, 2021) Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, et al. 2018, the petition had 89,488 signatures); and Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Letter to Fresno University President Joseph Castro, . Students for Liberty is a network of pro-liberty students from all over the world that claims to organize almost 3,000 local student groups and 1,400+ leaders around the world in training students to become a new generation of libertarian leaders. Email . FIRE receives substantial funding from a handful of conservative private donors, including $3.5 million from anonymous conservative donors through Donors Capital Fund and DonorsTrust, $1.3 million each from the right-wing Bradley Foundation and Sarah Scaife Foundation, and about $1 million between the Charles Koch Foundation and F.M. [4] [5] [6] Founded in 1946 in New York City, FEE is now headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The F.M. 21-84. v. Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. ), predatory lending, and ever more intrusive, degrading consumer marketing. to respond filed. FOUNDATION FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS IN EDUCATION (FIRE) Address: 170 S INDEPENDENCE MALL W. PHILADELPHIA, PA 19106. OKeefe also regularly incites his loyal internet followers to practice their own brand of investigative journalism. He takes pleasure in targeting college campuses that he perceives as suppressing free speech. In 2015, Project Veritas released a video purporting to show administrators at several colleges and universities literally shredding a copy of the Constitution in response to an undercover actor posing as a student upset by the document. [83] The ad campaign came in response to Emerson investigating and suspending the campus chapter of Turning Point USA, which distributed stickers featuring a hammer and sickle with the caption "China Kinda Sus" (slang for "suspicious"). Media Matters has mapped out some of the biggest actors behind astroturf conservative campus activism, creating an echo chamber of seemingly grass-roots right-wing student media and campus groups that are actually propped up by a handful of the same conservative funders and, sometimes, even prominent hate groups. Young Americas Foundation is a nonprofit that bills itself as the principal outreach organization of the Conservative Movement by providing essential conferences, seminars, educational materials, internships, and speakers to young people across the country. Its primary projects include preserving Ronald Reagans California ranch, operating the National Journalism Center to train aspiring journalists in the values of balanced reporting (Ann Coulter and Greg Gutfeld are alumni), and running its Center for Entrepreneurship & Free Enterprise. An upcoming conference at Bard College could shed important light on the right-wing funders behind a deceptive campaign to protect free speech while advancing conservative ideology on liberal campuses. One thing threatening freedom of expression on campus is the free speech crusade itself. 03/01/23 9:41 PM EST, Video & Audio In 2020, FIRE released Mighty Ira, a laudatory documentary film about Romeros predecessor, Ira Glasser, focusing on the ACLUs work from the 1970s through the 1990s. According to Brandeis's student press, Hindley was rumored to have used the epithet "wetback". To say the least, we have not solved the campus free-speech problem, but we started to realize if we wanted to save free speech on campus we have to start earlier and we have to do things not on campus, the groups president, Greg Lukianoff, said. It was renamed Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, keeping the acronym FIRE. ADF has also long opposed anti-bullying efforts in schools, decrying any anti-bullying policy that includes sexual orientation or gender identity. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization that defends free expression rights in the United States, with a special focus on college students and faculty. Most people of the current generation lack a sense of the historical sweep of the intellectual side of the right-wing collectivist position. This year, CPAC was embroiled in controversy for inviting -- and then rescinding the invitation of -- Milo Yiannopoulos, former Breitbart tech editor and serial harasser. YALs foundation arm appears to receive the bulk of its funding from the Charles Koch Foundation and DonorsTrust. This beacon provides an assessment of a charity's financial health (financial efficiency, sustainability, and trustworthiness) and its commitment to governance practices and policies. FIRE contends that since it debuted in 1999 it has won over 500 public victories for students and faculty members, secured 425 campus policy changes, and helped drive down the prevalence of highly-restrictive campus speech codes. Confronted with this picture, Lukianoff will undoubtedly accuse a questioner of assigning guilt by association, and cite FIREs occasional departures from the conservative line. FIREs new expansion is also a challenge of sorts to the ACLU, which has faced criticism in recent years for drifting from its unapologetically pro-free-speech roots and taking a more direct role in partisan political fights. Students for Liberty is largely funded by a network of anonymous conservative donors through DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund, along with several Koch-affiliated groups. Don't fire an academic over tweets", "Bar Group Wants Prof Fired For 'Lesser Black Woman' Tweets", "NBA star tests NBC again with freedom speech", "Free speech makes people free. Students for Life of America (also known as Students for Life or SFLA) is an anti-choice group primarily focused on supporting a young generation of what it calls abortion abolitionists on campuses. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education is renaming itself the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and keeping the FIRE acronym as it launches a drive to promote greater acceptance of a diversity of views in the workplace, pop culture and elsewhere. FIRE took the side of the student. "[4][16][11], FIRE is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with another office in Washington, D.C.[17][18], Greg Lukianoff serves as president and CEO; Robert Shibley previously served as executive director. The ACLU later recalibrated its free-speech advocacy, urging that its lawyers considering what cases to take also consider offense to marginalized groups. Romero also said it would not defend those seeking to engage in protests while armed. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images. YAL also hosts an annual conference; the 2016 conference featured speakers includingformer Rep. Paul, Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), and Fox News Andrew Napolitano. Politico also wrote that FIRE would spend $10 million on "planned national cable and billboard advertising featuring activists on both ends of the political spectrum extolling the virtues of free speech. The Foundation for Economic Education ( FEE) is an American conservative, libertarian economic think tank. Waiver of right of respondent United States to . [9] [10] [62][63] The school eventually agreed to rewrite its speech policies, paying $650,000 to settle the lawsuit. Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. Reports indicate that the Charles Koch Foundation is one of several Koch funding groups donating to universities and think tanks to forward their political goals and to build a talent pipeline of libertarian-minded students. The foundation supports free-market teachings at the university level, including by funding individual faculty positions. [45] In 2011, FIRE opposed the Education Department's "Dear Colleague" letter that urged universities to use a "preponderance of the evidence" standard instead of the criminal justice system's "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard in sexual assault cases. Do I believe bad actors are abusing this? [14][third-party source needed] FIRE has been described as a competitor of the larger ACLU. We must defend all speech without apology | Opinion", "The Coddling of the American Mind review how elite US liberals have turned rightwards", "The Coddling of the American Mind 'Is Speeding Up', "ACLU free-speech icon Ira Glasser profiled in new film", "Free to State with Paul Clement, Jonah Goldberg, Stephen Hayes & Nadine Strossen", "Pierce College's 'free speech zone' will expand after LA Community College District settles lawsuit with student", "Georgia passes law banishing free speech zones", "U. of Delaware Halts Residence-Life Program That Was Criticized as 'Thought Reform', "A-T challenges UMC interview guidelines", "FIRE Demands Dartmouth Rescind College Republicans Fee | Inside Higher Ed", "UC Berkeley to settle free speech lawsuit for $70K", "Campus security bills for speakers challenged", "Lawsuit says WMU policies restrict free speech, prevented Boots Riley visit to campus", "WMU to pay $35,000 to settle free-speech lawsuit filed by Kalamazoo Peace Center", "Student sues university over 'no-contact' orders after Christian statements", "Conservative Students Sue Clovis Community College | Inside Higher Ed", "USF student, professor file lawsuit challenging Florida's 'Stop WOKE Act', "PolitiFact - Trump's education pick donated to Philly group with controversial campus rape stance", "Former U-Va. law student files suit challenging federal sexual assault directive", "2011 Dear Colleague Letter Critic Adam Kissel Hired by Dept. The video didnt make much of a splash.. Those doctrines have themselves become dangerous to democracy via casino-style financing (Donald Trump, anyone? Dunn's Foundation for the Advancement of Right Thinking: Foundation for Individual Rights in Education: $30,000: 2010 + 64: Earhart Foundation: Foundation for Individual Rights in Education: $35,000: Foundation for Individual Rights in Education is funded by John Templeton Foundation. It has an annual budget of more than $48 million and a network of more than 3,000 allied attorneys involved in litigating so-called religious freedom cases and spreading dangerous lies about LGBTQ people. Copyright 2023 | The American Prospect, Inc. | All Rights Reserved, The Alt-Labor Chronicles: Americas Worker Centers, The Conservatives Behind the Campus Free Speech Crusade, What the Campus Free Speech Crusade Wont Say. The foundation for individual rights in education's mission is to defend and sustain the individual rights of students and faculty members at america's. As a hellman fellow, law students will have the opportunity to work with fire',s civil rights attorneys, advancing fire',s mission to defend freedom of speech, expression, and. [69], FIRE has criticized Columbia University's sexual misconduct policy;[70] according to FIRE, the policy "lack[ed] even the most minimal safeguards and fundamental principles of fairness". Im more afraid of top-down attempts to control Twitter than I am of the cultural harm it produces.. He nearly missed getting his diploma", "Just kidding! The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), formerly known as the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, is a non-profit civil liberties group founded in 1999 with the aim of protecting free speech rights on college campuses in the United States. But FIRE itself poses one of those threats when it waves its free speech banner in virtual lockstep with a broader conservative class and culture war against the democratic rights it purports to protect. Lukianoffs boards of directors and advisers include such prominent free-market conservatives as George Will and T. Kenneth Cribb, who was assistant for domestic affairs to President Ronald Reagan and a former president of the conservative Intercollegiate Studies Institute, which trains students to counter liberal threats to the market economy.. [1] Kors served as FIRE's first president and chairperson. Which funding types raised the most money? Lukianoff, a First Amendment lawyer who left the ACLU to head FIRE, claims that hes a liberal Democrat, but his work depends on the conservative grant makers, board members, and associations mentioned above. Although the details are purposely obscured, its likely that the DeVoses -- like Charles and David Koch -- have additionally contributed to groups in this list through the anonymous donor funds DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund. Now it's trying to sue its critics", "The World and Everything in It: September 5, 2022", "Stanford, Georgetown, U. of Florida listed among 10 'worst free speech colleges' in U.S.", "The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression ranks Penn second-to-last college in free speech", "Week 3: Can Protests Make A Difference? The rise of the so-called alt-right is the most unexpected ideological development of our time. And, tomorrow, PEN Executive Director Nossel will have an opportunity to make up for it by asking Lukianoff directly why FIRE highlights and occasionally even provokes politically correct threats to freedom of speech, as I watched it do at Yale, and why it seldom if ever mentions the many conservative politically correct pressures on students and teachers that I described in Why Bashing Politically Correct Campuses Is Hurting Conservatism.. The Intercollegiate Studies Instituteis one of the oldest student-oriented educational organizations in the nation, aimed at supporting conservative students with resources to publish right-leaning campus publications, host conservative lectures and events, and generally counter the progressive ideology taking over American colleges. The Intercollegiate Studies Institute receives millions in funding from a handful of private right-wing donors, including more than $8 million in funding from the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation, more than $11 million from the right-wing group of Scaife Foundations, $3.5 million from the conservative Bradley Foundation, and more than $2 million from the F.M. United States. Weve said it before: The greatest threat to democracy from the media isnt disinformation, its the paywall. The American Conservative Union is a conservative political organization that oversees the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), a massive annual conference with organizing workshops and speeches from prominent right-wing politicians and leaders. It also grants funding for education in small amounts, primarily to libertarian think tanks. Earlier this month, ADF launched a March Madness-like Bracket of Shame ranking colleges and universities based on their so-called free speech records. The project uses articles from our friends at FIRE, Campus Reform, College Fix, and others to inform the bracket. Turning Point USA is also closely affiliated with the dangerous citizen journalist vigilante work of James OKeefe and Project Veritas, and the group recently delved into its own warped citizen journalism project with the launch of a McCarthyist Professor Watchlist project in late 2016. See the metrics below for more information. The group fearmongers about contraception methods and abortion, a common medical procedure, and equates the work of Planned Parenthood in communities of color with racist eugenics. As of August 2020, SPN's membership totals 162. To this end, we place a special emphasis on defending the individual rights of students and faculty members on our nation's campuses, including freedom of speech, freedom of association, due . Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, Inc. 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