[57] Charges were dropped in December 2011. "[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. Rick DeVos (one of the children of Betsy DeVos and grandchildren of Richard and Helen DeVos) sits on the board of the Student Free Press Association -- a fact that The College Fix did not disclose in its supportive posts about DeVos until it was reported by Inside Higher Ed in February. Dunn's Foundation for the Advancement of Right Thinking. The foundation supports free-market teachings at the university level, including by funding individual faculty positions. Pushers of these protocols insist that free markets make free men, as the old saying had it, and Lukianoff travels the country touting the marketplace of ideas on campus after campus. Were seeing some tendency to some of the same imposition of orthodoxy beyond college campuses and some elevation of comfort-seeking relative to truth-seeking much more broadly, Summers said. 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. "[51], FIRE joined with a number of other civil liberties groups in the case of Hosty v. Carter, involving suppression of a student newspaper at Governors State University in Illinois,[52] and has been involved in a case at Arizona State University where it condemned the listing of certain sections of a class as open only to Native American students. There are several questions that I hope Nossel and another panelist, Angus Johnston, will ask Lukianoff. Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) is a small nonprofit organization geared toward student libertarians. The Charles Koch Institute, later formed as a separate organization from the foundation, bills itself as an organization specifically dedicated to educating the next generation of professional leaders with libertarian-minded internships and professional development courses. Were genuinely nonpartisan in the cases we take, he said. Lukianoff said his group also regularly defends left-leaning students and faculty members when their freedom of expression is threatened. Suspiciously? Charles Koch is also a board member at the center. [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"). Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's "Responsible Use Policy" forbids using computing resources "for partisan political purposes" or to "offend" or "annoy" others. [62][63] The school eventually agreed to rewrite its speech policies, paying $650,000 to settle the lawsuit. Like FIRE on Facebook: http://facebook.com/TheFIREorgFollow FIRE on Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheFIREorgDonate to FIRE: http://thefire.org/donateSubscribe . Here things turn Orwellian, indeed: As Ive mentioned, the same foundations that fund FIREs pretensions at championing campus free speech also fund David Horowitzs speech-chilling Academic Bill of Rights, for which Lukianoffs predecessor at FIRE, David French, testified favorably before the Pennsylvania legislature. FIRE took the side of the student. The State Policy Network (SPN) is a web of right-wing "think tanks" and tax-exempt organizations in 50 states, Washington, D.C., Canada, and the United Kingdom. ADF is the primary driver of nationwide bathroom bills targeting protections that allow transgender students to use appropriate public facilities, and state religious freedom laws that seek to enshrine a legal right to discriminate against LGBTQ people. [39] The school settled the lawsuit and agreed to revise its policies. 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. Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression has earned a 96% for the Accountability & Finance beacon. Its also donated nearly half a million dollars to the anti-LGBTQ hate group Alliance Defending Freedom. 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. [22][23] Lukianoff and Perrino have written in support of "the right to speak even the thoughts we hate. [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". Since its inception, FIRE has received funding from a variety of conservative foundations, including millions from some linked to billionaire Charles Koch. "[33], In 2007, the organization said that a mandatory program for students living in dormitories at the University of Delaware resembled "thought reform". An anonymous student-witness, quoted in the Brandeis Hoot,[74] called Hindley's remarks "inappropriate." Romero, the ACLU chief, said Monday that he agrees free speech is under increasing attack in the U.S. and is pleased that FIRE is branching out. 03/01/23 9:41 PM EST, Video & Audio Select from premium Foundation For Individual Rights In Education of the highest quality. 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. "[24], Lukianoff co-wrote The New York Times bestselling book The Coddling of the American Mind with New York University Professor Jonathan Haidt, arguing that tribalism on college campuses is a "very serious problem for any democracy. 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. [28], FIRE has opposed campus speech codes. 03/01/23 8:20 PM EST, Video & Audio 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 PEN report misses this broader context, conscientious though it is in distinguishing real threats to campus free speech from hyped and imagined ones. These rights include freedom of speech, legal equality, due process, religious liberty, and sanctity of consciencethe essential qualities of individual liberty and dignity. [4], The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education was co-founded by Alan Charles Kors and Harvey Silverglate in 1999, who were FIRE's co-directors until 2004. Its tax forms list single grants ranging from $301 to more than $11 million awarded to a wide range of institutions of higher education as well as major conservative-leaning think tanks and news outlets. [2][11][12][13] Among its other donors is the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation. FOUNDATION FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS IN EDUCATION (FIRE) Address: 170 S INDEPENDENCE MALL W. PHILADELPHIA, PA 19106. Its major grants come from the ultraconservative Earhart, John Templeton, and Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundations; the Scaife family foundations; the Koch-linked Donors Trust, and funders that sustain a myriad of conservative campus-targeting organizations that include FIRE, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, the David Horowitz Freedom Center right-wing racists get together and say that they have been excluded from a public space that does not . [103][104], In February 2022, FIRE produced an advertisement featuring National Basketball Association (NBA) player Enes Kanter Freedom for the 2022 Winter Olympics in China, supporting freedom of speech. Krauss placed a monitor in Hindley's class and ordered him to attend racial sensitivity training. In truth, as I have argued, conservative political correctness doesnt need to shout as loudly as its progressive variant only because its already baked into every Economics 101 course and into the premises and protocols of career advancement that the larger society foists on undergraduates. History Founded in 1946, The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) is a libertarian economic think-tank dedicated to the "economic, ethical, and legal principles of a free society." FEE publishes books, daily articles and hosts seminars and lectures. +. The ACLU faced internal upheaval in 2017 after its Virginia chapter provided legal assistance to white-nationalist groups seeking a permit to demonstrate in Charlottesville, Va. [72], FIRE criticized Brandeis University on both free speech and due process grounds in early 2008 over its treatment of veteran politics professor Donald Hindley. Its tax forms list single grants ranging from $301 to more than $11. 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. In recent years, OKeefe has strongly aligned himself with the so-called alt-right, offering exclusives of his videos to Breitbart.com and befriending dangerous online trolls like Lucian Wintrich, Gavin McInnes, and Milo Yiannopoulos. 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 [53], FIRE sparred with the University of New Hampshire in 2004 over its treatment of student Timothy Garneau, who was expelled from student housing after he wrote and distributed a flier joking that female classmates could lose the "freshman fifteen" by taking the stairs instead of the elevator. In the past, CPAC has typically featured remarks from, and panel discussions with, leading and up-and-coming conservative voices, including many presidential candidates in election years. The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is an active anti-LGBTQ hate group that bills itself as a Christian legal organization. I think for FIRE to spread its wings is very constructive, said Summers, who served as president of Harvard University from 2001 to 2006 and was National Economic Adviser for from 2009 to 2011 under President Barack Obama. 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. Here are some known contributors: Adolph Coors Foundation: $95,000 (2014-2018) Allan S Gordon Foundation: $10,000 (2017-2018) American Endowment Foundation: $36,377 (2016-2017) It detailed a $75 million expansion plan over three years to focus on "litigation, public education, and research," with $10 million for a nationwide advertising campaign. Examples of bias on campus from this week include: a professor who reached out to a black student about an upcoming class that would focus on slavery and white nationalism; a school supporting an emergency fund for immigrant students; and a school hosting a seminar on pay inequity and salary negotiation for women students. Demonstrators hold signs as they stage a protest on the steps of Sproul Hall on the UC Berkeley campus on March 08, 2022 in Berkeley, California. Greg Lukianoff speaking at the 2015 International Students for Liberty Conference in Washington. Ive sent these questions to FIRE myself, three times, but have never received an answer. [93], Since 2016, FIRE has produced "So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast," hosted by Perrino. Faculty at public colleges and universities can also call FIRE's Faculty Legal Defense Fund Hotline at 254-500-FLDF (3533). If you silence people, you never get to hear the other side, Klaer says. Project Veritas is the nonprofit group associated with citizen journalist vigilante James OKeefe. When you support The American Prospect, youre supporting fellow readers who arent able to give, and countering the class system for information. Email: ROBERT@THEFIRE.ORG. Its been frustrating, he said, adding, Most of FIREs staff leans to the left politically.. [35], FIRE has opposed security fees some campuses charge to groups which host controversial speakers. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Foundation for Individual Rights in Education is right for you. we look at the ways in which right-wing populism has sought to (re)shape divisions based on race, religion and nationalities, among other things; how political and pedagogic practices are being (re)imagined to counter these divisions and populist moves; and the stakes of bringing the question . $35,000. op-ed titled as "Neoliberalism and . It formed after the 2008 presidential campaign of former libertarian Rep. Ron Paul (TX) as a continuation of Students For Ron Paul. YAL claims to support a network of more than 900 chapters nationwide on college and high school campuses, providing materials and resources to help students organize events to communicate the problems with income redistribution through satire, educate your fellow students about the zombies in government who need to feed on the living to survive (a Halloween-themed activity), and encourage the right to self defense and access to weapons on campuses to prevent a violent crime from ever happening. The list of strategic partners on YALs website is a lengthy encyclopedia of Koch-backed think tanks and advocacy groups, and it also includes the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, Students for Liberty, and Young Americas Foundation. The notion that you have to reduce your vigor with which you defend First Amendment rights or you will damage the strength of your advocacy for equal rights for women, gays, and Blacks, et cetera is just demonstrably not true and, yet, theyve done that. The group is sponsoring a lawsuit that challenges the . Web the foundation for individual rights in education, or fire, is an american organization that defends individual rights, especially the right to free speech, in higher. Freedom of speech is our right as Americans and we must do everything we can to protect it, Lynum says over images of Martin Luther King Jr. and a young anti-abortion activist. 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. Which funding types raised the most money? Turning Point USA is a nonprofit whose stated mission is to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government. The groups tagline is big government sucks, and a recent video advertising the groups presence at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) included several millennials repeating the tagline into the camera as club music played in the background. 4 min read. [94][95][96] FIRE partnered with Korchula Productions and the DKT Liberty Project to produce Can We Take a Joke?, a documentary released in 2016 about comedy and speech. [36][37] These fees are charged to pay for extra security, which colleges say is necessary due to the likelihood of demonstrations and disruption of events. FIRE aims to protect college students' First Amendment rights [65] In March 2022, the school settled the lawsuit. 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