The Slippery Slope of Attacks on Academic Freedom

By William Barnett June 30, 2023 1 min read

By William Barnett
Medium

Excerpt: The attacks on academic freedom in Florida and elsewhere have pernicious effects on higher education for faculty and students alike.

When I taught courses on religion and public policy, controversial issues arose frequently. Since I was teaching at a Jesuit college, abortion and social justice concerns became the focus of many discussions online and in class. In these courses, I made sure to include resources and discussion about official Catholic teachings (the tradition is rather complex and historically varied) along with material about other religious and secular positions. In today’s educational climate, I would likely be prohibited from including such materials and discussion in my courses in Florida, Texas, and several other states.
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FAIR News: Professor Stands Up Against Penn State's Discrimination

By Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism June 29, 2023 1 min read

By Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism

Excerpt: Professor Zack De Piero began working at Pennsylvania State University in August of 2018 in the English department at the Abington campus. Almost immediately upon the outset of his employment, Professor De Piero noticed a race-essentialism focus, which he feared would be harmful to his students, a majority of which were from minority backgrounds and ethnicities.

On June 15th Professor De Piero filed suit against Penn State in federal court alleging violations of his civil rights under federal and Pennsylvania law. Professor De Piero is represented by FAIR Network Attorneys Michael Allen and Samantha Harris of Allen Harris Law.
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Commentary: The Right’s Campus Culture War Machine

By Claire Potter The New Republic   June 28, 2023 1 min read

By Claire Potter
The New Republic

 

Excerpt: Wherever you get your news, whether it is Twitter or The New York Times, you might reasonably imagine that higher education is awash in political conflict. You might see with dismay that progressive students are intolerant, hysterical, and fragile; or, depending on your sources, that right-wing students platform the vilest, most bigoted media personalities in the name of free speech.

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‘Preaching’ in Biology Class?

By Ryan Quinn Inside Higher Ed   June 28, 2023 1 min read

By Ryan Quinn
Inside Higher Ed

 

Excerpt: An adjunct professor who is also an associate pastor says a Texas community college fired him after it claimed to have received complaints of “religious preaching, discriminatory comments about homosexuals and transgender individuals, anti-abortion rhetoric and misogynistic banter.”

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What makes a social studies textbook "woke" in Ron DeSantis' Florida

Judd Legum Popular Information   Excerpt: According to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R), textbook publishers are attempting to indoctrinate Florida students by incorporating "woke" concepts into social studies textbooks — in violation of state laws prohibiting certain kinds of instruction on race and gender. June 26, 2023 1 min read

Judd Legum
Popular Information

Excerpt: According to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R), textbook publishers are attempting to indoctrinate Florida students by incorporating "woke" concepts into social studies textbooks — in violation of state laws prohibiting certain kinds of instruction on race and gender.

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Firing of Georgia Teacher for Reading a Book that Promotes Inclusivity is “Shocking” and “Harmful,” Says PEN America

PEN America Press Release June 23, 2023 1 min read

PEN America Press Release

Excerpt: A Georgia elementary school teacher has been fired after allegedly violating the state’s educational gag order. Passed in 2022, Georgia’s HB 1084 prohibits teachers from “espousing”  certain “divisive concepts” related to race and sex. Katie Rinderle says she read her fifth grade students “My Shadow Is Purple,” by bestselling author-illustrator Scott Stuart, a 2022 book that promotes inclusivity, after purchasing it at the school book fair and having her students vote on what they wanted to read.

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