FIRE RELEASES ITS LIST OF The Seven Best Colleges For Free Speech, and I’m proud that the University of Tennessee is on the list. “The University of Tennessee – Knoxville is a model campus when it comes to student speech. Not only has the school maintained its green light rating for years now, it has acted quickly to address concerns about its policies and their impact on free expression. This responsiveness is a great demonstration of the university’s concern for the First Amendment rights of its students.”