“LET’S FACE IT: Right now, when it comes to violent censorship, crime pays,” writes the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s Robert Shibley in The Washington Post.

THE 10 WORST COLLEGES FOR FREE SPEECH, brought to you by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). It wasn’t easy to narrow down the list. Which school do you think is the worst? Vote!

YOU CAN’T CENSOR THAT: Appeals Court unanimously upholds ruling that bars Iowa State from politically motivated censorship of T-shirts advocating marijuana legalization. The ruling is the tenth consecutive victory for FIRE’s Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project.

IN 2005, HE PUBLISHED THE “MUHAMMAD CARTOONS.” Now, he’s on al-Qaeda’s hit list and must have security when he appears in public. A new episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast explores the “assassin’s veto” with journalist Flemming Rose.

NEW REPORT FROM FIRE: RESTRICTIVE CAMPUS SPEECH POLICIES SEE RECORD DECLINE – Today the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) released its annual “Spotlight on Speech Codes,” a report on the speech policies at 449 of America’s largest and most prestigious colleges and universities. This year’s report indicates a record decline in the percentage of universities maintaining policies that severely restrict students’ free speech rights.

Unfortunately, however, it isn’t all good news. For example, about 40 percent of the schools FIRE surveyed had a “bias reporting team” tasked with investigating incidents of verbal bias. As the Wall Street Journal reported:

Even as some colleges drop speech codes to avoid legal challenges, many have established “bias” reporting systems that solicit complaints about offensive speech. As Fire explains, these systems encourage “students to report on one another—and on faculty members—whenever they subjectively perceive that someone’s speech or expression is biased.”

Check out more about the report over on FIRE’s website, or read the Wall Street Journal’s write-up about the findings!

“Good Beer, No Censorship”: New episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast explores the brew ha-ha behind Flying Dog Brewery’s First Amendment dog fight with the state of Michigan over the censorship of its “Raging Bitch” beer label.

TWISTING TITLE IX: How did a 44-year-old law prohibiting sex discrimination in education become one of this decade’s greatest threats to student and faculty rights on campus? FIRE’s Robert Shibley explains in latest episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast.

UPDATE [From Glenn]: Here’s Shibley’s book.

“THINK TRIGGER WARNINGS ARE NEVER MANDATORY ON CAMPUS? THINK AGAIN.” – Some critics have argued that the University of Chicago’s letter to incoming students explaining that the university does not support “so-called trigger warnings” was unnecessary because no universities actually mandate trigger warnings. FIRE’s Samantha Harris has found otherwise.

JOIN FIRE IN SAYING “THANK YOU” TO UCHICAGO FOR TAKING A STAND FOR ACADEMIC FREEDOM – As Glenn posted about last week, the University of Chicago (UChicago) recently made waves when it sent a back-to-school letter to incoming students telling them not to expect “intellectual ‘safe spaces’” when they arrive on campus.

We at FIRE agree with UChicago that higher education should first and foremost be a marketplace of ideas. If you agree, you can join FIRE in saying “Thank You” to UChicago for taking this important stand.

THE STORY BEHIND THE NEW DOCUMENTARY ‘CAN WE TAKE A JOKE?’ –  I know I’ve posted a lot on here about the new, FIRE-supported documentary Can We Take a Joke?, but I wanted to share this new piece I wrote about the movie for two reasons. First, it describes the backstory of the film and how it came about, which was a very interesting process, and second, it provides useful links to a variety of online platforms where you can watch the film (per Instapundit commenters’ requests).

NOW YOU CAN WATCH ‘CAN WE TAKE A JOKE?’ FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME: This FIRE-supported documentary on the collision between comedy and outrage culture is now available on iTunes, where it has gotten as high as the #3 most downloaded documentary! And if you like the film, go say so on Rotten Tomatoes.

“POLITICAL CORRECTNESS KIND OF CUTS US OFF AT THE KNEES AND DOESN’T ALLOW US TO BE OUR AUTHENTIC SELVES,” says Rain Pryor, daughter of Richard Pryor, in a brand new FIRE exclusive interview with the daughters of comedy godfathers Pryor, George Carlin and Lenny Bruce. Check out the podcast here or the video below.

And don’t forget that if you are in New York City or Los Angeles between this Friday, July 29 and August 4, you can see the new movie about comedy and free speech, Can We Take a Joke?, on the big screen. You can also see it with a beer at Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse just outside of Washington, D.C. This is before it will be released all over the country on August 2 via iTunes, Google Play, Amazon and virtually every cable company in the U.S. and Canada.

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) released a video today covering Harvard University’s announcement that it will start punishing students who join single-gender clubs. Economics professor and Harvard president emeritus Larry Summers; cognitive scientist and psychology professor Steven Pinker; and civil rights attorney, author, and FIRE co-founder Harvey Silverglate are among those who talked with FIRE for our latest video.

WHAT IF OUR CONSTITUTION WERE WRITTEN LIKE CAMPUS SPEECH CODES? – Check out FIRE’s new animated video about what would happen if our Founding Fathers had acted like college administrators!

You can watch the video below, and read more over at The Torch.

IT’S FINALLY HERE: Now you watch the ‘Can We Take a Joke?’ trailer! The documentary, which is about comedy vs. the “right not to be offended,” will hit theaters in NYC and L.A. July 29, and will be available to download from iTunes August 2nd.

“‘PATERNALISTIC BABYSITTERS’ BEGONE! DARTMOUTH STUDENTS CALL FOR INTELLECTUAL INDEPENDENCE” – A petition from five student government leaders at Dartmouth College calls for students to have “true freedom to speak their minds.”

VICTORY FOR CAMPUS FREE SPEECH IN TEXAS: I’m pleased to share with you all that earlier this month, Blinn College agreed to settle a First Amendment lawsuit filed last year by a student who was told that she would need to jump through numerous bureaucratic hoops to express herself on campus, including “special permission” to display a gun rights sign.

Read more about this exciting victory for freedom of expression over at The Torch.

FIRE CO-FOUNDER SILVERGLATE WINS MANHATTAN INSTITUTE’S ALEXANDER HAMILTON AWARD: Forgive me while I catch up with myself (protecting free speech on campus is keeping us busier than ever, lately), but I’m pleased to announce that last Monday, FIRE co-founder Harvey Silverglate received the Manhattan Institute’s 2016 Alexander Hamilton Award for his decades of civil liberties advocacy as an attorney, author, and activist. According to the Manhattan Institute, the award “was created to honor those individuals helping to foster the revitalization of our nation’s cities.”

As I said over at The Torch:

“I cannot imagine anyone more deserving of an award for service on behalf of free speech and due process, both on and off campus, than FIRE co-founder Harvey Silverglate. On a more personal note, in addition to being the person who recruited me for FIRE, he has been a mentor to me and remains one of my lifelong heroes.

Harvey’s influence permeates every aspect of FIRE’s work, from our attention to detail, to our commitment to rights that transcend political labels or concerns, to our insistence that in order for basic liberties to survive, legal remedies are essential but not sufficient. We all agree with Harvey that we must transform the culture into one that values genuine diversity of opinion and the most robust protections of freedom of speech, fair process and procedures, and freedom of conscience.”

Congratulations to Harvey for this much-deserved honor! And if you want to learn more about him from his own mouth, check out our video profile of Harvey.

FIRE LAUNCHES NEW FREE SPEECH PODCAST: I’m proud to announce that FIRE has launched So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast. New episodes will be posted every other Thursday morning. The first of our bi-weekly episodes features interviews with me and Brookings Institution Senior Fellow and Kindly Inquisitors author (as well as a personal hero of mine) Jonathan Rauch. You can listen here, and read more about the podcast over at The Torch.

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE: TITLE IX REQUIRES VIOLATING FIRST AMENDMENT – As Glenn noted, the feds are once again pushing an unconstitutional definition of harassment on universities. The latest push, coming in the form of a “findings letter” issued to the University of New Mexico, is all the more concerning because it’s coming directly from the Department of Justice. Universities are forced to choose between adopting a wildly unconstitutional definition of harassment or face the possibility of losing their federal funding and the wrath of the DOJ.

The feds’ expansion of anti-discrimination law at the expense of the First Amendment has been going on in different forms for years, and it’s time that university presidents and elected officials put a stop to it. Please read more about this here, and ask that your representatives and alma maters finally fight back against this executive overreach.

FREE SPEECH IS NO LAUGHING MATTER (EXCEPT IN THIS NEW COMEDY DOCUMENTARY) – Check out my interview with Nick Gillespie, Editor in Chief of Reason.com and Reason TV, about the latest free speech controversies on campus (including the recent speaker disinvitation at Williams College and protests over “Trump 2016” chalkings at Emory University), and the upcoming release of the FIRE-supported documentary Can We Take a Joke?.

If you’re from the Philadelphia area, please sign up ASAP for a free advance screening of the film at the National Constitution Center this Wednesday, April 13 at 8:30 p.m. If you (or any friends) are interested in attending, just RSVP to Haley Hudler at . Here is the Facebook event page for more info.

It’s about a serious topic but, I swear, it’s actually funny. Though, keep in mind, it would be R-Rated under the MPAA, so you might not want to bring your toddlers.

Watch the full Reason TV video below, and read more over at The Torch.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW – PROFESSOR LAURA KIPNIS ON HER ‘TITLE IX INQUISITION’: Check out FIRE’s latest interview with Northwestern University professor Laura Kipnis. Last year, Professor Kipnis published an article called “Sexual Paranoia Strikes Academe” in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Little did she know, she would become the target of a Title IX investigation herself as a result. As FIRE’s Aaron Reese and Chris Maltby write:

Kipnis’ article described problems with a “post-Title IX landscape” where “sexual panic rules” on America’s campuses and Title IX investigations can be the result of just talking about sex. Following the article’s publication, Kipnis was subjected to a 72-day investigation that proved her point all too well. That’s right: A professor was subjected to a lengthy Title IX investigation for her article about how there are too many Title IX investigations.

You can watch the video below, and learn more about Kipnis’s “Inquisition” over at The Torch.

CELEBRATE “FREEDOM DAY” WITH A FREE SPEECH DOCUMENTARY: I am pleased to announce that the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia will be holding an advance screening of the FIRE-supported documentary Can We Take a Joke? to celebrate “Freedom Day” on April 13, 2016! Can We Take a Joke? is a documentary about what happens when outrage culture and comedy collide, and features interviews with famous comedians, including Adam Carolla, Gilbert Gottfried, Lisa Lampanelli, Heather McDonald, Penn Jillette, and more.

If you are from the Philadelphia area (or plan on being in Philadelphia on April 13) and would like to attend the screening, please email Haley Hudler at .

It’s going to be a fun night.

And if you’re a college student, there’s still time for you to apply for free exclusive screening rights to show the documentary on your campus between April 13 and April 20! The deadline is fast approaching, however, so make sure to apply ASAP.

U. OF SOUTH CAROLINA PROMISES  ‘NO LIMITS’ … EXCEPT WHEN IT COMES TO FREE SPEECH: Check out this video featuring the two student plaintiffs in the new FIRE-sponsored First Amendment lawsuit against the University of South Carolina (USC). The lawsuit is the twelfth in FIRE’s undefeated national Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project.

While USC’s marketing materials claim there are “No Limits” to what students can achieve at USC, the university clearly doesn’t think this catchy slogan extends to constitutional rights on campus. In this video, student plaintiff Ross Abbott and Michael Kriete, president of USC’s chapter of Young Americans for Liberty, describe how they were interrogated and threatened with disciplinary action, ironically, for organizing an outdoor event aimed at educating the student body about freedom of speech on campus. You can read more about the lawsuit over at The Torch.

IN TODAY’S WSJ: How the Sex-Harassment Cops Became Speech Police, by FIRE’s Will Creeley (Paywalled).