Explores the extent of self-censorship in community college theater programs across the country, and examines what part the college administration plays in such censorship. Suggests reviewing further the theater department's responsibilities in serving both students and community. (AS)

In July 2000, the Commonwealth Court (of Pennsylvania) issued a decision upholding Bethlehem School District's 10-day suspension of a middle-schooler who had created a website that childishly ridiculed a teacher and the principal. This decision is another that subordinates students' 14th Amendment rights to school-safety concerns. (MLH)

The ability of the university culture to adapt to changing environmental conditions that challenge the institution's primary functions and values (academic freedom, autonomy) is discussed, and management approaches that mirror the specific culture of a university are described. Methods for assessing culture are described, a typology for…

Discusses three philosophical positions taken by librarians regarding Holocaust denial literature in library collections: inclusion, exclusion, and inclusion with labeling as inaccurate. Concludes that librarians should not undertake the role of arbiters of truth but should responsibly and intelligently build collections that provide access to…

Public opinion poll data dating from 1973 suggest a trustworthy and honest professoriate engaged in important work through college teaching, research, and service, but the same surveys show hesitation in granting full academic freedom to teachers holding controversial ideas. The impact of events, such as publication of critical reports, on college…

Discusses the tendency of popular music critics to attempt to censor explicit, suggestive commentaries. The potentially negative impact of record banning within a democratic society is briefly explored. A taxonomy of sex-related lyrical themes is assembled to provide postsecondary school teachers with an overview of recorded content available…

Describes the Network for Education and Academic Rights, which mobilizes transglobal academic communities to exert pressure on repressive regimes and to support the safety and freedom of members of the academic community. (EV)

Describes how many college officials are confused by the USA Patriot Act, a new anti-terrorism law that may affect campus networks and library records; they believe its provisions could raise privacy and academic freedom issues. (EV)

Analyzes recent federal court decision striking down school anti-harassment policy on First Amendment grounds. Discusses freedom of expression rights in public setting as compared to public-school context. Argues decision incorrectly relies on law developed outside public-school context, unjustifiably finds violation of First Amendment, and may…

A Colorado superintendent allowed to resign for personal reasons later sued the district, claiming confidentiality provisions had been breached. The Colorado Supreme Court reversed lower court rulings favoring the district. The settlement agreement does not violate the First Amendment, but merely applies state law requiring people to keep their…

Presents a lesson that focuses on Lithuanian efforts to gain their freedom and their role in the collapse of the Soviet Union. Describes various learning activities that foster understanding of this topic, such as having the students dramatize important events in Lithuania's struggle for independence. (CMK)

Distance education is an emerging force in higher education that is creating new opportunities and added challenges. The purpose of this study was to identify and compare what university administrators and faculty know about issues that surround a debate about ownership of intellectual products created for distance education including technologies…

When the movement for "English Only" began some years ago, the author told participants at a bilingual education workshop that he was against it. He was rendered momentarily mute because he had thought that the English Only proponents could not curtail the freedom of expression guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. The way he understood…

The line between public and private expression of religion requires balancing the constitutional guarantee of the free exercise of religion and the constitutional prohibition against the establishment of religion. Public schools, as government entities, and the teachers in them are allowed neither to inhibit the free exercise of religious…

Leaders at every university agree that educating students in the practice of open-minded inquiry is a key component of undergraduate education, but creating a classroom and wider campus climate that is truly open to multiple perspectives on hot-button political issues is extremely difficult to accomplish. This is true whether the majority opinion…