Table of Contents
‘Obsession’ Screening at Michigan State to Proceed
Thanks to ֭’s intervention, Michigan State University will provide free security for tonight’s screening of the film “Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West,” hosted by the campus chapter of Young Americans for Freedom (YAF). The university originally said that YAF would have to pay the overtime wages of any officers assigned to the screening or would incur extra fines if officers responded to protests that broke out at the screening. FIREwrote to Michigan State on March 16 to stress that holding students responsible for security costs affixes a price tag to controversial expression, encourages other students to threaten violent action, and chills speech on campus because students not able to pay for added security will be forced to cancel their events. FIREcited the Supreme Court’s unequivocal decision in Forsyth County v. Nationalist Movement (1992) that “[s]peech cannot be financially burdened, any more than it can be punished or banned, simply because it might offend a hostile mob.” Thankfully, ֭’s intervention led Michigan State to provide security guards at no charge to YAF, allowing the screening to proceed. FIREwill further press the university to reform its security policy so that it cannot be used to discriminate against groups on the basis the content of their expression.
Recent Articles
Get the latest free speech news and analysis from ֭.
VICTORY: Catholic University of America reverses Reddit ban on campus Wi-Fi
After student pushback, Catholic University reversed its Reddit ban — proving campus website censorship is futile, and chilling research rights matter.
Online speech is powerful. That’s why Iran is silencing it.
Iran is killing protesters and cutting the internet to hide it. Censorship spreads globally—and democracies are flirting with dangerous tools.
A royal Paine
One angry pamphlet, 47 pages, zero patience for kings. Thomas Paine didn’t just argue for independence. He made it unavoidable.
Can the Pentagon strip Mark Kelly’s rank over speech?
SecDef Hegseth says the Pentagon may dock Senator Kelly’s rank and pension after Kelly publicly reminded troops not to follow illegal orders. But the First Amendment says otherwise.