Muzzle Awards

Last updated

The Jefferson Muzzle Awards are an award given in the United States by the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression to people who are perceived to undermine freedom of speech. [1] The award categories are: Censorship of Students, Censorship by Students, Efforts to Limit Press Access on Campus, Threats to Academic Freedom and Silencing of Outside Speakers. [2]

Contents

The 2016 Jefferson Muzzle Awards

For the first time in 25 years, the Jefferson Center expanded anti-free speech awards to 50 recipients, the 2016 award is also unique in the aspect that all of the recipients are colleges. [3]

Never in our 25 years of awarding the Jefferson Muzzles have we observed such an alarming concentration of anti-speech activity as we saw last year on college campuses across the country.

The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression [4]

Conversely, the Jefferson Center commended the University of Chicago, American University, Purdue and Princeton University for issuing "broadest possible latitude" statements concerning speech policy on their campuses. [5]

The 2017 Jefferson Muzzle Awards

[7]

The 2018 Jefferson Muzzle Awards

[8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carrollton, Georgia</span> City in Georgia, United States

Carrollton, Georgia is a city in the northwest region of Georgia, about 45 miles (72 km) west of Atlanta near the Alabama state line. It is the county seat of Carroll County, which is included in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. Historically, Carrollton has been a commercial center for several mostly rural counties in both Georgia and Alabama. It is the home of the University of West Georgia and West Georgia Technical College. It is a rural area with a large farming community. The 2019 estimates placed the city's population at 27,259.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portland State University</span> Public university in Portland, Oregon, US

Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next 20 years and was granted university status in 1969. It is one of two public universities in Oregon that are in a large city. It is governed by a board of trustees. PSU is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression</span> American free speech organization

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), formerly named the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit civil liberties group founded in 1999 with the mission of protecting freedom of speech on college campuses in the United States. FIRE changed its name in June 2022, when it broadened its focus from colleges to freedom of speech throughout American society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princeton School of Public and International Affairs</span> Public policy school of Princeton University

The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school provides an array of comprehensive coursework in the fields of international development, foreign policy, science and technology, and economics and finance through its undergraduate (AB) degrees, graduate Master of Public Affairs (MPA), Master of Public Policy (MPP), and PhD degrees.

Free speech zones are areas set aside in public places for the purpose of political protesting. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution states that "Congress shall make no law ... abridging ... the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." The existence of free speech zones is based on U.S. court decisions stipulating that the government may reasonably regulate the time, place, and manner – but not content – of expression.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Oregon University</span> Public liberal arts college in Ashland, Oregon, U.S.

Southern Oregon University (SOU) is a public university in Ashland, Oregon. It was founded in 1872 as the Ashland Academy, has been in its current location since 1926, and was known by nine other names before assuming its current name in 1997. Its Ashland campus – just 14 miles from Oregon's border with California – encompasses 175 acres. Five of SOU's newest facilities have achieved LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. SOU is headquarters for Jefferson Public Radio and public access station Rogue Valley Community Television. The university has been governed since 2015 by the SOU Board of Trustees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedom of speech in the United States</span> Overview of the human rights history in the North American country

In the United States, freedom of speech and expression is strongly protected from government restrictions by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, many state constitutions, and state and federal laws. Freedom of speech, also called free speech, means the free and public expression of opinions without censorship, interference and restraint by the government The term "freedom of speech" embedded in the First Amendment encompasses the decision what to say as well as what not to say. The Supreme Court of the United States has recognized several categories of speech that are given lesser or no protection by the First Amendment and has recognized that governments may enact reasonable time, place, or manner restrictions on speech. The First Amendment's constitutional right of free speech, which is applicable to state and local governments under the incorporation doctrine, prevents only government restrictions on speech, not restrictions imposed by private individuals or businesses unless they are acting on behalf of the government. However, It can be restricted by time, place and manner in limited circumstances. Some laws may restrict the ability of private businesses and individuals from restricting the speech of others, such as employment laws that restrict employers' ability to prevent employees from disclosing their salary to coworkers or attempting to organize a labor union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Student publication</span> Media outet run by students

A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related news, but they may also report on national or international news as well. Most student publications are either part of a curricular class or run as an extracurricular activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PEN America</span> American association of writers

PEN America, founded in 1922, and headquartered in New York City, is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to raise awareness for the protection of free expression in the United States and worldwide through the advancement of literature and human rights. PEN America is the largest of the more than 100 PEN centers worldwide that together compose PEN International. PEN America has offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and since late 2023 also in Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marjorie Heins</span> American lawyer

Marjorie Heins is a First Amendment lawyer, writer and founder of the Free Expression Policy Project.

This is an incomplete list of historic properties and districts at United States colleges and universities that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). This includes National Historic Landmarks (NHLs) and other National Register of Historic Places listings. It includes listings at current and former educational institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Student Press Law Center</span> American non-profit organization promoting student press freedom

The Student Press Law Center (SPLC) is a non-profit organization that aims to promote, support and defend press freedom rights for student journalists at high schools and colleges in the United States. It is dedicated to student free-press rights and provides information, advice and legal assistance at no charge for students and educators.

The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression was a nonprofit, nonpartisan institution devoted to the defense of the First Amendment rights guaranteeing freedom of speech and of the press. The center was founded in 1989, under the direction of former University of Virginia president Robert M. O'Neil. J. Joshua Wheeler succeeded O'Neil as Director of the Center in 2011. It is named after Founding Father and third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson.

The issue of school speech or curricular speech as it relates to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution has been the center of controversy and litigation since the mid-20th century. The First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech applies to students in the public schools. In the landmark decision Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, the U.S. Supreme Court formally recognized that students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate".

Cheryl L. Reed is an American author and journalist. She won the 1996 Harvard Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting while at the Dayton Daily News. She is the author of Poison Girls, and Unveiled: The Hidden Lives of Nuns, a work of literary journalism.

The censorship of student media in the United States is the suppression of student-run news operations' free speech by school administrative bodies, typically state schools. This consists of schools using their authority to control the funding and distribution of publications, taking down articles, and preventing distribution. Some forms of student media censorship extend to expression not funded by or under the official auspices of the school system or college.

Hazelwood School District et al. v. Kuhlmeier et al., 484 U.S. 260 (1988), was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States which held, in a 5–3 decision, that student speech in a school-sponsored student newspaper at a public high school could be censored by school officials without a violation of First Amendment rights if the school's actions were "reasonably related" to a legitimate pedagogical concern.

The Academic Freedom Alliance (AFA) is a non-profit organization formed by college educators to defend free expression. The mission of the organization is to challenge university administrations and provide legal help to professors who face disciplinary action over controversial speech or activities. It was founded by Keith Whittington, Cornel West, Robert George, Jeannie Suk Gersen, and Nadine Strossen.

References

  1. "The Jefferson Muzzles".
  2. "25th Annual Jefferson Muzzles Awards Announces 'Winners'". NBC29. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  3. "The 2016 Jefferson Muzzle Awards". The Thomas Jefferson Center. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  4. STEVE SZKOTAK (19 April 2016). "Long list of colleges awarded 'Jefferson Muzzles' for limiting free speech". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  5. DEREK QUIZON (20 April 2016). "Efforts to stifle speech by colleges, students 'honored' with Jefferson Muzzle Awards". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  6. Brugger, Kelsey (March 16, 2015). "Tempest in a Teepee at SBCC". Santa Barbara Independent . Retrieved 2016-06-30.
  7. "2017 Muzzles". tjcenter.org. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  8. "Jefferson Muzzles". Jefferson Muzzles. Retrieved 2018-05-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)