{"id":137629,"date":"2021-02-16T12:40:30","date_gmt":"2021-02-16T17:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=137629"},"modified":"2021-02-16T13:13:15","modified_gmt":"2021-02-16T18:13:15","slug":"report-coronavirus-rules-are-stifling-free-speech-on-campus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-coronavirus-rules-are-stifling-free-speech-on-campus\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: Coronavirus Rules Are Stifling Free Speech On Campus"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Freport-coronavirus-rules-are-stifling-free-speech-on-campus%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=137629&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Mizzou.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span>A new<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefire.org\/research\/publications\/miscellaneous-publications\/covid-on-campus-the-pandemics-impact-on-student-and-faculty-speech-rights\/?utm_source=FIRE_Update&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Update&amp;show_popup=false\"><span>report<\/span><\/a> <span>from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education found that universities are stifling free speech under the guise of coronavirus restrictions.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In the past year, FIRE, a legal organization that works with students and faculty who believe their rights are being stymied by universities, has received an outsized amount of requests for help. The organization claims that a large part of the spike was due to universities\u2019 handling of the coronavirus pandemic.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cCOVID-19\u2019s consequences for education have not been limited to location, access, or in the University \u2018s California, Berkeley\u2019s case, temporary bans on outdoor exercise,\u201d FIRE said in a<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefire.org\/research\/publications\/miscellaneous-publications\/covid-on-campus-the-pandemics-impact-on-student-and-faculty-speech-rights\/?utm_source=FIRE_Update&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Update&amp;show_popup=false\"><span>statement<\/span><\/a><span>. \u201cOn campuses across the country, speech and due process rights have been challenged, too, as administrators struggle to respond to the pandemic.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>FIRE said that it was fearful of punitive action from COVID-19 policies back in September 2020. The group warned universities to create COVID restrictions that are temporary and tied directly to the threat of public health. \u201cRestrictions or disciplinary actions substantially unrelated to protecting public health should be rejected and reconsidered,\u201d the statement reads.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>According to the report, the predominant themes that emerged from reported cases include censorship of speech related to criticizing institutions, censorship of speech related to COVID-19, and \u201ctroubling measures\u201d applied to campuses during the pandemic. The report lists several examples.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>At some universities, campus community members \u2014 particularly resident assistants \u2014 were told not to speak critically about how the university was handling the pandemic. At the University of Missouri (Mizzou), student employees wanted to sound the alarm about safety concerns when they returned to campus. The administration issued warnings and policies that limited their ability to speak freely. According to the<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.columbiamissourian.com\/news\/covid19\/this-is-deliberate-risk-mu-residential-assistants-worry-as-move-in-begins\/article_f1515ae8-db1b-11ea-b468-2f1db73ee8c9.html\"><span>Columbia Missourian<\/span><\/a><span>, resident assistants that wished to discuss what they viewed as poor COVID policies were not \u201cauthorized\u201d to speak about the issue with the media as Residential Life employees had a \u201cstrict media policy\u201d laid out for them.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Other schools are more obvious about their speech crackdowns. This month, Collin College\u2019s leadership called for two professors to be<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefire.org\/collin-college-cracks-down-on-covid-critics-and-union-organizers-dismissing-two-professors-and-warning-a-third\/\"><span>dismissed<\/span><\/a> <span>from the university after their contracts expire. These same two professors openly criticized the college\u2019s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Universities have also cracked down on speech directly related to the virus. The University of California system published \u201cguidance\u201d for faculty and students titled, \u201cEquity and Inclusion during COVID-19.\u201d The document banned anyone from using the term \u201cChinese Virus\u201d or any other term that the university believed could project \u201chatred\u201d toward Asian communities. The same guide told students that they cannot speak badly about \u201cpeople, individuals, or groups who may not be in your immediate social circle.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Mizzou manifested these guidelines with action against alleged \u201chatred\u201d toward Asian communities. A business school professor at Mizzou was relieved of his teaching duties for cracking a joke about putting a mask on to a Chinese student from Wuhan. According to the<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/campus\/beloved-mizzou-professor-under-investigation-after-making-mask-joke-to-chinese-student\/\"><span>Washington Free Beacon<\/span><\/a><span>, the student never found the joke to be offensive, but the professor was placed on leave and underwent an investigation anyway.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Some universities\u2019 were more aggressive with their campus coronavirus policies and FIRE claims that some measures \u201cpresented threats to individual rights.\u201d At Northeastern University, a student posted a poll asking incoming freshmen \u201cwho\u2019s planning on going to\/having parties,\u201d with the answer options \u201chell yeah\u201d and \u201cnah.\u201d Administrators compelled the pollster to hand over the names of the 115 students that responded \u201chell yeah.\u201d The university threatened to rescind students\u2019 admissions and demanded they provide written affirmation that they would not violate COVID-related rules.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The report ended with a warning that while free speech issues are growing on college campuses, universities are a mere microcosm of the free speech issues plaguing the nation under the guise of public health.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<\/span><\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><em><span>member<\/span><\/em><\/a><em><span>.&nbsp;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new report from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education found that universities are stifling free speech under the guise of coronavirus restrictions.\u00a0 In the past year, FIRE, a &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2181353,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Mizzou.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Report: Coronavirus Rules Are Stifling Free Speech On Campus","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-137629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Mizzou.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Report: Coronavirus Rules Are Stifling Free Speech On Campus","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2181353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}