Monthly Archives: January 2010

Not even dictionaries are safe for children?

School officials at Menifee Union School District temporarily removed copies of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary Tenth Edition for containing graphic terms like “oral sex” after a parent complained. (But as it turns out, the dictionary did not even contain this term…) … Continue reading

Posted in Teresa Koberstein: Author | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Two words on the chalkboard in Oregon draw complaints from parents

Athey Creek Middle School in West Linn, Oregon has taught its eighth grade students a First Amendment curriculum for ten years, addressing the controversies surrounding commonly-banned books and reading the books in class. The unit drew no major criticism until … Continue reading

Posted in Hannah Mueller: Author | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Consequences of the Google China conflict: Hillary Clinton for an open Internet

In an impassioned speech at the Newseum in Washington on January 21, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attacked countries who limit the free circulation of peaceful dissent and religious ideas on the Internet and those who use the Internet for … Continue reading

Posted in Svetlana Mintcheva: Author | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Hillary: The Case

“The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich, as well as the poor, to sleep under the bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.” Anatole France Even for true believers of the First Amendment, the decision … Continue reading

Posted in Joan Bertin: Author | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Google and the Snake

It is, literally, an old story. In the legend of the boy and the snake, a venomous snake asks a boy for help, and promises not to bite him. When the snake bites the boy despite his help, and the … Continue reading

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Champions of free speech?: the Case of Google in China

When, a few years ago, Google agreed to China’s restrictions on the circulation of information and started google.cn, it claimed that “increased access to information for people in China and a more open Internet outweighed [Google’s] discomfort in agreeing to … Continue reading

Posted in Svetlana Mintcheva: Author | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Avatar, smoking and free speech

Avatar has incited controversy over Sigourney Weaver’s character’s smoking in the film, even though the character is decidedly not, as director James Cameron describes, “an aspirational role model” for teenagers. Anti-smoking advocates fear that children will mimic the vices they … Continue reading

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Wardrobe Malfunction Back in Court: An Update

While the display of Janet Jackson’s naked breast and nipple during a 2005 CBS broadcast of the Superbowl may have been fleeting, the legal ramifications stemming from the incident are anything but. Last time we covered this case (here and … Continue reading

Posted in Jennifer Liebman: Author | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Supreme Court rejects dress code case

Earlier this week the Supreme Court denied petition to review a high school student’s challenge to his school’s dress code. In denying review, the Supreme Court has chosen to leave the lower court’s holding intact — a holding that serves … Continue reading

Posted in Lindsay Ryder: Author | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bad times for t-shirts, Yale

T-shirts printed by the Freshman Class Council for football games against Harvard have traditionally featured taunts and put downs of the rival institution, and vice-versa, but this year the featured text – “I think of all Harvard men as sissies,” … Continue reading

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