FIRE Honors Mark Berkson for Defending his Colleague, Who was Fired for Being a Good Teacher

Erika López Prater, an art history professor at Hamline University, lost her teaching position after showing images of the Prophet Muhammad in class. While some faculty members and students called for Hamline to fire López Prater, professor of religion Mark Berkson defended the besieged professor in an essay published in The Oracle, Hamline’s student newspaper. For Berkson’s brave defense of academic freedom, FIRE presented him with the first-ever "Berkson Courageous Colleague Award" at this year's FIRE Faculty Network Conference.

I attended FIRE's faculty conference where Mark make his acceptance speech. His words inspired me and I hope they inspire you too.

An excerpt From Mark Berkson's Acceptance Speech:

I really appreciate the non partisan nature of fires work, their commitments to the principles that are there to protect everyone across the political spectrum are central. And there are times that I read a fire statement, and I go to learn more about the person they're defending. And I must admit, I sometimes say like . . . "Yuck!, I don't know, I don't know about that one, you know!' there are some really disturbing views [audience laughing]. And then, of course, I'm immediately reminded that not only must I extend the same protections, I seek to those with different views, but in a way that can often be difficult to see at the moment, we benefit from hearing those views.

And this occurs within every religious tradition I teach when we see how much is revealed when we juxtapose what is considered orthodox with what's considered heretical. And when we see how worldviews are shaped, principles affirmed and understandings clarified by the engagement with, rather than the silencing of, opposing, even offensive or disturbing, points of view.

The principle that FIRE defends in all realms is articulated well within religion by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, who wrote, "Religion is at its best when it relies on strength of argument and example, is at its worst when it seeks to impose truth by force." And this is not just some contemporary idea. 16th century Rabbi Judah Lowe said it beautifully. He wrote, "It is not proper, that we despise the words of our adversaries, but rather we must draw them as close as we can. Therefore, it is proper out of love of reason and knowledge that you should not summarily reject anything that opposes your own ideas. Even if such beliefs are opposed to your faith and religion. Do not say to your opponent 'Speak not. Close your mouth.' On the contrary, you should at such time say speak up as much as you want, whatever you wish. Curbing the words of an opponent in religious matters is nothing but the curbing and enfeebling of religion itself. What strength is manifested when the opponent is not permitted to fight?"

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Regarding Middle East Conflicts, FIRE Weighs in on the Side of . . . Free Speech

FIRE's October 25 announcement:

The government cannot force public colleges to derecognize Students for Justice in Palestine chapters. That's just what State University System of Florida Chancellor Ray Rodrigues, reportedly at the direction of Gov. Ron DeSantis, is trying to do.

FIRE did not issue this statement because it is taking sides regarding the Middle East conflict. FIRE doesn't take sides regarding the substance of disputes. What FIRE does with unrelenting consistency is to advocate for free speech for all sides of every dispute.

Continue ReadingRegarding Middle East Conflicts, FIRE Weighs in on the Side of . . . Free Speech

FIRE Faculty Conference – 2023

I just returned from the 3-day FIRE Faculty Network Conference in DC.

I was surrounded by brave educators, many of whom have repeatedly faced adversity from their schools for the crime of being excellent teachers. I had the opportunity visit with three women professors who teach in the area of biological sciences (at three different universities). Each one of them was present because biology is so often seen as a threat to ignorant students, professors and administrators.

I also had the opportunity to meet Erika Lopez Prater, who was fired by Hamline University for doing an excellent job of teaching Islamic Religious History--her specific sin was displaying for the class the image of a much-revered historic 14th Century painting of Muhammed, painted by a Muslim for a Muslim audience. She did this after giving her class warning, so that anyone who might be offended could be excused from class. The administrator who fired her called her actions: "undeniably inconsiderate, disrespectful and Islamophobic”

I also had the opportunity to meet Professor of Religion, Mark Bergson, who argued, at considerable risk to his job, that Hamlin was making a horrific mistake by firing Lopez Prater.

Speakers at the conference included Greg Lukianoff and Steven Pinker. We all know that this problem--that many people who formerly opposed censorship and cancel culture are now in favor of these things--is not going away any time soon.

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New Alumni Group Advocates for Free Inquiry at Colleges

On Oct. 18, five alumni groups announced the creation of an organization to stand up for open inquiry: The Alumni Free Speech Alliance. This group consists of alumni. Why?

Because with rare exceptions, everyone else may feel too exposed to attacks to take a stand against campus culture. Our experience is that the few student free-speech groups don’t have many members (Princeton’s has about 20). Champions of free speech among faculty are badly outnumbered, even as many left-of-center professors are starting to realize that they too can be brutally canceled by the mob. Those few students and faculty who speak up often feel isolated and exposed.

University trustees, presidents and other administrators are also usually mired in the toxic campus environment, which responds to heresy with attacks. Most have either been cowed by or genuinely believe in a woke orthodoxy that sees free speech as an inconvenient disruption.

That leaves alumni as the only university stakeholders with the numbers and clout to lead the defense of free speech, academic freedom and viewpoint diversity in campus environments. Free speech and academic freedom are fundamental to the advancement of knowledge and to the success of our colleges and universities. Will all teaching and research at these schools soon be subject to a mandated orthodoxy? Will parents keep paying to send their children places where the fundamental elements of learning are suppressed? These institutions constantly seek alumni involvement and contributions. Alumni have the ability and duty to demand that their schools maintain the reasons for which they were created. But to be effective, alumni need to organize.

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The Newly Published Westminster Declaration Seeks to Dismantle the Censorship Industrial Complex

From Public, an introduction to the Westminster Declaration, an effort focused on "formal censorship by governments of online speech, not censorship at the level of the workplace or media." Several excerpts from this article:

A group of 138 scholars, public intellectuals, and journalists from across the political spectrum have issued a strong call warning the public of the Censorship Industrial Complex and urging governments to dismantle it in the name of the “first liberty,” freedom of speech. It’s called The Westminster Declaration ...

The signatory list includes scholars like Jonathan Haidt, Steven Pinker, and John McWhorter, actors like Tim Robbins and John Cleese, journalists like Glenn Greenwald, Bari Weiss, and Lee Fang, and scientists like Jay Bhattacharya. It includes prominent free speech advocates like Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, Nadine Strossen, Greg Lukianoff, and many more.

You may notice that the signatory list features thinkers from the Left, like Slavoj Žižek, as well as thinkers from the Right, like Jordan Peterson. People with very different political views have signed the declaration, and you may also notice that individuals with significant disagreements have signed it. That is precisely the point. It is only through free speech that robust political, ethical, and scientific debates can take place.

“Across the globe,” the Declaration reads, “government actors, social media companies, universities, and NGOs are increasingly working to monitor citizens and rob them of their voices. …the Censorship Industrial Complex operates through more subtle methods. These include visibility filtering, labelling, and manipulation of search engine results. Through deplatforming and flagging, social media censors have already silenced lawful opinions on topics of national and geopolitical importance.”

Those who claim they are simply “fighting misinformation” are, in truth, attempting to control the minds of the public. This is exceedingly dangerous since, ”time and time again, unpopular opinions and ideas have eventually become conventional wisdom. By labeling certain political or scientific positions as 'misinformation' or 'malinformation,' our societies risk getting stuck in false paradigms that will rob humanity of hard-earned knowledge and obliterate the possibility of gaining new knowledge. Free speech is our best defense against disinformation.”

While we do not intend to add any additional signatories to the Declaration, given the significant amount of time already invested, we welcome endorsements in the form of articles and social media posts by those who agree with it. We are happy to note that The New York Post, The Telegraph of London, The Times of London, Die Welt, France-Soir, La Veritá, and other newspapers have written about or will soon publish articles about the Declaration.

The opening passages to the Westminster Declaration:

We write as journalists, artists, authors, activists, technologists, and academics to warn of increasing international censorship that threatens to erode centuries-old democratic norms.

Coming from the left, right, and centre, we are united by our commitment to universal human rights and freedom of speech, and we are all deeply concerned about attempts to label protected speech as ‘misinformation,’ ‘disinformation,’ and other ill-defined terms.

This abuse of these terms has resulted in the censorship of ordinary people, journalists, and dissidents in countries all over the world.

Such interference with the right to free speech suppresses valid discussion about matters of urgent public interest, and undermines the foundational principles of representative democracy.

Across the globe, government actors, social media companies, universities, and NGOs are increasingly working to monitor citizens and rob them of their voices. These large-scale coordinated efforts are sometimes referred to as the ‘Censorship-Industrial Complex.’

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