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Domain: thefire.org
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Comments · 103
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Sadly, universities have the least free speech....
Sadly, universities are becoming the places where free speech is the *least* tolerated. Orwellian indoctrination classes and speech codes are the norm. Punishment for controversial speech is becoming more severe. College newspapers exposing "dangerous" thoughts are being stolen or banned. Anyone who speaks up is labeled a "racist conservative Nazi facist".
If you want detailed specifics check out the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.
Brian Ellenberger -
Re:I'd fight...
IANAL.Is that "if you can not afford a lawyer, one will be appointed to you" only valid in criminal cases?
In the US, one does not get a lawyer appointed for civil cases. The "one will be appointed to you" line that you see on television is part of the US Miranda warning which is only applicable in criminal cases.
However, there are many advocacy groups such as the ACLU, EFF, FIRE and others that may provide free counsel in civil cases that fit their profile.
The "system" as you refer to it is typical in countries with a common law background. Most European countries follow the Romano-Germanic legal tradition which is entirely different in its approach than the common law. -
Stricter policies. University of Massachusetts.
1.
How can our University of Massachusetts get away with subjecting people to stricter policies than might be accorded you publishing in a public forum such as a commercial ISP or a book you might publish?...
Click on
use of copyrighted material
at
http://www.cs.umb.edu/help/Lab_help.shtml
Quote
"Copyright Policies
By law, individuals generally can make copies of small portions of copyrighted material for their personal use. This is called "fair use". Exactly what consitutes fair use is often a matter for courts to decide. See the WebLaw FAQ for discussion of these matters. As the FAQ suggests, you are usually better off making a link to material rather than copying it
In any case, the use of the Math and Computer Science Departmental Network subjects you to stricter policies than might be accorded you publishing in a public forum such as a commercial ISP or a book you might publish. Whether or not a court would declare it fair use, you may not post on our servers, email to anyone, or post to newsgroups the entirety, nor even significant portions, of copyrighted materials without the permission of copyright owner. We will not enter into discussions of what is a significant portion or what is fair use. Follow the same rules you learn about for writing papers: use of a few sentences, fully attributed, is OK. More than that usually is not. A copyrighted image is not.
Finally note that just because something doesn't have a copyright notice on it does not mean it has no copyright. Your best strategy is to assume anything you find on the web is copyrighted and if it does not explicitly carry permission to copy, or if you do not have written permission to copy it, you should just link to it. See the aforementioned FAQ."
Quoted
Click on
use of copyrighted material
at
http://www.cs.umb.edu/help/Lab_help.shtml
Our universities should be more open centers of intellectual freedom devoted to free speech, individual liberty, religious freedom, the rights of conscience, legal equality, due process, and academic freedom on campus
See also
http://thefire.org
Professor Robert A. Morris http://www.cs.umb.edu/~ram/ appears to be a principal among university faculty in devising policies that remarkably for an institution devoted to thought even overrestrictively state "We will not enter into discussions of what is a significant portion or what is fair use."
2.
It is ironical that our university will not even enter into an open discussion of ideas?...