- December 20, 2012 A survey by FIRE, the Foundation for
Individual Rights in Education, a nonprofit organization devoted
to the protection of civil rights on campus, has found that 62
percent of the college campuses it looked at nationally
substantially restrict free speech on campus. In New Jersey, the
rate was 55.6 percent. FIRE's report said that in most cases
these policies had laudable goals -- in that they were designed
to discourage harassment, bullying, and incitement. However, the
application of these policies should not be any more restrictive
than would occur off-campus. In other words, the First Amendment
protects free expression unless it meets certain standards set
by the U.S. Supreme Court. These standards include immediate
threat of violence, repetitive and extreme harassment, and true
threats and intimidation. If an off-campus standard is not met,
it would be illegal to enforce on campus, according to FIRE. In
New Jersey, Princeton, The College of New Jersey, Stevens
Institute of Technology,