We’ve almost reached the Ides of March, but we have exciting news to share!
What's Happening Now:
We are so excited to announce our fourth year of IfRFA cohort members! Please welcome:
Marwa (from CUNY School of Law)
Selena (from Emory University School of Law)
Obi (from NYU School of Law)
Karem (from CUNY School of Law) and
Ángel (from University of Puerto Rico School of Law). We are so excited to have them on board with us and can't wait to introduce them to their clinics where they'll be spending their summer! You can read all about them on our
website here. As always, we are truly looking forward to having the opportunity to explore a range of freedom of expression issues during the upcoming summer.
We are also planning our cohort conference (aka in-person get together) for either late summer or early fall 2023 and just like our previous in-person retreat in March 2022, it's going to be a very exciting, informative, and engaging celebration!
What’s Up Next:
We are once again hosting a First Amendment focused virtual event, and you are invited!
“Weaponizing Misogyny”: Gender-Based Harassment’s Impact on Journalists and Free Expression will take place on March 23, 2023 at 12pm-1pm ET.
Join IfRFA for a discussion of how gender-based harassment online and off shapes our speech environment, leading to differing coverage and barriers to the free expression of ideas, featuring Elisa Lees Muñoz of the International Women’s Media Foundation, Jeje Mohamed from PEN America, Pratika Katiyar of the Student Press Law Center, and Taylor Lorenz of the Washington Post. You can get more information and RSVP
via this link!
What’s on our minds:
Florida. And we wish it was because of vacation plans, but alas, it is not. Florida governor Ron Desantis is not
backing down from using state power to restrict the speech of those who disagree with him, using both appointments and proposed legislation to combat the scourge of “wokeness.” One of his lawyers defined “wokeness” as
the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them and DeSantis has made clear that his goal of eliminating the scourge of knowledge of systemic inequality applies to places where teaching it is necessary to an accurate historical picture, including in higher education. In defense of the Stop WOKE Act, Florida’s lawyers have argued that
in-classroom speech by government employees is government speech, which means that the state can proscribe an African-American studies professor for discussing racial inequality. Although attorneys have already challenged many of these moves, the chilling effect of the legislation and general environment are quite significant, and so we’re thinking about our friends and colleagues in Florida these days.
Until next time,
Kendra & Jasjot