Â鶹´«Ã½IOS

Â鶹´«Ã½IOS, of course!

Professor Maurice Eisenstein, who is suing Purdue University Calumet for violating his free speech rights after he criticized Muslims on Facebook, was in a piece published today. The interview provides a detailed account of his ordeal.

Here is an excerpt about Â鶹´«Ã½IOS's influence in his case: 

FP: The University cleared you of these 9 harassment/discrimination complaints. How or why do you think that happened?

Eisenstein: My very short answer is: the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, Â鶹´«Ã½IOS. If not for Â鶹´«Ã½IOS, I think things could have and would have likely gone very differently. Â鶹´«Ã½IOS sent a letter in January 2012 and that letter was made public about 1 day before the University had to issue a ruling on these 9 complaints. The University ended up extending its decision time-line in the aftermath of the public relations fallout from the Â鶹´«Ã½IOS letter.

I really do think that without the support from a national organization with the credibility that Â鶹´«Ã½IOS has, the University would have tried to initiate termination proceedings. The whole attempt to fire me would be over the issue of "offending" someone. 

Later, he says:

There are two things I would say [to people in similar situations]: 1) get a lawyer right from the start.  And 2) contact Â鶹´«Ã½IOS.

Unfortunately, the university has continued to violate Eisenstein's rights. In the latter part of the interview, Eisenstein adds:

In fact, at this very moment, the University is conducting yet another investigation of my free speech. This time the University is investigating whether or not my blog has violated the University's anti-harassment/discrimination policies. The specific blog in question can be viewed . It is essentially accusing me of retaliation for publishing emails they provided to me through a FOIA request. But, essentially, the University is continuing to violate my First Amendment rights even up to today. 

Â鶹´«Ã½IOS continues to help Eisenstein—and professors across the political spectrum—defend free speech and academic freedom.