ࡱ> ;=:`  bjbjss h.&&&&&&&$JJ$$ h#v*&ttt*&&?   t&& t  &&  J2 U0 ##  "#&,4 **ttttJJJd JJJ JJJ&&&&&& August 9, 2006 Raymond A. Mason Chairman of the Board of Trustees The Johns Hopkins University 100 Light Street Baltimore, MD 21202 Sent via U.S. Mail and Facsimile (410-685-2365) Dear Chairman Mason: FIREis disappointed to write to the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) once again to express our concern about the state of liberty on your campus.As you know, FIREwrote to you on May 19, 2006 to protest the distressing state of free speech and freedom of the press at JHU (letter enclosed). The universitys refusal to recognize the theft of The Carrollton Record (TCR) student newspaper, the newly enforced restriction on newspaper distribution, and JHUs consideration of a harassment complaint against TCR staff members all demonstrate a disturbing instance of viewpoint discrimination and institutional censorship. FIREfound JHU Deputy General Counsel Frederick Savages May 26 response to our concerns disturbing. Despite his assurances, TCR has indeed been banned from being distributed in JHU dorms while other campus publications, like The Donkey, retain their full distribution rights in those locations. Savage explained that JHU has applied a Postering policy to TCR, and that, although it is not explicitly stated in the policy, by long standing practice the Office of Residential Life has applied the policy to student publications that are left for distribution in student housing. As we all know, an unwritten policy is no policy at all. The current arrangement, as Savage describes it, gives JHU administrators wide leverage to apply the policy with bias to any publication. If JHU plans to have a policy regulating campus newspaper distribution, the policy needs to be clear and applicable to all, not misleading and subject to viewpoint discrimination. Savage also claimed in his letter that as TCR is free of charge and there is no limitation on the number of copies one can take, any charge of theft would be difficult to sustain. But Maryland Criminal Law Code Ann. 7-106 (2006) (copy enclosed) regarding newspaper theft defines a newspaper as simply a periodical that is distributed on a complimentary or compensatory basis. Furthermore, the law states explicitly that a person may not knowingly or willfully obtain or exert control that is unauthorized over newspapers with the intent to prevent another from reading the newspapers. According to Maryland state law, the disappearance of copies of TCR at least warrants investigation. Administrators at one of Americas top institutions of higher learning have an obligation to ensure that thieves do not stifle speech simply because they disagree with it. Finally, FIREremains concerned about the harassment complaints that have been filed with the Office of Equal Opportunity against TCR staff members. As you know, on May 18, TCR editor Jered Ede was called into JHUs Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Programs and informed that a harassment complaint had been filed against TCR staff members. The name of the individual who filed the complaint was not released. Savage wrote in a letter to FIREthat [t]he Universitys Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Programs has received a complaint that the TCRs publication of the cover photo amounted to harassment. In keeping with standard practice, that office is investigating the complaint. I cannot comment on that investigation. Savage implied in his letter implied that he considered TCRs cover photo in its May issue to constitute harassment. He stated, the photos implied that those photographed endorsed or were in some way involved in pornography and/or sponsored a student event on campus where a pornographic film director spoke; the photos, in connection with the reference to DSAGA, implicitly made a statement about the sexual orientation of the students and/or were intended to harass students on that basis. TCR staff members were within their rights to print an issue that criticized a pornographic film directors visit to campus and voiced disagreement with DSAGA, the student group that sponsored the event. True harassment is a serious offense; publishing a newspaper disagreeing with certain students opinions is not. For JHU to liken TCRs actions to harassment trivializes real harassment and makes a mockery of the term. JHU must understand that the suppression of TCRs freedom of the press degrades the institutions commitment to an environment conducive to the free and open exchange of ideas. JHUs actions also send a chilling message to all students that their First Amendment rights are not protected and that they cannot be trusted to decide for themselves which newspapers to read. JHU has charted a dangerous course in choosing to censor controversial works rather than promote an atmosphere where different points of view can be addressed and openly, responsibly discussed. FIREbelieves that the issues presented here are worthy of action by JHU. We urge you to affirm the commitment to free speech and open discussion that JHU claims to value. This coming fall, please grant The Carrollton Record the same rights and privileges that other student publications freely enjoy. Again, FIREintends to see this matter through to a just and moral conclusion and we are prepared to use all of our resources to support the staff of TCR and their First Amendment rights. Sincerely, Greg Lukianoff President cc: C. Michael Armstrong, Board of Trustees, The Johns Hopkins University George L. Bunting, Jr., Board of Trustees, The Johns Hopkins University Pamela P. Flaherty, Board of Trustees, The Johns Hopkins University Richard S. Frary, Board of Trustees, The Johns Hopkins University William Brody, President, The Johns Hopkins University Susan Boswell, Dean of ýappٷ, The Johns Hopkins University Ralph Johnson, Assistant Dean of ýappٷ, The Johns Hopkins University Linda Robertson, Vice President for Government, The Community and Public Affairs, Johns Hopkins University Stephen Dunham, Vice President and General Counsel, The Johns Hopkins University Shelly Fickau, Residential Life Director, The Johns Hopkins University Encl.  ? ^   # 2 3 8 : = U  & 6A"%^޼īhHqhCD-6h5)h<hCD-6 h(6h]hqhCD-6h*hCD-6h(h"hH} hxuhCD- h jhCD- hCD-6 hCD-6>*hDhCD-6>*hCD-h'h[:!C`q9 : ]^WXEFgdi^gdigdk^gd"gdCD- ^    UVWXnDFI/6Z`qr{[\¾{hkh h6cBhCD-6hCD- hAhk hi6hH} hihk hihihi hk6hkh]h"h"CJOJQJaJh' h'hH} h'h5) h5)6h5) h'h" h'h h6h0F%&.89=Qy   gdCD-gdi\%^nSh   hVhz,hqhCD-6 hCD-6h5) hxuhCD-hCD-21h:p5)/ =!@ "#@ $% 21h:p5)/ =!"#$% @@@ CD-NormalCJ_HaJmH sH tH DA@D Default Paragraph FontRiR  Table Normal4 l4a (k(No ListH@H " Balloon TextCJOJQJ^JaJ6U@6 ' Hyperlink >*B*ph .4.!C`q9: ] ^ W X EF%&.89=Qy0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@00@00@000@000@0@0@0@00@0@0@00@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@00@0000!C`q9:] ^ W X EF%&.89=Qy0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@00@00@0@0@000@0@0@0@00@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0@0^\ F  8@0(  B S  ?8b\Foou}``fn      "!#$&%'(*)+.,-/02134657LT__ppz~` ` ow=EPPt|  emxx  "!#$&%'(*)+-.,/02134657 =5*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags PlaceTypeB.*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagscountry-region>/*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags PostalCode:3*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsStreet;4*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsaddress97*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsplace82*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsCity90*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsState=8*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags PlaceName P 878543270/.770.78785878587858785878587858785788587858785  0 5 ~  4 6 Sfi47kn>A3333333333333333sU.Sn.Sn0/ ?-k[r?V?r6}l7!5)CD-OE-]M2\=??XHmH$K+PhnP=.b j=lA8oH}>N} '+@lL"iz,)e[Yk])(6Wz RH@I @UnknownGz Times New Roman5Symbol3& z Arial7&  Verdana5& zaTahoma"qhKfKfKf + +!24d  2QHP)?CD-2August X, 2006 Tara Sweeney Tara SweeneyOh+'0 ( H T ` lxAugust X, 2006Tara SweeneyNormalTara Sweeney2Microsoft Office Word@^в@@%@%՜.+,0 hp  ýappٷ+   August X, 2006 Title  !"#$%&'()+,-./013456789<Root Entry FN2>1Table#WordDocumenth.SummaryInformation(*DocumentSummaryInformation82CompObjq  FMicrosoft Office Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.89q