Tag: Substack

  • University of Rochester student expelled after detailing school’s mishandling of harassment complaint on Substack

    University of Rochester student expelled after detailing school’s mishandling of harassment complaint on Substack

    ROCHESTER, N.Y., June 18, 2025 — The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression is urging the University of Rochester to reinstate an Eastman School of Music student who was expelled after blowing the whistle on a professor who sexually harassed her.

    The case lays bare a university system that moved quickly to protect itself at the expense of a student’s right to voice criticisms — even though an internal investigation found the professor responsible for violating the harassment policy.

    TAKE ACTION: Tell Rochester to stop muzzling its students

    “There was no due process or hearing,” the student, Rebecca Bryant Novak, said. “The university’s administrators were more concerned about protecting the faculty than adhering to their own rules and addressing bad behavior. They basically tried to destroy my career beyond all comprehension.”

    Shortly into her first semester as a Ph.D. student in fall 2023, Bryant Novak complained about abusive behavior by a professor who she said would scream at students and make lewd, sexist comments.

    After a yearlong investigation, a panel of faculty and administrators agreed that the professor had indeed violated Rochester’s harassment policy and that Eastman’s Title IX coordinator had grossly mishandled her complaint.

    Despite all this, Eastman allowed the same school authorities to retain oversight of Bryant Novak’s academic trajectory — with one official telling her that the school restricted her performance times because of her complaint against the professor. 

    When Bryant Novak complained, Eastman did nothing. As a result of the alleged retaliation, Rochester opened a second investigation into Eastman’s mishandling of the situation in December 2024, and Bryant Novak publicly disclosed the university’s new investigation in a Substack article on Feb. 10.

    Tell Rochester to Stop Muzzling its Students

    Take Action

    Tell the University of Rochester: Reinstate Rebecca Bryant Novak, restore due process, and stop muzzling students into a culture of silence.


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    Two weeks later, Eastman abruptly expelled Bryant Novak, citing a failure to make academic progress. In doing so, the school ignored its written policy that calls for students to be given ample notice if they are in danger of falling short of academic standards.

    “Rebecca’s expulsion smacks of retaliation for speech that is explicitly protected by the university’s policy,” FIRE Program Counsel Jessie Appleby said. “This is a profound violation of her free speech rights and sends a chilling message to every student at Eastman.”

    FIRE is calling on university President Sarah C. Mangelsdorf to immediately reinstate Bryant Novak and ensure that she is able to complete her doctorate under the oversight of Eastman faculty and officials who are not already subject to investigation for misconduct in her case. 

    “I hope that by taking a stand here, I can help force Rochester to extend the kinds of protections to other students that were denied to me,” Bryant Novak said.

    The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought — the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE educates Americans about the importance of these inalienable rights, promotes a culture of respect for these rights, and provides the means to preserve them.

    CONTACT:

    Karl de Vries, Director of Media Relations, FIRE: 215-717-3473; media@thefire.org

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  • Introducing Expression, FIRE’s official new Substack

    Introducing Expression, FIRE’s official new Substack

    We believe that the ability to speak your mind, question authority, and listen to opposing views is not just a basic right but the cornerstone of a free society.

    That’s why FIRE’s officially launching on Substack — to speak up, push back, and encourage debate. As a platform that deeply believes in free speech, Substack is a natural home for FIRE content.

    SIGN UP FOR FIRE’S SUBSTACK TODAY

    This will be a space for FIRE’s best commentary, analysis, and storytelling. Think of it as FIRE Magazine, curated from staff op-eds, explainers, and the pages of our Newsdesk.

    Our decision to launch on Substack has to do with a rapidly changing media landscape.

    Over 20% of Americans now regularly get their news from social media platforms. But there’s a catch:  Platforms, particularly X, punish users for sharing links in their posts, throttling traffic to other websites, including ours. Historically, FIRE’s website got a significant portion of its traffic from social media posts. Those days are long gone, and AI platforms don’t want you to click any links at all.

    Enter Substack.

    The newsletter platform, which has grown from a few million subscribers five years ago to over 35 million today, offers us a way to deliver important stories and analysis directly to your inbox. No need to go to FIRE’s homepage. Now the content will come directly to you.

    From breaking news analysis and legal battles to cultural trends, Expression is where we go beyond the headlines — taking you into the fight to defend the First Amendment and bringing you the stories that shape (and threaten) free speech in America.

    To get you started, we’ve already published a collection of posts:

    Whether you’re a die-hard free speech advocate, a curious skeptic, or someone who just wants to understand the stakes, this is your home for smart, principled, and fearless writing.

    Subscribe now to join the fight — and the conversation. Subscribing is free, but by upgrading to become a paid subscriber, you also become a FIRE Member.

    Membership benefits include invitations to exclusive events, a subscription to the FIRE Quarterly magazine, updates on free speech issues, and access to private events and interactions with FIRE staff. By becoming a member, your additional support helps us fight censorship, defend free thought, and protect your most basic and powerful freedom — expression.

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  • Defending free speech: FIRE and Substack partner to protect writers in America

    Defending free speech: FIRE and Substack partner to protect writers in America

    In his farewell address to the nation, President Ronald Reagan remarked that “America is freedom,” and it’s this freedom that makes the country “a magnet” for those from around the world.

    In recent weeks, America has sent a very different message to foreigners residing in America lawfully: You can stay here — but only if you give up your freedom of speech.

    Earlier this week, federal immigration officials arrested a Tufts University student off the street, allegedly for an op-ed she wrote in a student newspaper calling for the university to divest from Israel. If true, this represents a chilling escalation in the government’s effort to target critics of American foreign policy.

    Since our founding, America has long welcomed writers and thinkers from across the globe who come to this country and contribute to the richness of our political and cultural life. Christopher Hitchens was one of President Bill Clinton’s sharpest critics, Alexander Cockburn punched in all directions, and Ayn Rand minced no words in her condemnation of socialism.

    To preserve America’s tradition as a home for fearless writing, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and Substack are partnering to support writers residing lawfully in this country targeted by the government for the content of their writing — those who, as Hitchens once put it, “committed no crime except that of thought in writing.” If you fit this category, whether or not you publish on Substack, we urge you to get in touch immediately at thefire.org/alarm or pages.substack.com/defender.

    President Reagan recognized that freedom is “fragile, it needs protection” — and that’s exactly what FIRE and Substack intend to provide.

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