FIRE > General Info Page > Morgan Freeman, Sam Houston State University
Morgan Freeman, Sam Houston State University
by FIRE March 13, 2013
Morgan Freeman was a student at Sam Houston State University (SHSU), where she studied music and philosophy. While in school, she was involved with a variety of activities both on and off-campus, including choir, Raven Films, SHSU's Honors College, martial arts, and theatre. In addition, she founded and was president of Sam Houston State University Lovers of Liberty and was a Campus Coordinator.
Morgan initially heard of FIRE at the Students For Liberty Campus Coordinator training in 2011. Shortly thereafter, her school announced a social media policy that violated students' rights. From then on, Morgan made it a point to champion freedom of speech on her campus. In the process, she found herself at the center of national free speech controversy. When Morgan's group brought together a broad coalition of student groups form across the political spectrum to protest the social media policy with a free speech wall, an SHSU professor censored the wall with a box cutter. In the end, they were able to get the offending social media policy removed.
For those who wish to imitate Morgan's success promoting free speech on campus, she says:
I want students to know that it is not as hard as it may seem at first. When you find a cause you care about and a way to raise awareness about it, just break it down into small steps. Taking that first step is the hardest. Once you do that, you just have to follow up.
Morgan also spoke about her experiences at the 2012 CFN Conference. Check out FIRE's video about her case at Sam Houston State: