Tyler Coward, an attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), will speak about First Amendment issues affecting higher education on Thursday, October 18, 2018, at 6 p.m. in the Cerro Coso Community College Library.
FIRE's mission is to defend and sustain individual rights at America's colleges and universities. These rights include freedom of speech, legal equality, due process, religious liberty, and sanctity of conscience - the essential qualities of individual liberty and dignity.
Founded in 1999 by University of Pennsylvania professor Alan Charles Kors and Boston civil liberties attorney Harvey Silverglate after the overwhelming response to their 1998 book The Shadow University: The Betrayal of Liberty On America's Campuses, FIRE seeks to protect the unprotected and to educate the public and communities of concerned Americans about the threats to these rights on college campuses and the means to preserve them.
Tyler is a 2010 graduate of Indiana University - Bloomington with dual degrees in political science and history. He was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon and a director on IU's largest student programming board, helping plan events such as Culture Fest and Homecoming activities. After spending time working as a program facilitator at Camp Miniwanca in Michigan, he enrolled at Michigan State University College of Law and graduated in May 2015. At MSU Law, he participated in the school's First Amendment Clinic and was president of MSU Law's chapter of the Federalist Society.
In his free time, Tyler enjoys hiking, soccer, and playing a variety of games on Playstation 4, though typically not simultaneously. He is an avid supporter of the Indianapolis Colts, Chelsea FC, and the Indiana Hoosiers.
Funded by the Student Development and Student Equity Funds at Cerro Coso Community College, the event is FREE and open to the public. Parking will not be enforced during the event.
