AFCON: The Academic Freedom Coalition of Nebraska
"Freedom to differ is not limited to things that do not matter much. That would be a mere shadow of freedom. The test of its substance is the right to differ as to things that touch the heart of the existing order." — West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943), United States Supreme Court.
AFCON is a coalition of Nebraska educational and literary organizations that have come together to promote academic freedom in Nebraska. "Academic freedom" is defined as intellectual freedom in educational and research contexts, and includes freedoms of belief and expression, as well as access to information and ideas.In support of this general goal, AFCON: * supports applications of the First Amendment in academic contexts, including schools, colleges, universities, and libraries; * educates Nebraskans about the meaning and value of intellectual freedom, intellectual diversity, mutual respect, open communication, and uninhibited pursuit of knowledge, including the role of these ideals in academic contexts and in democratic self-government; * assists students, teachers, librarians, and researchers confronted with censorship, indoctrination, or suppression of information or ideas; * acts as liaison among groups in Nebraska that support academic freedom.
About AFCON
Read and comment on our draft Student Free Expression bill for the NE Legislature
Publications - Read the AFCON newsletters
Join AFCON
The AFCON Board meets at 10 a.m. on the second Saturday morning of each month except August, in meeting room 1 of the Eiseley Branch Library on Superior street in Lincoln, Nebraska, unless otherwise announced. Contact any officer for details.
If you are a student, teacher, instructor, professor, author, or librarian, and you believe your rights to speak, write, or display the truth as you see it are threatened in an educational context, please contact an AFCON officer.