Need Immediate Help?
In a moment when it is becoming increasingly difficult to predict the consequences of our online speech and choices, we hope you will find these strategies and resources helpful. You are a member of AFT if you are an FWC-AAUP member, so you have access to resources from the American Federation of Teachers as well.
Three Key AAUP-AFT Member Benefits
1. Trauma Counseling Programs and Services. The AFT offers support and services to members who experience workplace trauma. If you or other members experience a traumatic event at work, this trauma counseling benefit can provide support.
2. Legal Services through Union Plus
3. Occupational Liability Insurance. AAUP-AFT offers insurance that provides coverage for legal expenses in the event that you are sued for activities performed in the course of your work duties.
On Campus Resources
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FU Public Safety: On-campus: ext. 4090
Off-campus: (203) 254-4090
publicsafety@fairfield.edu -
Free Speech Policy
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Freedom of Speech Resolution Committee can be contacted by emailing the president of Academic Council
State Resources
Equal Employment Opportunity Office
CT Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities
AAUP
● AAUP Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom (CDAF)
● CDAF Academic Freedom First Aid Kit
Isaac Kamola, Director of the AAUP’s Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom and a recorded webinar on Academic Freedom Basics.
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See our updated Academic Freedom Field Guide with new legal, digital security, and dox defense resources and 1-pagers.
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Given the recent cuts to NSF funding, check out our guide to the law and policies for grant terminations for the National Science Foundation and stay tuned for further updates.
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Subscribe to our Academic Freedom on the Line Substack.
Additional AAUP Resources
Pandya, Sachin and Isaac Kamola. "Responding to Freedom of Information (FOI) Requests at Public Universities." Action Report #1, Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom, AAUP, July 8, 2024.
Kamola, Isaac. "Responding to Turning Point USA (TPUSA) and Other Provocative Student Groups on Campus." Action Report #2, Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom, AAUP, October 31, 2024.
Habash, Tariq. "Trump Can't Actually Dismantle the Department of Education, but His Policies Still Threaten Us All." Action Report #3, Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom, AAUP, February 13, 2025.
MacLean, Nancy. "The American Council of Trustees and Alumni: A Little-Known Driver of the Attacks on Academic Freedom and Shared Governance." Action Report #4, Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom, AAUP, March 11, 2025.
Proffitt, Jennifer, Tim Cain, and Risa Lieberwitz, Isaac Kamola (ed.) "Navigating Post-Tenure Review Through Shared Governance and Collective Bargaining: Lessons from Florida State University." Action Report #5, Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom, AAUP, March 14, 2025.
Prall, Ethan and Isaac Kamola (editors) "Understanding the Law and Policies for Grant Terminations for the National Science Foundation." Action Report #6, Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom, AAUP, March 25, 2025.
Legal ○ Digital Security ○ Dox Defense ○ Responding to Freedom of Information Requests (FOI)
● AAUP/AFT “FAQ: Campus Free Speech/Academic Freedom in Politically Charged Times”
● AFT Guide to Defending Higher Education in 2025
● Faculty First Responders Guide to Academic Freedom Self-Defense
● AFT Know Your Rights Guide: Academic Freedom and Campus Free Speech For Scholars and Students on Visas
● AFT Mobilization Best Practices. Includes information on rights and safety during and while planning rallies and other mobilizations.
Strategies to Protect Yourself Online in the Current Climate A Guide from the AAUP and Faculty First Responders
Immediate Support
If you are facing suspension, dismissal, or other employment repercussions as a result of your speech online, reach out to your union or AAUP chapter immediately and contact the AAUP national staff. ○ To find your AAUP chapter, visit https://www.aaup.org/chapters/find-chapter.
○ To contact the AAUP national, write to academicfreedom@aaup.org.
○ To contact your AFT union local, reach out to your local union officer or write to highereddept@aft.org
Contact the Fairfield University Chapter President: Shuber@fairfield.edu
Harassment for your views expressed online?
● If you are facing harassment for your views expressed online, contact Faculty First Responders (FFR) at facultyfirstresponders@gmail.com for peer-to-peer advice and support. (FFR cannot and does not provide legal advice or representation.)
Guidance for Social Media
1. Set your personal social media accounts to private mode. When prompted, approve the setting to make all previous posts private.
2. Be mindful that anything you post online can be screenshotted and shared.
3. Before posting or reposting online commentary, pause and ask yourself:
a. Am I comfortable with this view potentially being shared with my employer, my students, or the public?
b. Have I (or the person I am reposting) expressed this view in terms I would be comfortable sharing with my employer, my students, or the public?
4. In your social media bios, state that the views expressed through the account represent your own opinions and not your employer. You do not need to name your employer.
5. Consider posting positive statements about positions you support rather than negative statements about positions you disagree with. Some examples could be:
● Academic freedom is nonnegotiable.
● The faculty united will never be divided.
● Higher ed research saves lives.
● Higher ed transforms lives.
● Politicians are interfering with your child’s education.
Digital Safety Tips
1. Use strong, unique, complex passwords and passcodes on devices and accounts. A password manager can save them all for you.
2. Install software updates immediately. Updates are usually security-related.
3. Enable two-factor authentication for all social media and other sensitive accounts.
4. Do not use your employer-provided email address, devices, or campus wifi for nonwork activities, including organizing and any other sensitive activities.
5. Search for your name in common search engines to find out what is available about you online. Put your name in quotation marks to narrow the search. Search both with and without your institution attached to your name.
