The Crimson newspaper at Florida Institute of Technology has been awarded $500 by College Media Advisers to underwrite its “Free Speech, Free Press, Free Dessert Day” on campus.

The event will feature lectures, a free speech zone and food to highlight the First Amendment and its freedoms. The event on Jan. 22, 2012, is being coordinated by the staff of the Crimson and its adviser, Ted Petersen.

CMA established the Ingelhart First Amendment Fund in October 2001 to educate college students about freedoms protected by the First Amendment. The fund is named in honor of retired Ball State University journalism professor and foremost First Amendment scholar Louis E. Ingelhart who has dedicated much of his life to studying, writing about and teaching the First Amendment.

The Ingelhart Fund will be used to underwrite innovative free expression education programs on the campuses of CMA members. All active CMA members will be eligible to apply for an annual grant from the fund. Through programs conceived and executed by advisers and students and funded by the Ingelhart endowment, CMA can do its part to protect the First Amendment, one campus at a time.

In light of recent developments in the realm of student media and the courts in which students’ First Amendment rights have been further eroded, this year might be a most appropriate time to consider mounting a program designed to educate your campus and community about the First Amendment.

Requests for Ingelhart First Amendment grants are accepted through Sept. 30 each year. The grants are awarded to CMA members to underwrite programs designed to elevate awareness of First Amendment freedoms on an individual campus. Grant amounts awarded can range from $250 to $1,000 for the winning applicants.

For more information and an application go to:

http://www.cma.cloverpad.org/Default.aspx?pageId=1111881