The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), a civil liberties organization that advocates for the constitutional rights of students and professors at American colleges and universities, has ranked Michigan State University the 7th worst college for free speech in the country.

In 2008, Michigan State University (MSU) was added to FIRE’s Red Alert list after it punished student government leader Kara Spencer for e-mailing a carefully chosen list of faculty members to express concern about a proposal to shorten the academic year (without reducing tuition, of course). Spencer was found guilty of “spamming,” and following a national outcry–13 civil liberties organizations sent MSU an open letter protesting the decision–MSU dropped the charges. Unfortunately, the school then enacted an overbroad spam policy even worse than the one used against Spencer. As a result, every MSU student remains at risk of being punished for “spamming” — simply for sending more than 10 friends, classmates, or faculty the same unsolicited e-mail within 48 hours.

A rather dubious distinction if ever there was one.