FIRST AMENDMENT, THEFIRE.ORG
Today in The Daily Caller, FIRE Senior Vice President Robert Shibley examines the student lawsuit that FIRE has helped to coordinate at the University of Cincinnati, challenging the university’s extremely restrictive "free speech zone" policy. While FIRE has over the years encountered its share of unconstitutional free speech zones on college campuses, the University of Cincinnati’s policy, as Robert writes, is uniquely burdensome of protected student speech.
Robert’s piece examines the impact of such a restriction on basic expressive activity:
A quick look at the history of demonstrations and protests in the United States reveals why restrictive policies like the one at UC are unconstitutional. Imagine telling mourners in the days following 9/11 that they had to submit administrative notice and wait 10 working days before they could hold a candlelight vigil to grieve for the dead. Further imagine that they could only hold that vigil in a tiny, abandoned parking lot several miles away from the site of the tragedy. I would wager that not a single police officer would agree to enforce that restriction.
You can read Robert’s entire article as well as our press release from this week to get the full picture on why the University of Cincinnati is facing its day in court for restricting student speech.
Used with the permission of The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.
