Season's Greetings,
As many of us leave campus to celebrate the Holidays we take this time to reflect on the challenges and accomplishments of the past Semester.
A few weeks ago we were given plenty of cause to celebrate when the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland announced they would not adopt new restrictions on the types of films students could screen on campus. (Read More Here)
Of course there are still tremendous challenges to overcome. In the past four months, we have seen a startling number of campuses that forced important campus debates into small "free speech areas," effectively turning the rest of the campus into censorship zones. Unfortunately, rather than seeing campuses remove or avoid enforcing their “speech zone” policies, we’re seeing them enforced at schools like the University of Georgia and Tarrant Community College.
Perhaps the worst example has been playing out at Southwestern College outside of San Diego. After a student-led rally over class cancellations, four faculty members were suspended and threatened with criminal charges for leaving the colleges "Free Speech Patio." Luckily the incident drew national attention to Southwestern's unconstitutional “Policy on Free Expression" which goes so far as to restrict the wearing of political buttons outside of the designated "Free Speech Area.” (Read More Here)
With help from the Center, a coalition of students, faculty and civil liberties groups have forced the Southwestern College administration to create a task force to re-write the policy. Next semester we'll be redoubling our efforts to turn Southwestern College from one of the most restrictive campuses in America into an example for all of California and the Nation.
In the meantime, have a happy holiday season!
Sincerely,
Adam Gaya
Program Director, Center for Campus Free Speech