Wednesday, students in the University System of Maryland won a huge victory for free speech when the Board of Regents unanimously rejected a proposal to adopt policies regulating the showing of films on campus.
The policy was brought before the Board after a state lawmaker threatened to cut off funding the University System for allowing students to screen a pornographic film. As the First Amendment prohibits public entities from discriminating speech based on content, any policy the Regents adopted would have likely restricted protected speech, either in form or implementation.
Though the board initially seemed poised to adopt a restrictive policy, the Center worked with a broad coalition of students and faculty who demonstrated their opposition across the entire University System. Their concerns were cited as a key reason in the Board’s decision.
Today we sent a letter to Chancellor Kirwin, commending him for Wednesday’s action. Free speech and academic freedom may still be under attack from radical political agendas, but as Maryland demonstrates, when the campus community is organized they can win.
letter_nov132009.pdf