Coastal Carolina University, a public college in Conway, S.C., holds a yellow light rating, according to a campus free speech rating system belonging to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.
A “yellow light” institution is one “whose policies restrict a more limited amount of protected expression or, by virtue of their vague wording, could too easily be used to restrict protected expression.”
Coastal Carolina University’s Free Speech and Solicitation Policy both affirms and restricts students’ free speech at the same time.
It states, “Coastal Carolina University is dedicated to the constitutional principles of free expression, free assembly and the right to petition the government for redress of grievances, and recognizes and supports the rights of its members to these traditional freedoms.”
But the remainder of the policy contradicts, explaining that students are required to file an event registration form that includes the desired date, time, and place of all upcoming events. The policy also recommends that students contact the Office of Student Life for review of the requested event.
The policy also mandates that, “Distribution of non-University-sponsored literature or products by faculty, staff, students or visitors on University property in working or non-working areas is prohibited.”
Such a policy is broad and vague, leaving university staff and administration with the opportunity to restrict events based on the type or content of the event. It also does not allow for spontaneous events.
“Vague policies like these give CCU the chance to regulate free speech before it even occurs,” Alexander Staudt, Young Americans for Liberty’s director of free speech, explained to Red Alert Politics. “Public colleges should not be telling students what ideas are good and bad.”
Ryan Ross and Alex Oxendine, members of the Young Americans for Liberty at Coastal Carolina University, told Red Alert Politics that they have held events on campus without requesting university permission.
“I have discussed my concerns about how the wording of the policies could allow unfair and illegal restrictions of free speech in the future,” Ross said.
He continued saying the university is willing to work on improving their policies.
“Coastal Carolina should listen to the concerns of its students and revise all of its yellow light speech codes to First Amendment standards in order to better protect free speech on campus,” Laura Beltz, FIRE’s Senior Program Officer on Policy Reform, told Red Alert Politics.
Coastal Carolina University did not respond to Red Alert’s request for comment in time for publication.
