On January 8th, I started the new semester with a lawsuit against my own school, the University of Massachusetts Amherst. I could no longer tolerate my college’s unconstitutional restrictions on student speech– so I decided to take action.
Growing up, I was taught the importance of being able to speak freely and honestly. Coming into college, I thought that universities were places of ideas and open debate, places where the First Amendment was respected. Unfortunately, when I arrived on campus, I saw the complete opposite, and realized that the First Amendment was under attack.
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But it wasn’t angry student protesters or even liberal professors that were undermining freedom of speech on campus– it was the UMass administration, who were blatantly disregarding the Constitution.
The university has a “land use” policy which states: “Outdoor speeches and rallies during class hours may be held only on the west side (main entrance) of the Student Union Building, and shall be limited to one (1) hour in length, from noon to 1:00 p.m.” With just a few words buried in an obscure policy, administrators created a speech zone on our campus.
It’s unbelievable that at a publicly funded university, students can only exercise their freedom of speech for one hour during lunch, on less than one percent of the campus grounds. Dissenting from this blatantly unconstitutional policy can even get you expelled.
Such an authoritarian policy chills and suppresses speech and expression on campus. It’s absurd to think that students like me spend tens of thousands of dollars per year to attend a university but have our right to speak freely stripped away and restricted to a “special” zone. So I realized that this policy needed to go. Many students self-censor their expression because of the speech zone, while others sometimes get away with violating it, never knowing if it would be enforced or not.
Free speech is an inalienable human right guaranteed by the Constitution, and it doesn’t become null and void the second you set foot on a college campus. Really, freedom of expression shouldn’t be a partisan issue, but an American consensus. If we don’t defend and respect the First Amendment, we can’t have a dialogue or discussion about anything else.
Current policy tells students that their voice and opinions only matter on their lunch break. It wrongfully and unconstitutionally gives public university administrators the ability to become the speech police, and the ability to expel those who don’t fall in line. If the university wants to be an institution that actually respects free speech, then here is their opportunity: Drop the unconstitutional policy.
In mid-March, in response to our lawsuit, the university took a step in the right directly by signing an affidavit to pursue a new policy of nonenforcement until the June board meeting. At that meeting, the chancellor of the school has agreed to propose to the board of trustees that the policy be removed. If successful, this change will be a win for student speech on campus.
But this victory shouldn’t stop or be limited to just my university. Many colleges around the country violate the First Amendment. Each one of us should take stand for the value of free expression and the marketplace of ideas on campus. Expressing ourselves boldly and respectfully. We should not stop there.
In the words of Ronald Reagan, “Freedom is never more than a generation away from extinction.” We need to pass on a legacy of liberty to the next generation of students so the marketplace of ideas can flourish, not flounder. I hope my case will inspire students from universities across the nation to stand up and demand that their free speech rights be respected.
This piece was originally published at the Lone Conservative.