East Tennessee State University holds a yellow light speech code rating, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s campus free speech rating system.
According to FIRE, to qualify as a yellow light school, a university must hold policies which “restrict a more limited amount of protected expression or, by virtue of their vague wording, could too easily be used to restrict protected expression.”
The policy in question at East Tennessee State University is the Application for Use of Property or Facilities – found on page six of their Policy on Use of Campus Property and Facilities. This policy restricts student demonstrations to two small areas of the campus, which are “the Amphitheatre and upper Pridewalk lawn area and designated areas within the Sherrod Library Borchuck Plaza, specifically excluding the Sherrod Library steps and the fountain structure.” These two spots are comprised of a very small portion of the 366-acre campus.
Not only does the policy relegate student groups to remaining within free speech zones, it also requires that students submit an application for use of facility, adhere to a 9:00 a.m-3:00 p.m. time window, and mandates that students cannot use the same space more than four times in a four-week period. This multilevel checklist hinders student groups from exercising their First Amendment rights to free speech and assembly.
Policies like this are an irresponsible hindrance, because they inhibit the free flow of information on campus. When student groups are only allowed to speak in certain areas, it effectively says that their peaceful assembly and demonstration is not welcome on the majority of university grounds.
“It’s appalling that ETSU thinks they have the authority to restrict free speech – emphasis on the word ‘free’ – to a small section of the campus,” Alexander Staudt, director of free speech for the Young Americans for Liberty, told Red Alert Politics.
Kristen Swing, a spokesperson for East Tennessee State University, insists that the policy is in compliance with the law.
“The spaces are reservable for this purpose. In compliance with state law ETSU maintains the generally accessible, open, outdoor areas of its campus as traditional public forums for free speech by students,” Swing told Red Alert Politics.
The state law Swing cites states, “The general assembly finds and declares that public institutions of higher education in Tennessee are not immune from the sweep of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or Article I, Section 19, of the Tennessee Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and expression.”
However, East Tennessee State University contradicts this state law twice by upholding their campus speech policies. First, having designated spaces for free speech inherently undermines the First Amendment. Second, by having students jump through hoops in order to use said spaces, East Tennessee State University’s administrative policies only re-emphasize the extent to which they are not upholding state and federal laws.
When pressed, Swing said that East Tennessee State University is looking to adopt a Free Speech Policy in the future.
“ETSU has been undergoing a year-long review and revision of the Use of Campus Property and Facilities Policy and the adoption of a Free Speech Policy. The Use Policy was approved by our University Council … and will be on the Board of Trustees agenda in April for approval. Likewise, the Free Speech Policy is set to be on the Board agenda for adoption in April.”
