Belief-based student groups won an important victory last week in a federal appeals court, which restored the ability of many such groups to meet on public campuses and in public schools in the many western states.
A federal district court denied FIRE’s request for a preliminary injunction and held that West Texas A&M University President Walter Wendler is entitled to qualified immunity.
One advocate was arrested and handcuffed for two hours after peacefully demonstrating in a public park. FIRE is suing to protect the constitutional right to speak freely in public parks.
Unlike so many of today’s pompous defenders of free speech who champion the First Amendment whenever it privileges their ideological team, Holmes pushed real risk to the borders of near destruction.
A peer’s complaint about the student’s religious beliefs prompted a Title IX investigation, during which an administrator suggested the school’s commitment to “diversity” negates its promises of free speech.
Ashland University’s student newspaper was stripped of its beloved adviser, and just days later, Ashland demanded that newspaper begin submitting stories to campus officials for review before publication.
‘It’s too easy to define yourself by what outrages you,’ said author Salman Rushdie at the event. ‘It’s necessary for us to understand that you have to allow the speech of those you don’t like.’