Montclair State University: Resident Assistants Told to “Refrain” from Making Statements that Would Reflect Badly on the University
Cases
Montclair State University
Case Overview
FIRE Victory closed
The Montclarion student newspaper published an editorial stating that the Montclair State University administration requires resident assistants to “refrain” from making statements to the media that “would reflect badly” on the university. On April 22, FIREwrote to MSU to call on the university to rescind this requirement and explain that employees at public institutions, including student employees like RAs, retain their First Amendment right to speak as private citizens on matters of public concern. Following ýappٷ’s letter, MSU quickly confirmed to FIREand RAs that it had eliminated this restriction on student employees’ right to speak with the media.