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Fencing in free speech at Los Angeles Pierce College (VIDEO)

California is supposed to embody the American dream of self determination, but as one community college student discovered, reality doesn鈥檛 always live up to our dreams.

Los Angeles Pierce College student Kevin Shaw learned this lesson the hard way in November 2016 when he was distributing Spanish-language copies of the U.S. Constitution and recruiting new members for his student group, Young Americans for Liberty, along the main public walkway on Pierce鈥檚 campus. Shortly after he began, a Pierce administrator approached and told him that he could not distribute literature outside of the 鈥渇ree speech area,鈥 an ironically named zone roughly the size of three parking spaces on Pierce鈥檚 426-acre campus. Shaw was also told he would have to fill out a permit application to use the free speech zone, or else he would be asked to leave campus. Outside of the free speech zone, Pierce College students are prevented from engaging in expressive activity across more than 99% of their campus.

On March 28, 2017, Shaw filed a lawsuit challenging Pierce鈥檚 free speech zone as well as the requirement that students get permission before speaking or distributing literature on campus. Since Pierce is one of nine campuses in the Los Angeles Community College District, Shaw鈥檚 suit also challenges a district-wide policy requiring each campus to designate free speech zones. On October 24, 2017, the Department of Justice filed a Statement of Interest in the case arguing that, based on the facts alleged in the lawsuit, Pierce and the District鈥檚 policies and practices violate students鈥 First Amendment rights and denied Shaw 鈥渉is right to engage in expressive activity in a public forum.鈥 The lawsuit has the potential to affect the free speech rights of the more than 100,000 students in the District, which is the largest community college district in the country.

Watch 果冻传媒app官方鈥檚 new video to hear more about what happened to Shaw and to learn more about why 鈥渇ree speech zones鈥 are a misnomer.

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