Table of Contents
FIREDeclares War on Speech Codes
SHIPPENSBURG, PA鈥擣IRELegal Network attorneys David A. French and William Adair Bonner have filed a lawsuit against speech codes at Shippensburg University, a public institution in central Pennsylvania. 鈥淭he action at Shippensburg is the first part of a campaign to end the nightmare of campus censorship,鈥 said FIREPresident Alan Charles Kors. 鈥淪uch codes are a moral, educational, and legal scandal in American higher education. A nation that does not educate in liberty will not long preserve it and will not even know when it is lost.鈥
The lawsuit was filed on April 22, 2003 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. It asserts that the plaintiffs鈥攗ndergraduate students at the university鈥攔isk punishment up to expulsion for engaging in constitutionally protected expression. The suit is a 鈥渇acial challenge鈥 because it asserts that the policies threaten so much protected speech that their very existence is a violation of the First Amendment. 鈥淭he University鈥檚 speech codes鈥ave a chilling effect on Plaintiffs鈥 rights to freely and openly engage in appropriate discussions of their theories, ideas and political and/or religious beliefs,鈥 the complaint states. 鈥淭he University and [President] Anthony F. Ceddia have violated rights guaranteed to the Plaintiffs鈥攁nd to all University students鈥攂y the First and the Fourteenth Amendments.鈥
Shippensburg University鈥檚 Code of Conduct states that the university defends free speech unless it is 鈥渋nflammatory, demeaning, or harmful towards others.鈥 The university requires that 鈥渢he expression of one鈥檚 beliefs鈥 should not 鈥減rovoke鈥 or 鈥渄emean鈥濃攅ffectively outlawing most forms of passionate expression, moral outrage, robust discussion, dissent, and protest. Kors noted, 鈥淭he expression most in need of protection, of course, is precisely 鈥榩rovocative鈥 dissent from widely held views, even if those provoked see that as 鈥榙emeaning.鈥欌
Shippensburg also outlaws 鈥渟ubordination鈥n the basis of race, color, creed or national origin, communicated through words, attitudes, actions and/or gestures.鈥 Shippensburg also prohibits conduct that 鈥渁nnoys, threatens, or alarms a person or group,鈥 giving as examples of sexual harassment 鈥渋nnuendo,鈥 鈥渃omments, insults,鈥 鈥減ropositions,鈥 鈥渉umor/jokes about sex or gender-specific traits,鈥 and even 鈥渟uggestive or insulting sounds, leering, whistling, [and] obscene gestures.鈥 鈥淢ost stand-up comics鈥攚hether feminists or male chauvinists鈥攚ouldn鈥檛 last a day at Shippensburg,鈥 Kors noted.
In a flagrant violation of freedom of conscience, the university also mandates official values by requiring students to display a 鈥渃ommitment to racial tolerance, cultural diversity, and social justice鈥n their attitudes and behaviors鈥 under threat of official punishment. Shippensburg also quarantines free expression to only two designated areas, leaving the rest of the campus a censorship zone.
Working with public interest law firms and pro bono attorneys in 果冻传媒app官方鈥檚 Legal Network, FIREwill help organize and coordinate many legal challenges to wrongful restrictions of speech at America鈥檚 public colleges and universities. Ultimately, over the next year, FIREwill coordinate challenges to speech codes in each of the twelve federal appellate circuits, establishing precedents that will end the scandal of unconstitutional speech codes on college and university campuses once and for all.
鈥淭hese challenges will strike a blow for the free marketplace of ideas and against campus indoctrination and institutional thought control,鈥 said David A. French. 鈥淭he way to transform society is not through mandating certain beliefs, words, and attitudes, but through discussion, debate, and persuasion. Like many public universities, Shippensburg鈥攁n agent of the state鈥攕eeks to impose its values coercively on students. With this legal challenge, we are fighting for each student鈥檚 right to follow the lights of his or her own conscience.鈥
Speech codes are both a moral and legal outrage. For this reason, FIREalso will challenge speech codes by the light of public exposure. In May 2003, FIREwill launch www.speechcodes.org, an online database of the restrictions on speech at public and private colleges and universities across the country. With this searchable website, students, parents, faculty, members of the media, donors, and the public will see how routinely colleges and universities betray their obligations to respect freedom of speech.
鈥淪ince the late 1980s, there have been several major legal decisions against unconstitutional speech codes in higher education,鈥 said FIRECEO Thor L. Halvorssen. 鈥淔IREis moving from scattershot approaches to end the scandal of speech codes to a concerted campaign to restore liberty. Ultimately, this unprecedented assault on speech codes, in the courts and in the public arena, will send a clear message: colleges and universities that decide to restrict free speech must face the moral and legal consequences of that decision.鈥
FIRE is a nonprofit educational foundation that unites civil rights and civil liberties leaders, scholars, journalists, and public intellectuals from across the political and ideological spectrum on behalf of individual rights, due process, freedom of expression, academic freedom, and rights of conscience on our campuses of higher education. The Shippensburg speech codes and the lawsuit can be seen at www.thefire.org.
CONTACT:
Alan Charles Kors, President, 果冻传媒app官方: 215-717-3473; ack@thefire.org
Greg Lukianoff, Legal Director, 果冻传媒app官方: 215-717-3473; greg@thefire.org
David A. French, Attorney: 859-231-8500; daf@gdm.com
William Adair Bonner, Attorney: 610-566-2703; bonneresq@aol.com
Recent Articles
FIRE鈥檚 award-winning Newsdesk covers the free speech news you need to stay informed.