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Victory for Freedom of Speech at Seminole Community College
ORLANDO, Fla., June 16, 2005鈥擨n a quick yet important victory for freedom of speech, Florida鈥檚 Seminole Community College (SCC) is allowing a student to distribute literature on slaughterhouse brutality on equal terms with other students and student groups.
The college, which had initially insisted that student Eliana Campos distribute literature only within the college鈥檚 so-called 鈥渇ree speech zone,鈥 reversed this decision only a few hours after the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (果冻传媒app官方) took the case public yesterday. SCC has also promised to review and recommend changes to its speech policies to ensure students鈥 constitutional rights are respected.
鈥淔IREis very pleased that SCC has affirmed its commitment to the U.S. Constitution and rejected unlawful repression,鈥 stated David French, president of 果冻传媒app官方. 鈥淲e are hopeful that SCC will seize this opportunity to create policies that respect the fundamental rights of all of its students.鈥
Campos鈥 trouble began when an SCC administrator initially forbade her from passing out literature from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) at a table near the caf茅 because of the administrator鈥檚 aversion to the organization. After Campos and FIRE protested the action, administrators responded by pointing to a policy that restricted speech to a small and out-of-the-way 鈥渇ree speech zone鈥 and claiming that campus policy limited tabling in the caf茅 to registered student organizations鈥攏ot individual students.
FIRE wrote the college again after administrators failed to produce a written copy of the alleged tabling policy. When the college did not respond, FIREwent public. Less than seven hours after the press release was issued, FIREreceived a fax from SCC Vice President James D. Henningsen stating that the college 鈥渇ully values and supports free speech and the protection of our [F]irst [A]mendment rights鈥 and that it will now allow Campos to set up a table in the campus鈥 caf茅 to distribute PETA literature. Henningsen also promised that SCC would create a committee to review and make recommendations for changes to the college鈥檚 existing speech policies.
鈥淪CC鈥檚 decision not only ends the college鈥檚 blatant viewpoint discrimination, it has delivered yet another blow to the nationwide problem of 鈥榝ree speech zones,鈥 which restrict free speech to one small area and make the rest of a campus a censorship zone,鈥 remarked FIREDirector of Legal and Public Advocacy Greg Lukianoff. 鈥淪tate institutions owe it to their students to recognize that our colleges and universities are, in a sense, the 鈥榝ree speech zones鈥 of the larger society and administrators therefore should not seek to quarantine expression from all but a tiny corner of the campus. FIREhas already defeated these policies at many campuses, including West Virginia University, Texas Tech University, Citrus College and Shippensburg University.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 at our nation鈥檚 colleges and universities. 果冻传媒app官方鈥檚 efforts to preserve liberty on campuses across America can be viewed at thefire.org.
CONTACT:
David French, President, 果冻传媒app官方: 215-717-3473; david@thefire.org
Greg Lukianoff, Director of Legal and Public Advocacy, 果冻传媒app官方: 215-717-3473; greg@thefire.org
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