Students’ Free Speech on Campus
Last updated: April 29, 2024 03:15 pm
The First Amendment limits what the government can do, and protects students’ right to speak out on a public university campus. Though the First Amendment does not govern what a university can do on a private campus, as a matter of principle, all institutions of higher learning should support students' free expression.
TO UNIVERSITIES
Five Basic Guardrails To Ensure Freedom Of Speech And Academic Freedom On Campuses
- Schools must not single out particular viewpoints for censorship, discipline, or disproportionate punishment
- Schools must protect students from discriminatory harassment and violence
- Schools can announce and enforce reasonable content-neutral protest policies but they must leave ample room for students to express themselves
- Schools must recognize that armed police on campus can endanger students and are a measure of last resort
- Schools must resist the pressures placed on them by politicians seeking to exploit campus tensions
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