Major universities have been cracking down on speech for decades. But now, it appears some students are fighting back – successfully. There are several lawsuits in play against higher learning institutions who punished conservative students for expressing opinions that contradict progressivism. If this trend continues, it could open up new doors for free speech on college campuses.
The most recent involves Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, which just settled a lawsuit filed by a Christian student named Maggie DeJong, who was targeted for her views. Not only will the university pay her a healthy sum of money, it also agreed to take corrective measures.
Here’s the story:
Filed in May 2022, DeJong’s lawsuit also named as defendants Randall Pembrook, former chancellor of SIUE; Jamie Ball, director for Equal Opportunity, Access, and Title IX Coordination; and Megan Robb, program director of the Art Therapy Counseling Graduate Program at the college.
She alleged harm to her by incidents and actions by SIUE officials when she was a graduate student in SIUE’s Art Therapy program.
In the same manner that many students do, DeJong posted materials to her social media accounts, sent messages to fellow students and engaged in class discussions on an array of topics, including religion, politics, critical race theory, COVID-19 regulations and censorship.
[Alliance Defending Freedom] alleged that DeJong’s views are informed by her Christian faith and political stance and that they often differed from those of other students in the Art Therapy program.
Some o ther students reported DeJong’s speech to university officials, the alliance alleges.
These officials issued no-contact orders against the student, which meant she was prohibited from having “any contact” or “indirect communication” with the three students who filed the complaints. The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a Christian law firm, sent a letter to the school and received the materials related to the no-contact orders.
The lawsuit accused SIUE of violating DeJong’s First Amendment rights when it issued the no-contact orders against her. As part of the settlement, the university will provide training on the First Amendment for its professors and rework the school’s policies to promote free speech and diversity of thought. This outcome is a significant victory for free speech on campus. But it is not the only example of people fighting back, fortunately.
Speech First, an organization that advocates for free speech in colleges, is suing Oklahoma State University over three policies designed to suppress speech. The suit challenges policies related to harassment, bias response, and using student email accounts to express political opinions.
The organization alleges that the university’s policies punish students for expressing political viewpoints that are protected by the First Amendment. These measures encourage students with right-leaning beliefs to self-censor, which is how authoritarian leftists prevent the free discussion of ideas on campus.
Lastly, we have Daria Danley, a student who recently settled a lawsuit with Montana State University for trying to silence her. She filed the lawsuit after questioning her sorority’s focus on using preferred pronouns and expressing concerns about a stalking incident involving a sorority member who happened to be part of the LGBTQ community. The university targeted her for supposedly using “hate speech.” The leadership imposed a no-contact on her as well, without specifying an end date. The settlement requires the institution to end the no-contact order. The university agreed in order to avoid a lengthy court battle and did not admit to wrongdoing.
There are plenty of other examples of students fighting back against universities using authoritarian tactics to ensure that only one side of the political spectrum is allowed to express their ideas. Many have protested these types of policies, but to no avail. But with groups like ADF and others using the legal system, there might be hope for free speech on campus yet.
These universities have been able to run roughshod over conservatives students because they knew there would be no accountability. But if more students are willing to use the legal system to defend their rights, it could make a difference. At the end of the day, these people will care more about preserving their pocketbooks than cracking down on speech their students don’t like.
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