By Robert Shibley
Zero point one percent. Out of the 8,506,833 square feet (approximately 137 acres) of its West Campus, the University of Cincinnati (UC), a public university, has decided that students may exercise their rights to “demonstrate, picket, or rally” on a small scrap of land that constitutes 0.1 percent of the campus. If they dare to exercise these basic rights outside of that “Free Speech Area,” they will be reported to the campus police and charged with trespassing.
Oh, and students cannot even indulge in free expression on this scrap of land unless they file an official request with the administration at least 10 working days (thus, 14 calendar days — barring any holidays, of course) before their demonstration or rally takes place.
On Wednesday, the UC chapter of Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) filed suit against the University of Cincinnati in federal district court, alleging that these requirements violate the First Amendment. As a public, taxpayer-supported institution, UC is obligated to respect the First Amendment rights of its students. While a public university may impose narrowly tailored, reasonable “time, place, and manner” restrictions on student speech, no rational person could argue that limiting constitutionally protected speech to 0.1 percent of campus and imposing a 14-calendar-day waiting period for the use of that 0.1 percent is either narrow or reasonable.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/02/24/right-to-work-students-sue-university-of-cincinnati-over-free-speech-area/#ixzz1nOOzCSVx
Zero point one percent. Out of the 8,506,833 square feet (approximately 137 acres) of its West Campus, the University of Cincinnati (UC), a public university, has decided that students may exercise their rights to “demonstrate, picket, or rally” on a small scrap of land that constitutes 0.1 percent of the campus. If they dare to exercise these basic rights outside of that “Free Speech Area,” they will be reported to the campus police and charged with trespassing.
Oh, and students cannot even indulge in free expression on this scrap of land unless they file an official request with the administration at least 10 working days (thus, 14 calendar days — barring any holidays, of course) before their demonstration or rally takes place.
On Wednesday, the UC chapter of Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) filed suit against the University of Cincinnati in federal district court, alleging that these requirements violate the First Amendment. As a public, taxpayer-supported institution, UC is obligated to respect the First Amendment rights of its students. While a public university may impose narrowly tailored, reasonable “time, place, and manner” restrictions on student speech, no rational person could argue that limiting constitutionally protected speech to 0.1 percent of campus and imposing a 14-calendar-day waiting period for the use of that 0.1 percent is either narrow or reasonable.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/02/24/right-to-work-students-sue-university-of-cincinnati-over-free-speech-area/#ixzz1nOOzCSVx
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