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Alestle
Thursday, September 19, 2013
www.alestlelive.com
Volume 66, No. 6
Does SIUE’s prior approval regulation restrict students’ rights? The constitutionality of designated free-speech areas on college campuses has come into question many times in the past, especially when restrictions apply not only to visitors, but also to the students at a public university. According to Director of Administrative Services Bob Vanzo, the “Demonstrations on University Property” policy applies to everyone, so outside of university-sponsored events, students must receive permission before formally exercising their freedom of speech on campus. Azhar Majeed of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education said requiring students to receive
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
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versity individuals,” Majeed said. Vanzo said the need for a designated space to exercise freedom of speech came from negative experiences with visitors in the past. “They were at entrances to buildings and sometimes they actually got in the way of things that were going on in certain buildings,” Vanzo said. “It just seemed to be a better idea to put some order to it and say, ‘Yes, you can come here and speak, but we prefer that you do it in a centralized location.’” Majeed, who is the Associate Director of Legal and Public Advocacy at FIRE, said the university’s response to visitors’ actions should not have affected students’ first amendment rights.
prior approval is problematic from a first amendment perspective. FIRE’s main purpose is defending the rights of individuals in higher education. “Students have a right to be on that campus and exercise their rights so they shouldn’t have to ask permission. … As long as they’re not interfering with someone else’s rights or interrupting classes … they should be allowed to exercise their free speech rights. … A public university should allow for that,” Majeed said. Majeed said universities are bound by the first amendment when it comes to students’ rights, but administrators can implement rules and policies governing visitors. “Universities, including public universities, have greater leeway to regulate the free speech of non-uni-
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