College restricts free speech to one hour per day at lunch on 1 percent of campus, lawsuit claims

theblaze.com

A conservative student group is suing officials at a Massachusetts college, contending the school restricts free speech to just one hour per day at a location that amounts to 1 percent of campus grounds.

Young Americans for Liberty said the University of Massachusetts-Amherst limits the time speeches and rallies can take place from noon to 1 p.m. in a spot in front of the Student Union, law firm Alliance Defending Freedom said in a news release.

What’s the punishment for violating the policy?

Violation of the policy may result in sanctions up to and including expulsion, the release indicated.

What else is Alliance Defending Freedom saying?

“A public university is hardly the marketplace of ideas that it’s supposed to be when the marketplace is less than one percent of campus and only open for one hour a day — and then only if university officials approve of your presence there,” ADF Legal Counsel Caleb Dalton noted in the release. “UMass-Amherst’s speech policy contains provisions similar to those that courts have repeatedly struck down as unconstitutional at other schools. If the university wishes to demonstrate its dedication to the free exchange of ideas, it can do so by fixing its policy so that it’s consistent with the First Amendment.”

Cliff Maloney, executive president of Young Americans for Liberty, added to the College Fix that the group is “not looking for an unfair advantage here, but simply a level playing field. Restricting free speech to an hour during the lunch break and to one side of a building is not what the First Amendment is about.”