The year 2020, in general, was exhausting for everyone across the country, but for the campus and state leaders of Vermont, some of that exhaustion paid off. Chapter president Ian Dennis had been approached by YAL leadership in early 2019 and asked if he was aware of the policies on his campus that restricted free gathering. Denis, though willing, felt he did not have the tools to challenge the policy. Fortunately for all involved, State Chair Michelle Brodsky, took over supervision of the chapter very shortly after this initial conversation. Through coaching and collaboration from leadership, Denis soon built a strong chapter that had enough members to get the attention of school administrators.

Through the fall months of 2019, Denis established contact with the school administration and secured a meeting with a key policy maker at the school. YAL’s Director of Free Speech got the students connected with FIRE, who crafted a policy memo outlining the school policy’s shortcomings. The school was still hesitant to adopt any changes and tried to convince both the legal experts at FIRE and the students that the policies in place didn’t, in fact, violate anyone’s rights.

In the face of this weak response from UVM, the YAL leaders did not back off. Through steady, relentless demands for meetings and change, the group at UVM showed their commitment to free speech and, finally, at long last, with the release of the school’s 2020-2021 Student Handbook, FIRE confirmed that the school had adopted the reforms demanded and the Vermont team could celebrate the satisfaction of their big win.