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Once again, Freedom of Speech is under assault on campus in America.
On August 14, Kennesaw State University removed Young Americans for Liberty’s (YAL) local chapter from their campus, with a staff member informing members that they were not allowed to set up a table to promote their organization due to the university’s “freedom of expression” policy requiring a public forum reservation request for non-registered student organizations.
Chris Pino, YAL’s South Deputy Regional Director, was on site with KSU chapter president Bryce McConnell. When asking for clarification regarding why the policy was in place, the staff member responded that the university is responsible for ensuring that students have the ability to “connect in ways that make sense.”
“So, what we can control is not what you say. You have the ability to come in and say what you want, that’s your right. But what we can kind of protect is time, place and manner.”
This statement references the “time, place, and manner restrictions” the government can impose on Free Speech activity, stemming from the Supreme Court decision Ward v. Rock Against Racism (1989). This ruling allows the government to enable certain restrictions that are “content neutral” and “narrowly tailored,” so long as it leaves open “ample alternative channels for communicating the speaker’s message.”
Citing KSU’s policy, the staff member further elaborated that the university doesn’t allow “any groups to come to campus the first week of classes” and that “we really don’t have the space to host folks like you on campus.”
When asked what would happen if the table was not removed, the staff member explained to Pino that the school would “have to call public safety and ask them to escort you off of campus, because it’s a violation of our policy.”
Due to this pressure, the chapter members were forced to break down their table, violating their right to Freedom of Speech per Univ. of Cincinnati Chapter of Young Americans for Liberty v. Williams (2012), which ruled that universities are not allowed to restrict Free Speech to designated areas of campus.
Despite the university’s actions the prior day, YAL once again attempted to table at KSU, only to experience the same tyrannical reaction from campus staff forcing them off the premises.
McConnell did not mince words when expressing his indignation regarding the tyrannical suppression of YAL’s right to have a table set up on campus:
“As not only the President for this YAL chapter but as an individual I see this limitation of freedom of expression to be apparent and disappointing. Kennesaw State University has limited the ability for students to express themselves using and holding public events for not just points of politics, but also religious, artistic, or schooling engagement groups who are trying to form by not allowing these groups to set up tables to have dialog with fellow students, without being approved by the bureaucratic system. This is truly an attack against student expression on campus.”
Pino felt that the university was being counterintuitive to its purpose as an institution of freethought:
“Being confronted by somebody claiming they are trying to protect students makes me feel like they don’t trust students to have a mind of their own.”
This is not the first time that YAL has experienced tyranny at the hands of the University System of Georgia (USG). In 2011, a chapter at the University of Georgia was also forced off of campus for setting up outside of their arbitrary “Free Speech Zones,” leading to a lawsuit that forced UGA to revise its policy.
Because of KSU’s active suppression of Free Speech on its campus, YAL’s Student Rights Campaign (SRC) has initiated a petition demanding that it abolish its “Free Speech Zones” and respect the rights of its students.
It’s time we hold school administrations accountable. Please sign the petition here: https://yaliberty.org/petition-to-protect-free-speech-at-kennesaw-state-university/
Watch the interaction here: https://x.com/YALiberty/status/1824186456967098483
This article was written by Daniel Gonzalez-Allende Barr, Director of Student Rights Campaign at Young Americans for Liberty