Monday, July 09, 2007

ADF files suit over speech codes used to investigate and intimidate SFSU students accused of “incivility”

Free speech issues are turning into a two edged sword for both the left and the right:

Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed a lawsuit Monday in federal court against officials of San Francisco State University, where the administration forced the College Republicans to stand trial for “the desecration of Allah” because they stepped on Hamas and Hezbollah flags in political protest at an anti-terrorism rally.

“America’s colleges and universities should recognize the constitutional rights of Christian and politically conservative students just as they do for all other students,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel David French, who heads the ADF Center for Academic Freedom. “Officials at San Francisco State are required to respect the U.S. Constitution, which protects the right to free speech in exactly these kinds of situations.”

ADF attorneys are asking the court to strike down the ill-defined speech code policies of SFSU and the entire California State University system which were at issue in an investigation of students with the campus’s College Republicans student organization. A student who is not a member of the club filed a complaint with university officials after some members of the College Republicans stepped on the flags of Hamas and Hezbollah in an act of protest against terrorism at a rally the student group held. Read More.

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