The University of Louisiana at Lafayette recently updated its policy on free speech, acknowledging that the school cannot “shield” students and faculty from speech that they deem “offensive.”
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette) announced last week that the school had updated its policy on free speech, according to a report by the Vermilion. The updated policy states that the school cannot protect students and faculty from “offensive” ideas.
“It is not the responsibility of the University to shield individuals from speech protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America,” states the policy, “including without limitation ideas and opinions they find unwelcome, disagreeable, or even deeply offensive.”
Last year, the school’s student government passed a resolution to change UL Lafayette’s policy prohibiting students from producing supposed “distasteful or offensive” material.
Joseph Shamp, a member of student government — and the president of the Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) group on campus — said the resolution defended students’ civil liberties.
“I currently have with me 60 pages of students who are aligning with us to change this policy,” said Shamp, while reportedly holding up sheets of paper containing the signatures of concurring UL Lafayette students.
Now, the school’s updated policy is in compliance with “federal and state laws, and in coordination with the UL System and Board of Regents,” according to an email obtained by Vermilion.
The report adds that the policy also elaborates on the school’s reasons for updating, and explains how students, faculty, staff, and visitors can report violations of the policy, which defines acceptable free speech as “freedom of individual thought and expression consistent with the rights of others.”
The policy does, however, detail UL Lafayette’s legal reasoning for regulating some aspects of speech.
“According to the Supreme Court, public entities such as the University have discretion in regulating the ‘time, place, and manner’ of speech,” states the policy, “The right to speak on campus is not a right to speak any time, at any place, and in any manner that a person wishes.”
“The University can regulate where, when, and how speech occurs to ensure the functioning of the campus and achieve important goals, such as protecting public safety,” the policy elaborates.
The policy adds that the vice president of student affairs, Patricia Cottonham, will oversee the enforcement of the update.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, on Parler at @alana, and on Instagram.
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