Restricted 'Free-Speech Zone' Spawns Lawsuit on Missouri Campus

by Jim Brown
December 11, 2003

(AgapePress) - A conservative student has filed a lawsuit challenging a Missouri university's free-speech policy.

At Southwest Missouri State University, the Public Forum Policy maintains that the university "encourages a balanced approach in all communications and the inclusion of contrary points of view." But in order to ensure that open communication does not disrupt the academic mission of the school, the policy says, that freedom of expression "is subject to reasonable restrictions of time, place, and manner." Under the policy, the restricted place where students are allowed to hold rallies, protests, and speeches is the "Bear Paw" -- a small 50-by-60-foot plaza outside the Student Union on the Springfield campus.

SMSU junior Ryan Cooper has sued the school, claiming the policy limits free speech. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Cooper and his group, Young Americans for Freedom, by the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund. ADF Attorney Kevin Theriot says courts have declared similar speech zones unconstitutional.

"For college and university students at state university campuses, the grounds of the school -- the streets and the sidewalks and the parks -- are just like a public forum for you and I or anybody else in a city," Theriot says. "So they have a right to be there -- and as part of their right to be there, they have the right to engage in freedom of speech as long as it's not disruptive."

In addition, the attorney maintains that the university has displayed a strong bias against his client's group. "They were denied recognition specifically because of their stance on some issues," he says, citing as an example an article in one of the group's papers arguing against special rights for homosexuals. "Those are the types of things and reasons why [the organization] was denied recognition and, therefore, had [its] speech denied."

As soon as the lawsuit was filed, the university said it was considering changing the policy. However, Theriot says if the case does not settle in the next 30-45 days, he will file a motion for preliminary injunction, asking the court to suspend enforcement of the school's free-speech policy.