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Victory for free speech at NKU
Northern Kentucky University has repealed its restrictive policy on protests, demonstrations, postings, and displays, and has issued a new policy affirming the expressive rights of students.
Protesters were at a stand still as the newly proposed Free Expression Policy went before the Board of Regents, who passed the policy at its meeting May 2.
The policy includes changes such as designating the campus as a limited public forum and emphasizing "content neutral" practices. Other adjustments included eliminating "prior restraint" language, eliminating "Free Speech Areas" concept and clarifying posting and handbill practices.
Other accommodations included creating a "Temporary Display" policy, which permits the practice of chalking on campus walkways and establishes a "reasonable person" standard for policy interpretation.
"I'm glad it finally passed in a form conducted for free expression," said Eric Cranley, former president of College Republicans.
President James Votruba also expressed his support for the new policy at the meeting.
"I think the process is exactly what it should be," he said. "Students found a problem and fixed it, rather than adversarialy fixing it."
NKU has come a long way since last spring, when a professor made headlines after she led a group of students in destroying a student group's anti-abortion display on a campus lawn. That event drew attention to NKU's policies on speech, which, it turned out, included not only the restrictive practices noted above, but also a passage in the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities that seemed to justify exactly the sort of censorious outlook that led the professor to conclude that she and her students had a "right" to destroy a display they found offensive. At that time, the Code prohibited "harassing, annoying, or alarming another person" and "making an offensive coarse utterance, gesture or display, addressing abusive language to any person." These broadly defined behaviors constituted "misconduct" that is "subject to disciplinary action."
ACTA wrote to NKU officials, urging the Board of Regents to bring the school's policies into line with the principles of free inquiry and open debate. Since that time, the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities has been quietly amended, and no longer contains the troublesome passages ACTA brought to NKU's attention. And, as NKU president James Votruba notes, NKU's students have done a great job of spearheading the campaign to secure their expressive rights on campus.
While NKU has other policies that still raise concerns, there is no question that this is one university that is moving in the right direction.
Posted by acta online at May 4, 2007 08:47 AM
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