Make Your Voice Heard: Berkeley Seeks Input On New ‘Free Speech Policy’

The University of California, Berkeley is in the last week of an open comment period for a proposed free speech policy, but what the school calls “new” is just a rebranded version of the previous unconstitutional (and highly controversial) “high profile speakers policy,” and serves as a pretext for censoring conservative ideas on campus. Berkeley’s abysmal record on free speech is no secret–nor is Young America’s Foundation’s lawsuit against the school’s administrators for First and Fourteenth Amendment violations. The “crown jewel” of the UC system is desperate to rehab its public image and reputation, and feverishly trying to cobble together a free speech policy that doesn’t leave the school vulnerable to more First Amendment lawsuits. In an initial legal filing in response to YAF’s complaint against Berkeley, et. al., the school promised to create a new free speech policy, with language to be determined after an open comment period. As the New Guard reported back in June, “The very idea that a free speech policy is open to discussion or negotiation is absurd. UC-Berkeley administrators should base any policies protecting students’ constitutional rights on the Constitution itself.” Now in the last week of its open comment period, we feel it’s time to ensure that UC Berkeley acknowledges the First Amendment in its forthcoming free speech policy, and we need your help. To let freedom’s voice be heard, contact Berkeley’s Chancellor: Carol Christ email: [email protected] phone: (510) 642-7464 Tell UC Berkeley and Chancellor Christ to discard their “Major Events” policy–it’s just more of the same old framework that allows the censorship of conservative speech. The “Major Events” policy is a sham, and will do nothing but allow Berkeley to continue silencing conservative ideas.