AUSTIN, Texas – A national free speech advocacy group has filed a lawsuit in federal court to halt a new Texas law that imposes significant restrictions on expressive activities at public universities and colleges. The lawsuit, brought by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), argues that Senate Bill 2972, which went into effect on September 1, infringes upon students' First Amendment rights.
The new law was enacted in the wake of widespread pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses across the country. While the legislation acknowledges the importance of freedom of speech, it mandates that public institutions adopt policies to curb certain "expressive activities." These prohibitions include the use of bullhorns and drums, demonstrations between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m., and on-campus speakers during the last two weeks of a semester.
"The First Amendment doesn’t set when the sun goes down," said JT Morris, FIRE’s senior supervising attorney, in a news release. "University students have expressive freedom whether it’s midnight or midday, and Texas can’t just legislate those constitutional protections out of existence."
The lawsuit, filed in the Western District of Texas, represents a coalition of student groups from the University of Texas system, including student newspaper The Retrograde at UT Dallas. The paper’s Editor-in-Chief, Gregorio Olivares Gutierrez, expressed concern that the law would hinder their ability to cover news, which often occurs after the 10 p.m. curfew. "The way that it's worded, it is a limitation on expressive speech," he told KERA News, emphasizing that the law impacts freedom of the press.
Another plaintiff, The Fellowship of Christian University Students at UT Dallas, fears the law would prevent them from inviting an off-campus minister to lead a prayer during finals. Other student groups involved in the suit include Young Americans for Liberty, The Society of Unconventional Drummers, and Strings Attached.
The defendants in the case are the UT System Board of Regents, UT System Chancellor John M. Zerwas, UT Austin President Jim Davis, and UT Dallas President Prabhas V. Moghe. KERA News sought comment from the defendants, but the UT System declined to provide a statement, citing the ongoing litigation. The lawsuit seeks a preliminary injunction to block the law’s enforcement, raising a significant legal challenge to the state’s attempt to regulate student protests and campus life.
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