Censor lawsuit sees students win case against Clovis Community College

CLOVIS, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A national tribunal recovered Clovis Community District blameworthy of censoring their assemblage students and violating their First Amendment rights, officials announced connected Monday.

In 2022, pupil members of Young America’s Foundation (YAF) posted anti-communist and pro-life flyers connected bulletin boards astir field aft receiving support from staff.

College administrators accidental they took down the flyers pursuing complaints astir their content. They accidental they were justified successful removing the flyers arsenic they went against their posting policy that prohibited “inappropriate oregon offensive” flyers.

Through the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), the radical sued Clovis Community College. According to the foundation, the tribunal recovered that Clovis administrators violated students’ First Amendment rights, ruling that the argumentation gave them unbounded discretion to censor code they disliked. 

“We won. We showed the schoolhouse they were wrong,” said Alejandro Flores, a subordinate of YAF. “FIRE had our backmost astatine each measurement passim the process. If you deliberation your code is being stifled, don’t enactment quiet, due to the fact that erstwhile you enactment quiet, thing changes.”

Alejandro Flores, Courtesy of Alvarez Photography Studio

Juliette Colunga, Courtesy of Alvarez Photography Studio

The assemblage was ordered to wage a full of $330,000, follow a caller speech-protective policy, and make yearly First Amendment grooming sessions for staff. YAF members Alejandro Flores, Juliette Colunga, Daniel Flores, and Clovis’ Young America Foundation were each paid $20,000 successful damages.

According to officials, the caller argumentation permanently prohibits the State Center Community College District from banning “inappropriate oregon offensive” code oregon enforcing immoderate viewpoint-discriminatory, overbroad, oregon vague argumentation to censor code by a pupil group.  

“This is simply a triumph not lone for the regularisation of instrumentality but for everyone who values escaped speech,” said Gov. Scott Walker, president of Young America’s Foundation and erstwhile politician of Wisconsin. “We anticipation this sends a wide connection to those who are considering violating our students’ law rights — don’t, oregon you could extremity up successful court-ordered First Amendment grooming similar the administrators astatine Clovis College.” 

In effect to the ruling, the State Center Community College District (SCCCD) said they respect the determination of the court.

"SCCCD is committed to uphold the values of the First Amendment and we look guardant to ensuring that each members of our assemblage admit the virtues and benefits of escaped speech." 

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