Illustration by Elena Griedel
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a statement of interest on January 25 in support of conservative UC Berkeley students who are alleging that the university violated their free speech rights.
In a lawsuit filed in April 2017, the Berkeley College Republicans (BCR) and Young America’s Foundation (YAF) claimed that the university put unfair restrictions on the speaking engagements of several controversial far right figures who BCR invited to campus last year.
The lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge in October 2017, but the plaintiffs were permitted to submit an amended version. In it, they claimed that after violent protests erupted when Milo Yiannopoulos was set to speak, the university implemented a speaker policy that gave administrators subjective jurisdiction over speakers and necessitated stringent scheduling and security measures. BCR also said the policy was not well communicated.
The DOJ statement said, “It is in the interest of the United States to ensure that State-run colleges and universities do not trample on individuals’ First Amendment rights.”
The statement said UC Berkeley’s High-Profile Speaker Policy and Major Events Policy are unconstitutional because they allow administrators to exercise prior restraint on speech.
UC Berkeley issued a statement in response to the opinion of the DOJ statement, calling the lawsuit unfounded.
It said, “Berkeley does not discriminate against speakers invited by student organizations based upon viewpoint. The campus is committed to ensuring that student groups may hold events with speakers of their choosing, and it has expended significant resources to allow events to go forward without compromising the safety or security of the campus.”
The lawyer representing BCR and YAF was not available to comment as of press time.
The Major Events Policy provides rules for campus events and articulates a commitment to apply them equally regardless of event content. UC Berkeley Spokesman Dan Mogulof said, “Our registered student organizations have the right and the ability to bring speakers of their choice to campus, and we respect and support that right, and we believe that it’s an essential part of the educational mission.”
Caiden Nason, President of the Cal Democrats club, labeled the BCR lawsuit a political stunt. He added, “I don’t think the Justice Department should be involved, but in this time and age where everything is politicized, I’m not surprised.”