April 2007
In a crucial victory for free expression, San Francisco State University (SFSU)
announced yesterday that its College Republicans will face no punishment for
hosting an anti-terrorism rally at which participants stepped on makeshift
Hezbollah and Hamas flags. SFSU’s decision comes after months of pressure from
the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), national and local
media, and the public – all of which called on the school to uphold the
students’ constitutionally guaranteed right to free expression.
"We are relieved that SFSU has come to its senses and recognized that it cannot
punish students for constitutionally protected expression," FIRE President Greg
Lukianoff said. "But the fact remains that the university should never have
investigated or tried them in the first place. This was a protected act of
political protest and it is impossible to believe the university did not know
that from the start."
SFSU’s shameful attack on free expression began after an October 17, 2006
anti-terrorism rally at which several members of the College Republicans stepped
on pieces of paper they had painted to resemble Hamas and Hezbollah flags.
Unbeknownst to the protestors, the flags they had copied contained the word
"Allah" written in Arabic script. On October 26, a student filed a formal
complaint with the university against the College Republicans, alleging
"attempts to incite violence and create a hostile environment" and "actions of
incivility." Although university administrators could have settled the matter
informally or dismissed the charges outright, the university instead chose to
press forward with a hearing on the charges.
FIRE wrote to SFSU President Robert A. Corrigan on January 23, 2007, to stress
that no American public institution can lawfully prosecute students for engaging
in political protest or for desecrating religious symbols. SFSU replied to
FIRE’s letter on January 29 by saying that the university would continue to
investigate the complaint. When SFSU scheduled a hearing for March 9, FIRE
immediately wrote to President Corrigan again to urge him to call off the
hearing. Undeterred by clearly established constitutional
jurisprudence, SFSU went forward with the hearing as scheduled. President
Corrigan then responded to FIRE on March 13, once again standing by the
university’s disciplinary process.
Yesterday afternoon, President Corrigan wrote to FIRE with the welcome news that
"the Student Organization Hearing Panel (SOHP) unanimously concluded that the
College Republicans organization had not violated the Student Code of Conduct
and that there were no grounds to support the student complaint lodged against
them."
"SFSU has finally done what it should have done months ago," FIRE Director of
Legal and Public Advocacy Samantha Harris said. "The College Republicans should
never have been dragged through an investigation and hearing for their protected
political expression, and it is an outrage that SFSU carried on with this for so
long when it had the power to dismiss the charges informally. We hope that SFSU
will make whatever policy changes are necessary to ensure that this does not
happen again."
FIRE is a nonprofit educational foundation that unites civil rights and civil
liberties leaders, scholars, journalists, and public intellectuals from across
the political and ideological spectrum on behalf of individual rights, due
process, freedom of expression, academic freedom, and rights of conscience at
our nation’s colleges and universities. FIRE’s efforts to preserve liberty on
campuses across America can be viewed at www.thefire.org.
FIRE Press Release, March 20, 2007.
Help us maintain freedom in teaching, research and scholarship by joining SAFS or making a donation.
