Free speech upheld for conservative students in suit against Clovis Community College
A conservative student group will continue with its legal battle against Clovis Community College, following a federal appeal court ruling this week that upheld an injunction placed against the school last year.
The students, part of the Young Americans for Freedom, filed a lawsuit against college leaders last August, alleging the school violated their First Amendment rights by ordering them to remove flyers they had posted on bulletin boards around campus.
A federal judge in Fresno sided with a group in October and issued a preliminary injunction. On Thursday, the Ninth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals upheld the injunction, saying the school’s policy on posting flyers on campus “invites ‘arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement.’”
In a statement on the decision, Alejandro Flores, former president of the YAF-Clovis, said, “the news from the Ninth Circuit is a huge victory for free speech. But this isn’t the end of our legal battle against the school. We’re ready to keep fighting so that we can hold the college accountable for censoring speech they disagree with.”
The flyers at the heart of the case carried anti-communist messages that school administrators said “made ‘several people … very uncomfortable,’” according to email exchanges entered as evidence in the case. The group also claimed it was denied permission to post anti-abortion flyers on interior bulletin boards on the campus.
In a message to The Bee, the college’s Office of the General Counsel said that the opinion issued by the Ninth Circuit on Thursday addresses an issue that was resolved several months ago when the school changed the procedure on how it deals with flyers and posters on campus.
“Nothing in the opinion addresses any of the allegations against the district employees,” the office wrote.
“The campus continues to respect the free speech rights of all students.”