Administrative deans at the University of Utah are once again coming after the free speech rights of the Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) chapter on campus. Thankfully, YAF has Mountain States Legal Foundation in their corner.
This isn’t the first time that Mountain States has had to intervene to protect student rights at the University of Utah. Previously, we made sure that the university knew of its duties to secure YAF’s ability to host films and speakers without mobs of leftwing activists shouting down their events. Although the university initially did nothing to prevent these mob cancellations, after we wrote a letter threatening legal action, it came around and started providing sufficient security to defend YAF’s free speech rights from hecklers.
Sadly, however, it seems that some university administrators are sore losers, and will do anything to stop YAF from exercising its rights.
Shadow Policy
On November 30, 2023, YAF hosted an event by detransitioner and advocate Chloe Cole. That very same day, the university changed its rules about how student groups—like YAF—can advertise their events. The new policy says, “Only one sign, notice, or poster affiliated with a specific event is permitted on a single bulletin board.” While the policy is neutral in the abstract, the university is trying to use this new policy to specifically undermine YAF.
The policy did not go into effect until December 1, 2023. And yet, on November 30—a day before implementation and the day of YAF’s event with Chloe Cole—Associate Dean for Student Engagement and Leadership Erica Andersen accused YAF of violating this new one-poster-per-bulletin-board policy. She did not specify which flyers. She only stated she had received reports alleging a violation of the new policy…which did not yet exist.
It’s curious how such reports could come in so fast on the very day the policy is adopted.
Based on nothing but this allegation, Dean Andersen issued YAF a “final warning,” and threatened to revoke its status as an official student organization! Of course, this was outrageous, as the “policy” allegedly violated by YAF wasn’t even in force yet.
Even worse, YAF has noticed that both before and after it was placed on “final warning” status, other groups and organizations have repeatedly posted more than one flyer on a single bulletin board, all without any apparent sanction by the university. Predictably, the viewpoints of those other groups and organizations are leftwing.
Mountain States’ Swift Response
Mountain States, already well-familiar with our friends at YAF, jumped right into action. We sent another letter to the university. This time we said, “Any reasonable observer would conclude that the University’s attempt to ambush YAF for violating a stealth policy on the number of flyers per bulletin board is retaliatory.”
Retaliation for speaking against the orthodox opinions of the established order is one of the oldest tactics in the book on suppressing free speech, used regularly by autocrats and tyrants throughout the ages. Unfortunately as we’ve seen lately, American college campuses are places of intolerance and ideological conformity.
Mountain States awaits an answer from the university administration. We have called on Dean Anderson to refrain from retaliating against YAF for its free speech and expression, and that any record concerning alleged rule infractions by YAF related to these events be expunged.
We will keep you updated on this story as it develops. Stay tuned to Mountain States website and social media for more information.
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