Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT:
MSLF Communications Dept.
Stanton Skerjanec & Carina Constancio
(303)-292-2021
MSLF AND WILL PROTECT STUDENT SPEECH FROM UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
MSLF and WILL sent a letter to the University of Wisconsin, successfully demanding that the college reverse its unconstitutional “security” fees for YAF’s Michael Knowles event.
LAKEWOOD, Colo. (March 11, 2024)—Mountain States Legal Foundation and Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) have once again preserved the free speech rights of students at Wisconsin colleges.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) had been trying to suppress the speech of the student group Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) by imposing unlawful “security fees.” This tactic was an unconstitutional attempt to silence speech the university personnel just don’t like. Mountain States and WILL did not let that happen.
YAF is a well-known conservative group that frequently hosts film events and speakers to explore ideas such as gender identity politics and policies, foreign policy in Israel, and the proper limits of government. As a student group, administrators and collegiate bureaucrats at public universities frequently target YAF for its conservative views.
Only two months ago, another University of Wisconsin System campus attempted to compel the speech of a different YAF chapter. In that instance, the school’s student government required YAF to adopt the official language of an “inclusivity statement” contrary to YAF’s mission to receive official club status. With WILL, we at Mountain States pushed back, and the school changed its policy in 24 hours.
In this instance, Wisconsin’s flagship university in Madison wanted to impose unreasonable costs on YAF to host an event. YAF is scheduled to host Michael Knowles of the Daily Wire later this month. The group previously hosted other Daily Wire guests such as Ben Shapiro and Matt Walsh. In those events, UW charged only the basic costs for setting up and hosting, which YAF paid for and will again. Never once, however, did UW charge egregious fees for security.
But for the Knowles event, UW wanted YAF to pay over $4,000 for security services. YAF would never pay these charges, as they were unlawful and only a smokescreen to silence speech with which UW disagrees.
Not only has YAF never had to pay such fees, but neither have left-wing groups for their own controversial speakers—such as US Senator Elizabeth Warren, disgraced and convicted classified documents leaker Chelsea Manning, and author of the historically inaccurate 1619 Project Nikole Hannah-Jones. (Indeed, the school actually paid Ms. Hannah-Jones to come speak to the school.) UW discriminately imposed security fees on YAF without valid justification.
The University of Wisconsin is a public university that has created a public forum for the discussion of ideas among students and others. UW may not—consistent with the Constitution and as the Supreme Court clarified in Forsyth County v. Nationalist Movement—pick and choose which kinds of speakers it will support.
Nor should it. The very purpose of a university is the open discussion and exploration of ideas, especially those that challenge group thinking and make people uncomfortable. UW’s attempt to charge YAF would have only shut down discussion and rewarded violent protestors who threaten events. Moreover, such viewpoint discrimination is unconstitutional.
On March 8, Mountain States and our partners at WILL submitted a letter to the UW administration demanding that its discriminatory and unconstitutional fees be reversed and that it allow the Michael Knowles event to go forward. Once again, as soon as UW felt the pressure, it backed down and will allow the event to go forward as scheduled, without excessive fees. We are proud that, with WILL, we have again vindicated the free speech rights of YAF and all Americans.
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Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF) is a nonprofit, public-interest legal foundation established in 1977. MSLF is dedicated to individual liberty, limited and ethical government, and Second Amendment-protected rights. MSLF defends its clients through pro bono litigation, primarily against the federal government, in defense of constitutional liberties and the rule of law. With its litigation, MSLF seeks victory for its clients at the highest level possible, establishment of binding legal precedents to benefit millions of Americans, and education of the American public on the threat to their liberties that unrestrained government presents.
Michael Knowles referred to our success on DailyWire+, beginning around the 14:50 mark.