MSU is now being sued because it refused to rent space to a white nationalist group who was bringing in Richard Spencer to speak:
LSJ – Michigan State University was sued Sunday in federal court over its decision last month to deny a white nationalist group’s request to speak on campus.
The lawsuit was filed by attorney Kyle Bristow on behalf of Cameron Padgett and says the university violated the First and Fourteenth amendments.
In the lawsuit, Bristow says his client — a Georgia State University student — attempted to rent a conference room at MSU’s Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center so Richard Spencer, a prominent white nationalist and president and director of the The National Policy Institute, could speak about his “Alt-Right philosophy.”
MSU denied the request. In a statement explaining the decision, MSU President Lou Anna Simon said it “was made due to significant concerns about public safety in the wake of the tragic violence in Charlottesville.”
She added that while she and the university “remain firm in our commitment to freedom of expression, our first obligation is to the safety and security of our students and our community.”
Kent Cassella, an MSU spokesman, said in a statement on Monday that the university is aware of the lawsuit. He added the university made its decision last month “after consultation with law enforcement officials.”
According to the lawsuit, MSU’s decision “constitutes unconstitutional content discrimination.” Bristow added that the university’s “decision to prohibit Spencer from speaking about Spencer’s Alt-Right philosophy due to (MSU) finding Alt-Right philosophy to be objectionable constitutes unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.”
Robert Sedler, a constitutional law professor at Wayne State University, told the State Journal last month that courts have established that the overriding principal for public universities when it comes to speech on campus is neutrality toward the content. He added that courts have found that the potential for violence is not justification for denying free speech.
This may seem like a reasonable move for a university after Charlottesville, but is it really? What about when Berkeley refuses to allow a conservative speaker because groups are threatening violence? We often agree that a university shouldn’t allow thugs to dictate who speaks and who doesn’t, that instead they should allow law enforcement to deal with any violence and/or lawlessness that might occur.
Now of course I’m not equating conservatives with Richard Spencer. But let’s take this to the next step.
MSU claims the potential for violence is the reason they banned Spencer from speaking. But many, like myself, are more likely to believe it’s really about his white supremacist message and the backlash they may get from allowing him to speak.
So think about this. If a university is allowed to ban Richard Spencer, as horrible as his message may be, would they also be allowed to reject a Christian speaker who calls homosexuality a sin and speaks out against gay marriage? You know where the arc of the culture is heading with the LGBT movement, with the rejection of homosexuality and transgenderism already being compared to racism by many, especially on college campuses.
If they are allowed to use violence as an excuse to ban Spencer, what’s to stop them from doing the same with a Christian speaker?
It’s just not as simple an issue just because it has Richard Spencer’s name on it.