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Univ. of Houston agrees to allow more free speech on campus
Anti-abortion group drops suit brought when the school refused to allow its display
© 2003 Student Press Law Center
August 7, 2003
TEXAS — The University of Houston has revised its
policy governing student demonstrations in response to a recent settlement
reached between the school and a student anti-abortion group that sued it two
years ago.
Under the new policy, students now can use any area of the
campus for demonstrations, speeches, protests or displays. Previously, the
school had designated one area of campus as a “free-speech zone,”
where demonstrations could be held at any time, and required university approval
for use of four other areas. Now, the university has increased the number of
speech zones to five, while opening up the rest of campus to approved
demonstrations.
U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein declared the
university's former policy unconstitutional in March, and a settlement was
reached between the parties on June 9. The settlement also required the
university to pay $93,000 in attorney fees to the anti-abortion group, the
Pro-Life Cougars.
Sheree Tullos, a recent graduate of the University of
Houston, filed the lawsuit in 2001 when the school prohibited her anti-abortion
group from displaying a picture of a dead fetus in a high-traffic area of
campus.
The Pro-Life Cougars were represented by Benjamin Bull, a lawyer
with the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian organization based in Scottsdale,
Ariz.
Bull and Tullos argued that the university denied the Pro-Life
Cougars’s display because of the content.
Tullos said one of the
major changes in the policy is that students are now permitted to display
stationary objects and hold demonstrations in Butler Plaza, a large area in the
middle of campus. Butler Plaza is one of five “free-speech zones”
the university has designated under the settlement.
The new policy also
clarifies the reasons that the dean of students can require that a demonstration
or display relocate. The former policy stated that the dean had discretion to
move an “expressive activity” if it was interfering with the rights
of others or the operation of the university.
Under the new policy, the
dean of students only can relocate a demonstration or display if the number of
people attending the event exceeds the size of that area or if the activity
conflicts with previously scheduled events.
Tullos said her goal in
filing the lawsuit was to force the school to allow free speech everywhere on
campus without requiring students to apply in advance. Although the new policy
still mandates that students submit an application for use of areas that are
outside speech zones, Tullos said she was still pleased.
“We
didn’t get what we originally asked for but we still won,” she said.
“I settled because I felt like if we kept going then I might get
nothing.”
Donna Hamilton, general counsel for the University of
Houston, said the school did not believe the old policy was unconstitutional but
was happy to have a new policy that everyone agreed on.
Tullos said she
was optimistic that the new policy would allow future Pro-life Cougars to
express their views on abortion without conflicting with the administrators.
“I am confident that they [the university administration]
won’t give the Pro-Life Cougars as many problems as they gave me,”
she said.
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