Supreme Court lets victory for free speech at OSU stand

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Heather Gebelin Hacker regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Monday to let a ruling in favor of students at Oregon State University stand. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled last year in Oregon State University Students Alliance v. Ray that university officials violated the constitutionally protected freedoms of an independent student newspaper when they confiscated its bins and tossed them onto a trash heap, and that the district court should not have dismissed the case:

“Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas. Students don’t deserve censorship for having viewpoints that university officials don’t prefer. As the 9th Circuit concluded, university officials clearly violated the students’ constitutional freedoms. The Supreme Court’s decision to let that ruling stand is a victory for constitutionally protected free speech.”