CENSORSHIP IN HIGHER EDUCATION: IS THE PUBLIC FORUM AT RISK?

Abstract

The courts traditionally have supported the belief that the public college campus is a public forum for the open exchange of ideas. Therefore, public colleges and universities should not be subject to the preferences of groups that would seek to limit expression they may find objectionable. Yet, the continuing challenges to constitutionally protected free speech on college campuses suggest that some institutions could be persuaded to exercise illegal censorship. If administrators and faculty are to protect the foundation of the public forum in higher education and avoid potential litigation, they would be wise to exercise caution when censorship is a possibility. On the public campus, students, faculty, and administrators have the right to speak and to hear a wide range of opinions, even those that may be unpopular. Institutions may only determine the time, place, and manner of these expressions. An earlier version of this article was presented at the Fourth Annual Texas Higher Education Law Conference at the University of North Texas in Denton.