FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys say “Fresno State Students for Life” filed a lawsuit this week against Fresno State Assistant Public Health Professor William Gregory Thatcher for alleged censorship. The student group alleges that they had gotten permission from the school to write “positive, life-affirming messages on the sidewalks near and leading to the University’s library” on the morning of May 2nd. The lawsuit alleges that Professor Thatcher instructed his students to erase those messages. The lawsuit claims that Professor Thatcher claimed the student group had no right to engage in expressive activities outside the “speech zone”, but that Fresno State actually has no “speech zone” and school policies instead state that “freedom of expression is allowed in all outdoor spaces on campus.”
Fresno State released a statement on Thursday from University President Joseph I. Castro:
“Fresno State supports and defends the right of students to free speech and the peaceful expression of ideas on campus. The university’s policy is clear: free speech on campus is not limited to a “free speech zone” or any other narrowly defined area. Universities have an obligation to encourage the free expression of ideas, values and opinions.
The students who wrote the chalk messages received prior university approval and were well within their rights to express themselves in this manner.
Those disagreeing with the students’ message have a right to their own speech, but they do not have the right to erase or stifle someone else’s speech under the guise of their own right to free speech. We are reviewing this matter and take the situation very seriously.”
You can see video of the incident below.
