Nearly a month after a higher education freedom group accused SIUC of limiting free speech on its campus, SIUC Chancellor Sam Goldman is expected to respond to allegations today that the university’s free speech policy is fine.

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education wrote to Goldman and several other university officials Dec. 22 regarding the group’s concern about the unconstitutionally restrictive speech policies at SIUC.

‘ The letter claimed the university’s Protest Policy in the Registered Student Organization Handbook ‘chills expression on SIUC’s campus and ignores constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech that SIUC, as a state-supported institution, is legally obligated to protect.’

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‘Our issue is that according to the RSO Handbook, only one area on campus is available for campus for assembly and demonstrations,’ said Samantha Harris, director of speech code research for FIRE. ‘On a large campus in a public university, that is not permissible to limit speech like that.’

The RSO Handbook specifies an area located west of the parking garage near Faner Hall as the only area on campus deemed a free forum area. The policy, according to FIRE, contradicts the Board policy on public forum areas, which designates two areas.

The university was given an ultimatum by FIRE to respond by today before further action would be taken.

FIRE requested SIUC ‘immediately revise its illegal and immoral ‘free speech zone’ policy.’

Goldman said the university sent its response late last week and that the response would be made available to the public today.

Goldman said the university’s policy is a non-issue and will not change as a result of FIRE’s efforts. He said FIRE ‘could not have possibly drawn these conclusions had they done their homework.’

‘It’s like they shoot first and ask questions later,’ Goldman said. ‘There is nothing to change; we haven’t done anything.’

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SIUC is now on a watch list for being on red light status by FIRE. A ‘red-light’ institution has at least one policy that both clearly and substantially restricts freedom of speech, according to FIRE’s Web site.

In FIRE’s Spotlight on Speech Codes 2009 report, which was released Dec. 15, 270 of the 364 (74.2 percent) schools reviewed by the group were given red-light status. 78 schools (21.4 percent) were given yellow-light status while only eight schools (2.2 percent) were given a green-light status. Eight schools, meanwhile, were not rated.

Should SIUC not comply with FIRE’s request to change or eliminate the policies in question, further action including public pressure or even court could be taken.

‘(FIRE) makes suggestions to get in line and often universities do the right thing,’ said SIUC Professor and President of the Illinois Association of Scholars Jonathan Bean, who co-signed FIRE’s letter to the university. ‘FIRE is wonderful with working with institutions that want to work with them and fighting institutions that are opposite of what FIRE thinks is the right thing. They are media savvy and are tough in court. They simply do not lose.’

FIRE’s letter used its experience with Texas Tech as a specific example for SIUC.

‘For instance, at Texas Tech, a federal court determined that Texas Tech’s policy must be interpreted to allow free speech for students on ‘park areas sidewalks, streets or other similar common areas … irrespective of whether the University has so designated them or not,” the letter stated.

But Goldman said the university is not within the wrong, saying FIRE has not even provided an example of the violation in question.

Goldman said the university has yet to deny a group or single student of passing out pamphlets or protesting outside the designated free forum area.

Goldman said the free forum area is simply an area in which protestors can use amplified noise, in order to protect protests from disrupting classrooms.

‘I’d like to see an example of where we did this,’ he said. ‘In law, you don’t have a standing case if there is no issue. Where is the issue? There is no issue.’

Brian Feldt can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 254 [email protected].