Everything is bigger in Texas — including restrictions on freedom of speech. 

The passage of Texas Senate Bill 2972, also known “The Campus Protection Act,” restricted protests, events, and other demonstrations during the “end-of-term” periods on campuses. After taking effect, schools began creating ridiculous policies that prevented students from practicing their First Amendment Rights. 

Tiffany Lomax, a senior at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) and president of the SFLA Horns for Life chapter, detailed how this affected her chapter at The Daily Wire: 

The Campus Protection Act stopped students from engaging in acts of speech between 10 pm and 8 am, as well as from bringing guest speakers, amplifying sound, or using percussive instruments at demonstrations in the final two weeks of each semester. It is extremely broad, even disallowing student speech in private conversations, whether in dorm rooms or outdoor meeting spaces. 

… 

The bill was so unprecedented and broad that the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas issued an injunction stopping the law from being enforced only a month later. 

Despite the injunction, Texas universities continue to use these rules at the campus policy level. UT Austin cites SB 2972 as a justification for their policy that “states that a guest speaker may not staff a table or set up exhibits.” 

UT Austin isn’t the only Texas school preventing students from civil discourse. Lomax details that Texas Woman’s University and Texas Tech University’s Lubbock campus have enacted similar rules. 

But Lomax provides a call to action for her fellow students: don’t stay silent. Universities may want students to give up when faced with rejection for club and event approvals, but their decisions are challengeable.  

For those facing free speech restrictions on campus as they try to organize events, Lomax advises students to reach out to the organizations they are affiliated with, like SFLA, to get support and guidance. 

Lomax concludes: 

A university is a place to experience new ideas, diverse opinions, and freedom of discourse. The acts of tabling on campus and hosting speakers are not separate from this mission. 

These unconstitutional rules do not disappear on their own. To see students’ free speech rights protected on university campuses again, students must speak up against the injustices happening on their campus and beyond — and the courts must follow their lead. 

READ THE FULL OP-ED HERE. 

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READ MORE OP-EDS FROM SFLA: 

READ: “Free Speech in Name Only: How UT Austin Is Preventing My Student Group from Speaking up for Life” 

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