A Nonprofit is Suing Virginia Tech Alleging the University Set Restrictions on Students’ Speech
Virginia Tech University is facing a fresh lawsuit from the nonprofit Speech First, which alleges that the university has set overly broad restrictions on students’ expression.
Filed on Thursday, the lawsuit takes aim at Virginia Tech’s policies on harassment and discrimination, bias-related incidents, and its computer policy, which prohibits the use of the network for “partisan political purposes.” It also targets the university’s ban on distributing literature or petitions without prior approval.
“Through this elaborate disciplinary apparatus, administrators at Virginia Tech have intimidated students into silence, refraining altogether from expressing comments or viewpoints that might be perceived as controversial or offensive,” Speech First President Nicole Neily said in a statement provided to Fox News.
“This effort to restrict (and even punish) speech based on content goes against the commitment to academic discourse that is supposed to be paramount in higher education.”
