On May 8, 2018, Speech First, a national membership group of students, alumni, and others that defends free speech on campus, sued University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel and other university officials in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The lawsuit claims the university’s speech rules violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
The lawsuit challenges two parts of the university’s system:
• Bans on “harassment,” “bullying,” and “bias.” The disciplinary code defined “harassment” as “unwanted negative attention perceived as intimidating, demeaning, or bothersome to an individual,” and raised penalties for conduct motivated by “bias.” As the complaint puts it, “the most sensitive student on campus effectively dictates the terms under which others may speak.”
• The Bias Response Team. This team took complaints about “bias incidents,” which the university said could be unintentional and “a hurtful action based on who someone is as a person.” According to the university, “[t]he most important indication of bias is your own feelings.” Students reported to the team could face pressure to accept “restorative justice,” “individual education,” or “unconscious bias training,” or be referred for formal discipline.
These policies dramatically restrict students’ abilities to voice their views. Speech First asks the court to declare these policies unconstitutional and to block the university from enforcing them.
Read the full complaint below:
