Press Release: ACLU of Massachusetts praises Tufts President and Dean for protecting freedom of speech on campus

The ACLU of Massachusetts praises the decision by Tufts University yesterday to drop a punishment imposed last spring on The Primary Source, a conservative student journal.

In May, the Tufts University Committee on Student Life ruled that The Primary Source had violated the student code by publishing two pieces that other students complained constituted harassment. One appeared to condemn the Islamic religion and the other mocked the academic qualifications of students of color. The Committee ordered that the journal had to henceforth publish a byline for every article, thus identifying each author and preventing anonymous speech.

The Journal filed an appeal with the Dean of Undergraduate Education at Tufts, James Glaser. The ACLU of Massachusetts wrote to the Dean and to the President of the University, expressing concern for freedom of speech on campus, even for obnoxious or offensive speech, and urging that the sanction be overturned. Anonymous speech has long been considered essential and protected in rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court.

On Monday, the Dean of Undergraduate Education issued his decision on the appeal and set aside the requirement that bylines be published on all articles in The Primary Source. He found that this requirement by the Committee on Student Life was a punishment for unpopular speech. Also on Monday, the President of the University, Lawrence Bacow, issued a strong statement in support of freedom of speech on campus.

"The ACLU of Massachusetts is heartened by the actions of the Tufts President and Dean," said Sarah Wunsch, Staff Attorney for the ACLU of Massachusetts. "While we do not in any way support the views expressed in the articles in The Primary Source, we do believe that the answer to offensive speech is not to punish it. As President Bacow stated, the 'appropriate response to offensive speech is more speech, not less.' We are especially appreciative of the recognition by President Bacow that although Tufts is a private university and not directly bound by the First Amendment, free speech rights are just as essential on a private campus as they are at a public university, where the Constitution applies without question."

President Bacow’s statement is available at:
http://go.tufts.edu/8-27statement

The ACLU of Massachusetts letter is available at:
http://www.aclum.org/pdf/ACLUM_Tufts_Letter_30May2007.pdf