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Free Speech On The Chopping Block At Southwestern College |
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Written by mafitzgerald
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Tuesday, 27 October 2009 |
Four Southwestern College faculty members were suspended and barred from campus or campus e-mail after protesting budget cuts with students last week.
Last Thursday several hundred Southwestern College students protested the cancellation of over 400 scheduled classes next semester. The next day four faculty members who attended the protest were immediately suspended and barred from campus or using the campus e-mail system. The letters informing faculty of their suspension did not say why, but referenced a section of California penal code that prohibits "willfully disrupting the orderly operation of the campus."
The faculty members, who include the current and former president of the faculty union, say they can think of no other reason for their suspension than criticizing the administration.
Unfortunately the suspensions are just one manifestation of Southwestern's repression of campus speech. Thursday's protest was confined to a "Free Speech Area" so hidden away that members of the public attending the protest had difficulty finding it and limited to one hour. When students decided to march across campus to the President's office they were forcibly blocked by campus police.
The campus community is right to be outraged at such flagrant violations of their First Amendment rights. Faculty and students have already begun organizing in support of the suspended faculty. The time is ripe to remove these restrictive policies as well.
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