Speech First v. Sands, et al

April 8, 2021


Recent Activity: April 6, 2024: Speech First secures favorable settlement with VA Tech.

Case launch: April 8th, 2021 (United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia)

Issues being challenged:

  • Discriminatory-harassment policy
  • Bias-related incidents policy
  • Computer policy
  • Flyering policy

“Virginia Tech and its administrators have silenced, intimidated, and suppressed students’ speech for years with these policies. Our student members actively censor what they say, hide their views on social or political issues, and avoid speaking up in the classroom because they know they can be reported by their peers to the University’s Bias Incident Response Team. Open discourse and inquiry should be a staple at universities; it shouldn’t be monitored for bias and ‘intervened’ against by university administrators. Virginia Tech’s goal of ‘eliminating’ speech it disagrees with does not supersede the First Amendment.”

-Cherise Trump, Executive Director, Speech First

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