Legal Group Sues University of Michigan Over Speech Code, Bias Response Team

These campus policies imperil students’ First Amendment rights and chill free expression on campus, the lawsuit contends.

“Speech codes like Michigan’s flagrantly violate the First Amendment,” said Speech First President Nicole Neily in a statement. “Moreover, a bias response system has no place in America, much less on a modern-day college campus. Because it’s impossible to know what comments might be ‘perceived’ by others as offensive, students don’t contribute to conversations and debates, ask questions, write papers, or invite speakers they might otherwise.”