Meet Speech First, a New Combatant in the Campus Free Speech Wars
Speech First, which plans to sue universities for violating students’ free speech rights, announced its arrival on Wednesday. Its president is Nicole Neily, a former executive director of the Independent Women’s Forum and manager of external relations for the Cato Institute.
“When students’ speech rights on campus are violated, it’s tough to fight back,” Neily said in a statement. “A lone student doesn’t stand a chance against a school with a huge endowment and an army of lawyers. It’s a real David versus Goliath situation. That’s why Speech First was created.”
Speech First is a membership organization for students, faculty, parents, alumni, and concerned citizens. Members pay a one-time $5 fee, which connects them to a network of people “who are fighting to preserve the freedom of speech on college campuses, according to the organization’s website.
