University of Massachusetts at Amherst: Refusal to Permit Pro-War Speech

At the University of Massachusetts, students were granted a permit for a rally to protest any use of force in waging the war against terrorism. The protest was held. Another student group reserved the same place to hold a rally in support of America's policy towards terrorism, but two days before the rally, their permit was revoked. Students held the rally anyway, and their pamphlets were publicly vandalized, with impunity.

    Case Materials

  • "University of Massachusetts," October 24, 2001: In September, the University of Massachusetts granted a permit for a student rally to protest any use of force in waging the war against terrorism. The protest was held. Another student group reserved the same place to hold a rally in support of America's policy towards terrorism, but two days before the rally, their permit was revoked. Students held the rally anyway, and their pamphlets were publicly vandalized, with impunity.

    Blog Entries

  • "Under Pressure from FIRE, UMass Amherst Revises 2010's Speech Code of the Year," by William Creeley, February 14, 2011: Under pressure from FIRE, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst has revised its policy governing rallies on campus. In January, FIRE named the policy the 2010 Speech Code of the Year. The policy also helped earn UMass Amherst a spot on FIRE's recent "12 Worst Colleges for Free Speech" feature for The Huffington Post. The policy confined "controversial rallies" to the Student Union steps between noon and 1 p.m., required student groups to register their rally five days in advance, and mandated that members of the group act as security for the event. The revised policy requires registration 24 hours before an event, allows rallies during class hours, and does not require students to serve as security for the rally.