California State University Channel Islands: Student Threatened with Discipline for Criticizing University Employees

After California State University Channel Islands student Bailey Morris lodged complaints with university staff alleging violations of her rights and criticizing the institution’s disability policies, an administrator threatened Morris with disciplinary action if she continued to “criticize the character of employees or engage in otherwise disruptive communications.” On February 17, 2022, FIRE wrote CSU Channel Islands explaining its directive to Morris violated her First Amendment right to criticize government actors, including public university employees. In a March 4 response, the university said it would not take unlawful disciplinary action against Morris. FIRE wrote back on March 14, calling on the university to rescind the warning letter consistent with that assurance.