CU Boulder students sue university

Five University of Colorado Boulder students sued the university on Aug. 5, saying campus policies governing protests and use of university space unlawfully restrict student speech and assembly. The complaint says the rules chill protected expression, including protest activity, and conflict with Colorado’s Students’ Right to Speak Act, according to Courthouse News and the Daily Camera. The Colorado case arrives alongside two other disputes that are also focused less on invited speakers than on administrative rules. At West Point, officials let pass a deadline to appeal a judge’s order blocking restrictions on civilian faculty speech, and at the University of North Texas, administrators denied journalism professors funding tied to membership in a professional association, citing the state’s anti-DEI law. (courthousenews.com) ### What are the CU Boulder students challenging? The Aug. 5 lawsuit says CU Boulder’s policies within its campus-use procedures impermissibly limit where and how students can engage in protected expression. The Daily Camera reported that the plaintiffs argue the rules violate Colorado’s Students’ Right to Speak Act, which protects student speech in publicly accessible areas on campus. Courthouse News said the five students describe the policies as “restrictive speech policies” that have a chilling effect on First Amendment activity, including some protest activity. (insidehighered.com) A separate report citing the complaint said the students contend the university has effectively created prohibited “free-speech zones” and content-based restrictions on expression. ### What does CU Boulder say its rules are for? CU Boulder says on its free-expression page that students, faculty and staff are entitled to express themselves across campus, but must not interfere with core university functions, access to facilities, traffic flow or property. (dailycamera.com) The university also says it follows protocols that prohibit encampments and will hold community members accountable when conduct or speech crosses into discrimination, harassment, threats to safety or limits others’ access to educational facilities. (courthousenews.com) The university’s published guidance also says members of the campus community are expected to know policies governing use of university facilities and resources, student organizations and conduct. That language is part of the backdrop for the students’ challenge to the campus-use rules. ### Why is West Point part of the same conversation? West Point allowed a deadline to appeal a preliminary injunction to expire without action, according to Inside Higher Ed, which cited Washington Post reporting. (colorado.edu) The blocked policy had required civilian faculty speaking in their professional capacity to get approval from department heads for outside engagements including media interviews, op-eds, journal articles, conference presentations and social media posts. Tim Bakken, a West Point law professor, sued after the policy was issued in February 2025, alleging it violated his First Amendment rights. A judge in May found Bakken was likely to succeed on the merits and barred enforcement while the case proceeds, Inside Higher Ed reported. ### What happened at the University of North Texas? The University of North Texas told journalism professor Tracy Everbach and other faculty members in a June 30 memo that funding membership or sponsorship costs for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication would violate Texas law restricting certain DEI activity at public institutions, according to Inside Higher Ed. (insidehighered.com) Everbach said she had attended the conference with university support for years and called it “just a regular research conference.” FIRE, which is backing Everbach, said the denied funding involved membership required for her to present research at an upcoming conference. The dispute has centered on whether UNT is reading Texas law more broadly than the statute requires. ### What comes next in the Colorado case? The CU Boulder case was filed on Aug. 5 and is now at the opening stage, with the university expected to respond in court. (insidehighered.com) At West Point, the preliminary injunction remains in place while litigation continues, and at North Texas, Everbach said she filed an open-records request on July 2 seeking communications about the funding denial. (courthousenews.com) (fire.org)