The College of the Sequoias is allegedly silencing the speech of conservative students.
Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) claims the school prevented them from writing messages and scriptures on the sidewalk using chalk after telling the group that it was an acceptable form of expression.
YAF, in a press release, explained that the college “severely restricts our ability to place flyers around campus to promote our upcoming speaking event with Vince Ellison. Therefore, we took to chalking the campus.”
Members of the group chalked the campus with messages promoting “common sense principles, scripture, and conservative ideas,” the group said.
YAF reached out to the school staff to make sure it did not have a policy prohibiting students from writing messages in chalk on campus. They were informed there was no such policy. The students wrote messages including “Stop mutilating trans children,” “God Bless America,” and “See what is beyond the victim card.” The writing also promoted the upcoming event.
A campus police officer confronted the group while they were writing their messages, accusing them of vandalism. The next day, the school erased the messages.
Early in the morning, the school sent out a crew to erase our chalk. A representative of the school then sent me an email describing our expression of speech as “graffiti” and likening it to toilet-papering a house. In the same email, our chapter was threatened with disciplinary action by the Administration, who blamed us for wasting the school’s resources to erase the chalk. The school then sent another email confirming there was no policy against sidewalk chalk.
After YAF pushed back against the allegations and sought clarification, the dean of student services acknowledged that there is no policy against writing in chalk, but claimed the group’s behavior was “not permissible.”
The YAF chapter contacted an attorney to help them navigate the dispute. The law firm sent a letter to Dr. Brent Calvin, President of College of the Sequoias, on Monday outlining several grievances against the school’s conduct. It notes that the group faced “delays and procedural challenges” in securing a venue for Ellison’s speech and ran into “uncertainty regarding policies on expressive activities, including sidewalk chalking.”
The situation has resulted in YAF being forced to operate under “a state of uncertainty regarding its ability to operate on an equal footing with other student organizations.”
The law firm refers to specific incidents, including the school’s failure to give YAF clear instructions for reserving rooms. It also brought up the group’s faculty advisor, a conservative professor who resigned from the position over the conflict. The resignation “effectively paralyzed YAF, preventing the group from submitting room requests or holding events,” according to the letter.
College of the Sequoias claims it is committed to protecting freedom of expression on its website.
As a form of freedom of expression, academic freedom exists within the general framework of the United States Constitution, the California State Constitution, requirements of the California Education Code, California Community College regulations, District policy, and official course descriptions. This freedom of expression shall be maintained in all media (printed, oral, visual, and electronic) and in all interactions among students, faculty, staff, and administration, subject to applicable law. All faculty members shall enjoy the protections offered by this policy. No faculty member shall be disciplined, reassigned, or have his assignment terminated for any reason that violates the protections of this policy.
Yet, it appears the college isn’t as adamant about protecting freedom of expression as it would have us believe. YAF argued that this kerfuffle “has reinforced that conservative students are treated as second-class students.”
Other YAF chapters have faced similar challenges when it comes to being allowed to express their political beliefs. The group filed a legal complaint with the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights earlier this month alleging that Embry-Riddle Aeronautics University for silencing their speech.