Leigh Guidry

lguidry@gannett.com

With the rise of safe spaces and trigger warnings at some U.S. campuses, a group of Louisiana college students is pushing to remove limits to free speech in what they call "unconstitutional" school policies.

Members of the Young Americans for Liberty chapter at University of Louisiana at Lafayette want to work with school administration to make changes to the student handbook and increase students' ability to speak freely on campus, chapter president and UL Lafayette junior Joe Shamp said.

"I'm a big believer in free speech. It's tantamount to thinking freely," the 22-year-old economics major said. "... This is how society discovers truth."

Also a Speak Freely advocate for Louisiana, Shamp founded the UL Lafayette chapter of Young Americans for Liberty last year.

His is one of more than 900 chapters across the country. With 308,900-plus "youth activists," Young Americans for Liberty describes itself as "the largest, most active and fastest-growing pro-liberty organization on America's college campuses."

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In Louisiana, there are chapters at Louisiana State University, Southeastern Louisiana University, UL Lafayette and Tulane University, according to the YAL site.

But others are listed among chapters that are forming — Louisiana Tech University, University of Louisiana at Monroe, Centenary College of Louisiana, LSU of Alexandria and South Louisiana Community College.

"It's important that everyone is allowed to express his or her opinions, whether I agree with them or not," said Chris Maples, 19, a sophomore from Shreveport and president of Centenary's chapter.

"I believe it is important to hear not only ideas you agree with but also ones you disagree with," Maples continued. "On Centenary's campus, I saw that conservatives and libertarians needed a place to come together to share our views on current issues and get more people engaged in fighting for the issues important to us."

The UL Lafayette chapter now has 25 members, and they're starting work on the student handbook.

"Our student handbook states you can't say anything distasteful or offensive," the junior from Opelousas said. "Yeah, that sounds good, but those words are vague and unhelpful. They have no real legal meaning."

And harassment already is strictly prohibited, Shamp pointed out. So these extra prohibitions are unconstitutional, he said.

"We would like to see the unconstitutional codes removed," he said.

The Lafayette group enlisted the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) to review its student speech codes. The organization rates such policies like a stop light — green, yellow or red lights. Red is the worst rating.

FIRE reviewed five UL Lafayette student codes, rating one red and three yellow and giving the campus an overall red light. No Louisiana campuses received an overall green light, according to the group's most recent report.

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The group offered recommendations to improve each of the free speech policies. The first is to remove a sentence in the school's computer and network policy that prohibits "distasteful or offensive displays, messages and printouts," which FIRE states earned the university its overall red light rating.

FIRE calls this "a vague, broad standard that includes a great deal of constitutionally protected speech." Removing the phrase would limit the policy's prohibitions to speech and conduct that is not protected by the First Amendment, like harassment and threats.

The codes that earned yellow lights refer to public profanity, prohibited sexual conduct, bullying and cyberbullying, and harassment.

The group recommends eliminating the profanity section entirely because profane words are constitutionally protected, the group states, citing 1971 Supreme Court case Cohen v. California.

Other recommendations are to add language to better define sexual harassment and bullying.

Shamp and his group want to work with university administration to see these changes implemented. He met with Vice President of Student Affairs Pat Cottonham in February and went over the FIRE recommendations.

"She was very receptive," he said.

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Little has happened since their meeting. Shamp said he expects change to be a slow process, but he wants to ensure it continues by getting the word out.

"I think mostly we need to get the wheels turning," he said. "I know the administration is not against us. But I don't know who's going to have her job in 25 years. We want to get these codes off the books."

The Young Americans for Liberty club has been raising awareness on campus with a "free speech ball." It's a 9-foot beach ball on which students can write anything, Shamp explained.

It starts a conversation about free speech on campus and gives students the chance to sign a petition to remove the codes from the student handbook. It has nearly 500 signatures, Shamp said.

A Speak Freely advocate with the group Students for Liberty, Shamp said there are similar campaigns at LSU, Louisiana Tech, McNeese State, University of New Orleans and Tulane.

This is not a partisan issue, he said.

"It's not just political correctness (on one side). The right and the left are terrified of offending each other," he said.