A lawsuit was filed Thursday afternoon against Iowa State University officials by a nationwide free speech advocacy group alleging that three university’s policies are in violation of ISU students’ First Amendment and 14th Amendment rights.

According to the lawsuit, Speech First Inc., is alleging that three of the university’s policies — a ban on chalking, a prohibition on student emails related to campaigns and elections, and a Campus Climate Reporting System — is encroaching on students’ free speech.

“Iowa State University has created an elaborate investigative and enforcement regime designed to chill speech concerning political and social issues of public concern,” said First Speech president, Nicole Neily in a statement on Thursday.

The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa in Des Moines. The lawsuit names ISU President Wendy Wintersteen, ISU Chief of Police Michael Newton, Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Martino Harmon among the list of 24 defendants affiliated with the university.

In response to various reports of racist and anti-Semitic chalking on university walkways and student-led protests in the fall semester, the university announced and later approved a temporary policy that banned chalking of non-university related material at a forum in November.

According to the university’s policy statement, “chalking is defined as the marking of a sidewalk surface with chalk in order to publicize an upcoming event sponsored by a registered student organization.”

The second contention Speech First raises in the case is that the university’s prohibition on student emails related to campaigns and elections restricts students’ political speech.

According to the university’s Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resources Policy, as a state institution and non-profit organization, Iowa State University must abide by federal and state restrictions regarding the use of its property and facilities for political purposes.

The university does not allow the use of university emails in support of political candidates or any ballot measure.

First Speech argues that the policy “burdens” the university’s students from engaging in the political process.

“The state of Iowa is a major destination for presidential candidates, who are on or near campus on a regular basis,” Neily said in her statement that was emailed following the filing of the lawsuit. “Many students learn about meet-and-greet events because events have traditionally been promoted through chalking — and by banning these advertisements and emails, students are missing out on major civic participation opportunities.”

She also added, “Iowa State University maintains a series of policies that have both the purpose and the effect of chilling student speech. One month out from a major political primary, students have been significantly, and unconstitutionally, burdened from participating in the political process.”

The third allegation raised by Speech First is that the university’s Campus Climate Reporting System, started in 2016, is comprised of ISU faculty and staff tasked with outreach and reporting responsibilities in the instance of bias-related reports.

In the lawsuit, Speech First claims the Campus Climate Reporting System creates “credible fear” among the university’s students that they will be an anonymously reported to university authorities for allegations of bias.

“The CCRS poses a grave risk of chilling the open and unfettered discourse that should be central to higher education,” reads an excerpt from the lawsuit.

The affect of this, the plaintiff states, is that students “refrain from speaking on political and religious topics accordingly.”

In a Students Against Racism forum on Nov. 8, Iowa State officials cited that federal First Amendment restrictions prevented them from meeting student demands that asked for expulsion and termination of individuals involved in bias-related incidents and the adoption of a zero-tolerance policy for racist and anti-Semitic actions.

“We cannot break the law when it comes to the First Amendment, and so I cannot do what you are asking, Wintersteen said during the Nov. 8 town hall meeting.

Angie Hunt, interim news director for the university’s news service, told the Tribune that the university had been made aware of the lawsuit around 4 p.m., and did not have an immediate response.