,,iii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #bcc  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #e1 
#bjai,mrs4 ,blackburn 7for herself1 ,mr4
 ,tillis1 ,mr4 ,lankford1 ,mr4 ,cornyn1 
,mr4 ,cotton1 ,mr4 ,braun1 ,mr4         
,grassley1 ,ms4 ,ernst1 ,mr4 ,rubio1    
,mr4 ,hawley1 ,mr4 ,scott of ,south     
,carolina1 and ,mr4 ,cruz7 submitted the
 following resolution2 which was        
referred to the ,committee on the       
,judiciary  ,,resolution  ,recognizing  
the importance of protecting freedom of 
speech1 thought1 and expression at      
institutions of higher education4       
,whereas the ,first ,amendment to the   
,constitution of the ,united ,states    
guarantees that ,congress shall make no 
law ''' abridging the freedom of speech2
 ,whereas1 in ,healy v4 ,james1 #djh    
,u4,s4 #afi 7#aigb71 the ,supreme ,court
 of the ,united ,states held that the   
,first ,amendment to the ,constitution  
of the ,united ,states applies in full  
force on the campuses of public colleges

 and universities2 ,whereas1 in ,widmar 
v4 ,vincent1 #ded ,u4,s4 #bfc 7#aiha71  
the ,supreme ,court of the ,united      
,states observed that the campus of a   
public university1 at least for its     
students1 possesses many of the         
characteristics of a public forum2      
,whereas lower ,federal courts have also
 held that the open1 outdoor areas of   
the campuses of public colleges and     
universities are public forums2 ,whereas
 section #aab7;a77#b7 of the ,higher    
,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 
#ajaa;a7a77#b77 contains a sense of     
,congress noting that an institution of 
higher education should facilitate the  
free and open exchange of ideas1        
students should not be intimidated1     
harassed1 discouraged from speaking out1
 or discriminated against1 students     
should be treated equally and fairly1   
and nothing in this paragraph shall be  
construed to modify1 change1 or infringe
 upon any constitutionally protected    
religious liberty1 freedom1 expression1 

or association2 ,whereas1 despite the   
clarity of the applicable legal         
precedent and the vital importance of   
protecting public colleges in the       
,united ,states as true marketplaces of 
ideas1 the ,foundation for ,individual  
,rights in ,education has found that    
approximately #a in #aj of the top      
colleges and universities in the ,united
 ,states quarantine student expression  
to so-called free speech zones1 and a   
survey of #dff schools found that almost
 #cj percent maintain severely          
restrictive speech codes that clearly   
and substantially prohibit              
constitutionally protected speech2      
,whereas1 according to the ,american    
,civil ,liberties ,union 7,,aclu71      
,speech codes adopted by                
government-financed state colleges and  
universities amount to government       
censorship1 in violation of the         
,constitution4 ,and the ,,aclu believes 
that all campuses should adhere to      
,first ,amendment principles because    

academic freedom is a bedrock of        
education in a free society42 ,whereas  
the ,university of ,chicago1 as part of 
its commitment to free and open inquiry 
in all matters1 issued a statement in   
which it guarantees all members of the  
,university community the broadest      
possible latitude to speak1 write1      
listen1 challenge1 and learn1 and more  
than #ej university administrations and 
faculty bodies have endorsed a version  
of the ,chicago ,statement2 ,whereas1 in
 ,december #bjad1 the ,university of    
,hawaii at ,hilo settled a lawsuit for  
#ej1jjj after it was sued in ,federal   
court for prohibiting students from     
protesting the ,national ,security      
,agency unless those students were      
standing in the tiny1 flood-prone free  
speech zone at the university2 ,whereas1
 in ,july #bjae1 ,california ,state     
,polytechnic ,university1 ,pomona1      
settled a lawsuit for #ce1jjj after it  
was sued in ,federal court for          
prohibiting a student from handing out  

flyers about animal abuse outside of the
 free speech zone at the university1    
comprising less than #j4ja percent of   
campus2 ,whereas1 in ,may #bjaf1 a      
student-plaintiff settled her lawsuit   
against ,blinn ,college in ,texas for   
#ej1jjj after administrators told her   
she needed special permission to        
advocate for ,second ,amendment rights  
outside of the tiny free speech zone at 
the college2 ,whereas1 in ,february     
#bjag1 ,georgia ,gwinnett ,college      
agreed to modify its restrictive speech 
policies after two students sued in     
,federal court to challenge a           
requirement that students obtain prior  
authorization from administrators to    
engage in expressive activity within the
 limits of a tiny free speech zone1     
comprising less than #j4jjae percent of 
campus2 ,whereas1 in ,march #bjag1      
,middlebury ,college students and       
protesters from the community prevented 
an invited speaker from giving his      
presentation and then attacked his car  

and assaulted a professor as the two    
attempted to leave1 resulting in the    
professor suffering a concussion2       
,whereas1 in ,january #bjah1 ,kellogg   
,community ,college in ,michigan settled
 a lawsuit for #ee1jjj for arresting two
 students for handing out copies of the 
,constitution of the ,united ,states    
while talking with their fellow students
 on a sidewalk2 ,whereas1 in ,june      
#bjah1 the ,university of ,michigan     
agreed to change its restrictive speech 
code on the same day the ,united ,states
 ,department of ,justice filed a        
statement of interest in support of a   
lawsuit in ,federal court challenging   
the constitutionality of the speech code
 of the university2 ,whereas1 in        
,december #bjah1 the ,los ,angeles      
,community ,college ,district1 a        
#i-;campus community college district   
that includes ,pierce ,college1 settled 
a lawsuit for #bbe1jjj and changed its  
restrictive speech policies after it was
 sued in ,federal court for prohibiting 

a ,pierce ,college student from         
distributing ,spanish-language copies of
 the ,constitution of the ,united       
,states on campus unless he stood in the
 free speech zone1 which comprised      
approximately #j4jjc percent of the     
total area of the #dbf acres of the     
college2 ,whereas1 in ,december #bjah1  
the ,university of ,california1         
,berkeley1 home of the #aifjs campus    
free speech movement1 settled a lawsuit 
for #gj1jjj and changed its restrictive 
policies after it was sued in ,federal  
court for singling out one student      
group1 apart from other student groups1 
with the imposition of stricter rules   
for inviting high-profile public        
speakers2 ,whereas the ,states of       
,virginia1 ,missouri1 ,arizona1         
,kentucky1 ,colorado1 ,utah1 ,north     
,carolina1 ,tennessee1 ,florida1        
,georgia1 ,louisiana1 ,south ,dakota1   
and ,iowa have passed legislation       
prohibiting public colleges and         
universities from quarantining          

expressive activities on the open       
outdoor areas of campuses to            
misleadingly labeled free speech zones2 
and ,whereas free speech zones have been
 used to restrict political speech from 
all parts of the political spectrum and 
have thus inhibited the free exchange of
 ideas at campuses across the country3  
,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the        
,senate-- 7#a7 recognizes that free     
speech zones and restrictive speech     
codes are inherently at odds with the   
freedom of speech guaranteed by the     
,first ,amendment to the ,constitution  
of the ,united ,states2  7#b7 recognizes
 that institutions of higher education  
should facilitate and recommit          
themselves to protecting the free and   
open exchange of ideas2  7#c7 recognizes
 that freedom of expression and freedom 
of speech are sacred ideals of the      
,united ,states that must be vigorously 
safeguarded in a world increasingly     
hostile to democracy2  7#d7 encourages  
the ,secretary of ,education to promote 

policies that foster spirited debate1   
academic freedom1 intellectual          
curiosity1 and viewpoint diversity on   
the campuses of public colleges and     
universities2 and  7#e7 encourages the  
,attorney ,general to defend and protect
 the ,first ,amendment across public    
colleges and universities4