Texas Senate Committee Examines Free Speech On College Campuses

In the wake of protests aimed at a campus speaker, and a controversial article by a Texas State University student, senators will debate the question of campus free speech.

By Ryan PoppeJanuary 31, 2018 9:30 am, ,

From Texas Public Radio:

Members of the Texas Senate State Affairs Committee will exam this question Wednesday: Are students’ freedom of speech rights being squelched on state college campuses? The special legislative hearing at Texas State University in San Marcos follows the school’s own high profile free speech conflict.

This past fall, campus leaders at Texas Southern University in Houston cancelled a speech by State Rep. Briscoe Cain, an outspoken member of the House’s Freedom Caucus, after dozens of protesters filled the event area to disrupt the speech.

Around that same time, Texas State University had its own student First Amendment rights conflict brewing. Rudy Martinez, a columnist for the University Star student newspaper, had written an opinion piece titled, “Your DNA Is An Abomination.” The college’s student government criticized the piece as “anti-white.”

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