"UC Hastings Eliminates Heckler's Veto in New Free Speech Policy"

From a College Fix (Aidan Mays) published yesterday (see also this Oct. 19/24 item by FIRE (Zach Greenberg)):

Students and speakers at the University of California Hastings College of the Law will now have better protections for free speech. The school updated its policy on events and eliminated the heckler's veto.

As a result, protesters at the public university can no longer shout down speakers or cause a disruption with the goal of ending an event, according to the new policy….

The Event Policy prohibits "forms of protest that substantially disrupt an in-person or virtual event in a way that has the effect of silencing a speaker," but still recognizes and protects peaceful protest such as banner holding, counter events, and engaging in question and answer periods as part of the "essential right to protest."

"UC Hastings is committed to free expression, student support, and diversity, equity and inclusion," communications director Elizabeth Moore told The Fix via email. "Our new event policy—together with the supportive services that we offer to all students – works to achieve these values simultaneously."

Comments

[SRG]

Let's hope this is the beginning of a return to free speech principles in general in academia.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

" Let’s hope this is the beginning of a return to free speech principles in general in academia. "

In general? It will never happen.

The conservative-controlled campuses will not renounce censorship; embrace academic freedom; stop collecting loyalty oaths and statements of faith; refrain from enforcing dogma; stop suppressing science to flatter superstition; diminish their viewpoint-discriminatory practices in hiring, firing, admissions, disciplinary action, budgeting, etc.; relax their authoritarian, old-timey speech and conduct codes; or stop teaching nonsense.

Which is why strong, mainstream, liberal-libertarian institutions should not be much in the market for pointers from conservatives in this context. Mostly, this is just lame ankle-nipping by disaffected right-wingers who are faux libertarians.

[Shamie Ervin iv]

Fr. Kirkland, it's been a long time -- 30 years -- since I saw conservatives shouting people down. Do you have any examples?

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

You might not be thinking of the recent University of Chicago incident . . . because the Volokh Conspiracy strenuously avoids reports of conservative censorship when cherry-picking the subjects with which it incessantly nips at the ankles of the American liberal-libertarian mainstream.

[Michael P]

Unfortunately, you'd have better luck hoping to win a multistate lottery.

[Brett Bellmore]

Formally prohibiting something isn't necessarily the same as making sure it doesn't happen. But, a step in the right direction, anyway.

Let's see what happens when the policy, inevitably, is violated.

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

The pessimist in me expects nothing the first few times, then a few timid police pleading to keep quiet and get off the stage, with a few timid deans deploring the hate speech that led to so much harm but please won't the protesters let them speak ...

.... and maybe by 2030 there will be a new policy saying they really mean it now.

[jimc5499]

You beat me to it.

[SKofNJ]

Brett, you hit the nail on the head.

[Shamie Ervin iv]

Heckler's veto is quite popular. Loudmouthed Eastpointe, MI mayor, Monique Owens, uses the HV regularly from her dais, says she has free speech rights too, so she shouts down citizens at the podium who address the city council and say things bothersome to her. FIRE is suing her too. Good for them. I think it's time for me to send them another donation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwayVxBb01w&ab_channel=FoundationforIndividualRightsandExpression

[Jerry B.]

Hecklers - "But what about our free speech designed to stop their free speech?"

And they see nothing illogical about this.

[Michael P]

Those hecklers are also the kind who claim that the other speakers' speech is violence, while acting like their own violence is speech.

[Dr. Ed 2]

UMass Amherst has had a picketing code since the ’80s, it has NEVER been enforced.

[Dr. Ed 2]

UMass herst has had a picketing code since the '80s, it has NEVER been enforced.

[The Margrave of Azilia]

Even if a university wants to impose limits on speech (listed, or incorporated by reference, in the governing documents), then the enforcement should be up to the university itself, not mobs acting on the university’s behalf.

Once it’s decided to invite a speaker, the university has a duty to its guest(s) – the law of hospitality which precedes most other laws – to protect them from third-party interference.