FC: More on student loses speech case against Univ of California

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Fri May 18 2001 - 20:26:04 PDT

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    **********
    In response to: http://www.politechbot.com/p-02037.html
    
    I am copying university officials who have been involved in this affair at 
    one time or another in case they would like the opportunity to reply.
    
    -Declan
    **********
    
    From: "Harvey A. Silverglate" <hasat_private>
    To: <declanat_private>, <politechat_private>
    Cc: "'Brown, Christopher'" <cbrownat_private>
    Subject: RE: Judge sides with Univ of California in student free speech case
    Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 12:37:43 -0400
    In-Reply-To: <5.0.2.1.0.20010517110806.02004380at_private>
    
    Declan,
    	I just want to add a couple of points to Chris Brown's report on the status
    of his litigation.
    	(I speak, incidentally, in my role as a co-Director and officer of The
    Foundation for Individual Rights in Education ("FIRE") <www.thefire.org>,
    which has been supporting Chris from early-on, has been in communication
    with the University, and has been cooperating with Chris' attorneys.)
    	The thesis committee had approved Chris' thesis, as a mater of academic
    evaluation and judgment, until the committee members learned that a
    "Disacknowledgement" section had been tacked on to the thesis as finally
    submitted. Thus, there is no doubt that the only reason the thesis had been
    rejected was because of his criticism of the University. Indeed, when the
    refusal to give him his degree became public, they granted him the degree
    but refused to file the thesis in the normal course.
    	Correspondence that I had, in my capacity as an officer of FIRE, with
    University officers, demonstrates clearly that the University's position is
    that they don't have to "publish" something that they view as obnoxious or
    personally critical of them or of the University. Hence, this is a very
    clean-cut First Amendment issue.
    	Finally, the University rests its refusal in large measure on its claim
    that to allow the thesis to be filed officially and formally would be
    equivalent to the University's adopting in some way the contents, including
    the Disaknowledtgements. This raises the issue not only of whether a
    university's approving a thesis is equivalent to "adopting" it somehow, but,
    more specifically, whether an "Acknowledgement" section or a
    "Disacknowledgement" section is part of the thesis for such purposes, or
    whether it states the personal views of the author and cannot be attributed
    to the University or its officers or faculty. It seems clear to me that the
    latter is true.
    	The trial judge in this case seems to have acted with an unusual degree of
    ignorance of the law and disregard of the facts. As Chris said, given this
    particular judge's reputation we were not expecting otherwise. Onward to the
    appellate court.
    
    					Harvey A. Silverglate
    					The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
    
    
    
    
    
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