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DePaul University Revokes 'Propaganda' Ban
DePaul University has lifted a vague ban on "propaganda” that it used to silence student protest of a campus appearance by controversial University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill. The university’s move came under pressure from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). "The revocation of the ‘propaganda’ ban is a step in the right direction for DePaul,” said FIRE Interim President Greg Lukianoff. "Yet DePaul’s disregard for freedom of expression reaches far beyond this one policy. The true test will be how DePaul reacts the next time students attempt to express dissenting opinions.”
Story Continues Below Churchill, who made news earlier this year for describing victims of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center as "little Eichmanns,” was scheduled to lecture and lead a workshop for student groups on October 20 and 21. As NewsMax reported, DePaul’s College Republicans (CRs) printed flyers that quoted some of Churchill’s controversial remarks. DePaul’s Office of Student Life banned the CRs from posting the flyers, citing a vague policy prohibiting "propaganda.” The CRs, who did not believe that quoting a speaker’s own words could be "propaganda,” put up some flyers anyway, leading to a formal warning from DePaul. DePaul’s Cultural Center went even further by actually changing the attendance requirements for the Churchill-led "Multicultural Human Rights Education Workshop” to exclude the CRs. Although the event was initially advertised as open to "student organizations,” after the CRs expressed interest in attending, the Cultural Center altered its Web site to limit the event to "Student Organizations which are supported by the Cultural Center’s Allocation Fund,” which the CRs are not.
On November 23, FIRE wrote to DePaul President Dennis Holtschneider to protest the university’s actions, urging the Catholic institution to reject "policies that place students’ individual rights and personal integrity at the mercy of university officials who are free to censor students at will.” Holtschneider replied on December 12, stating that "advertisements of speakers are posted. Denunciations of speakers are not posted.” Yet FIRE’s research showed that the school’s policy was amended to reflect this only after the CRs’ flyers were denied approval. FIRE brought DePaul’s shifting policies to public attention in a press release on December 21. Several hours later, Holtschneider contacted FIRE to say that an addendum had indeed been "recently added indicating that flyers promoting ‘propaganda’ will not be accepted” and that he had "asked for it to be removed.” Holtschneider went on affirm "DePaul’s respect for freedom of speech and role in providing outlets for conversations between individuals with a variety of viewpoints.” But Lukianoff said: "DePaul’s students and faculty will need to practice constant vigilance to ensure that the university lives up to its promises of free speech and open dialogue.” FIRE is a nonprofit educational foundation that unites civil rights and civil liberties leaders, scholars, journalists and public intellectuals on behalf of individual rights, due process, freedom of expression, academic freedom and rights of conscience at U.S. colleges and universities. In a interview with NewsMax Magazine late last year, Lukianoff said: "FIRE has defended the rights of conservatives, evangelical Christians, PETA supporters, anti-war protestors, libertarians, college shock jocks, devout Muslims, college Republicans, controversial playwrights, and so on. "As bad as this year has been for individual rights on campus, I can say with absolute confidence that it would have been much worse were it not for FIRE.”
Editor's note:
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