In November 2021, Alejandro Flores, Daniel Flores and Juliette Colunga, students from Clovis Community College in California, displayed posters promoting freedom and criticizing communist regimes. All three students claimed campus administrators approved hanging the posters on bulletin boards inside the academic building, but the college reversed the decision. The college asked the students to remove the posters and later refused to allow pro-life posters. In response, the students filed a lawsuit.
District Judge Jennifer Thurston temporarily blocked the poster policy in October 2022. The community college filed a subsequent appeal, but the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the lower court's decision in August 2023. The court agreed that the policy was unconstitutional due to its broad and vague nature, which granted administrators unchecked power to suppress speech. (Related: CENSORSHIP: German government BANS conservative magazine, claiming to combat “hate speech” and “extremism.”)
On Aug. 2, Thurston found that the policy, which prohibited material deemed "inappropriate" or "offensive," was overly broad and vague, thus infringing upon students' rights to free speech and due process. So, Thurston issued a permanent injunction to prevent the school and the district "from enforcing, by policy or practice, any unlawful viewpoint – discriminatory, overbroad or vague regulation or prior restraint, on the content of the speech of recognized student clubs, including but not limited to bans on 'inappropriate' or 'offensive' language."
The new order extends to the State Center Community College District (SCCCD), a component within the California Community Colleges System that oversees Clovis and three other community colleges in the district.
In addition to the permanent injunction, Clovis Community College and the SCCCD have agreed to a settlement covering $250,000 in legal expenses for the students. The settlement also includes $20,000 in damages for each student and a $20,000 payment to the campus chapter of the pro-free speech organization Young Americans for Freedom (YAF).
Furthermore, the district will implement annual First Amendment training sessions for all administrators to prevent future violations.
Ruling celebrated as a victory for free speech on college campuses
Flores, the founder of the YAF chapter at Clovis, expressed his elation at the ruling. "We won. We showed the school they were wrong," he said. "If you think your speech is being stifled, don't stay quiet, because when you stay quiet, nothing changes."
Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) Attorney Daniel Ortner, who represented the students in the lawsuit, emphasized the implications of the decision.
"This ruling is an enormous victory for over 50,000 community college students in California and for the First Amendment," Ortner said. "You can’t take down posters because they’re offensive."
Meanwhile, administrators from the SCCCD and Clovis Community College have revised their poster policies.
Jill Wagner, spokesperson for the district, and Stephanie Babb, spokesperson for the college, confirmed that administrators had changed their poster policies following the case.
"The court determined that a few words in the prior Clovis Community College flyer posting procedure needed to be changed. In response, SCCCD updated its policy to apply to all campuses," they said in an email to the Epoch Times. "A settlement was reached to avoid the cost, uncertainty, and distractions that come with any litigation. SCCCD is committed to upholding the values of the First Amendment and we look forward to ensuring that all members of our community recognize the virtues and benefits of free speech."
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