The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education has some apt criticisms. It’s not completely clear what happened in the particular incident that triggered FIRE’s interest, but I agree that the policies that FIRE has uncovered — policies that (1) bar distribution of “flyers/leaflets” that are “inconsistent with the educational mission of the University,” and that (2) require “prior authorization” for posting materials, distributing or selling newspapers, seemingly without any requirement that the authorization be given promptly and viewpoint-neutrally — are unconstitutional and inconsistent with academic freedom principles. (More details here.)
To its credit, GMU seems to be looking at the problem closely. To its discredit, there’s a problem here that does need fixing.
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