In a resounding victory for free speech, the Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) chapter at Clovis Community College scored a significant milestone in the liberal stronghold of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
In November 2021, as part of Young America’s Foundation’s “Freedom Week” national activism project, members of Clovis YAF sought to post flyers throughout campus to spread awareness among their peers of the dangers of socialism and communism. Despite college administrators initially approving of the initiative, they later tore down the flyers and relegated the YAF chapter’s postings to a desolate “free speech zone” on the edge of campus.
After a lengthy – and still ongoing – initial court battle, as well as an appearance on Dr. Phil, the YAFers secured a preliminary injunction prohibiting the college from enforcing its unconstitutional flyer policy. This latest decision by the Circuit Court of Appeals denies the college’s attempt to have the injunction overturned.
In a comment celebrating this victory, Clovis YAF Chair Juliette Colunga remarked, “This decision is a huge win for the Clovis YAF chapter, for my fellow board members, and for free speech. This is another wonderful step in the right direction, another move toward ensuring that students at Clovis Community College are able to freely exercise their First Amendment rights to free speech on campus without fear of retaliation from the school’s administration. It is my hope that this decision will not only spur the Clovis community into finally deciding to explicitly protect the constitutional rights of its students to speak freely, but also send a message to other institutions that are censoring student speech. This censorship is wrong and unlawful according to the US Constitution, and we are so glad that the Ninth Circuit has sided with free speech.”
Although the fight for free speech at Clovis Community College is not over yet, this development will uphold the rights of students to express themselves freely for the foreseeable future and serves as a very strong indication of continued legal success.
