Contact:
George Leef
georgeleef@jamesgmartin.center
919-828-1400
Raleigh, NC — The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal has signed on to the amicus curiae brief submitted by Advancing American Freedom (AAF) in the case of University of Buffalo Young Americans for Freedom v. University of Buffalo Student Association, Inc. The case involves the constitutional rights of freedom of speech and association for the plaintiff group (YAF), students who believe in the traditional concepts of liberty that inspired the nation’s founding.
After YAF hosted a conservative speaker on campus, the Student Association—an entity operating under the University of Buffalo, which is controlled by the State of New York—enacted a new rule requiring all student groups to sever ties with national organizations, including the Young Americans for Freedom Foundation. That action led YAF to file suit against the defendant Student Association. Its suit in turn led the defendants to further retaliate by instituting a new rule declaring that student groups at the university cannot exist as independent legal entities, but must instead operate under the control of the Student Association. Thus, they are unable to act on their own or have any outside affiliations.
YAF contends that the Student Association has violated its rights with those authoritarian rules. Unfortunately, the district judge sided with the Student Association and dismissed the case. AAF’s brief asks the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse that decision and give YAF a chance to present its case.
Martin Center Director of External Relations George Leef explained, “The university’s Student Association has acted in ways that are incompatible with the liberty of students to peacefully do as they choose. We hope that the plaintiffs will ultimately prevail in this battle to uphold the First Amendment.”
The Martin Center regards this as a crucial battle between the basic rights to freedom of association and speech for voluntary student associations and the power of government to stifle the freedom of citizens whose ideas it dislikes.
Read AAF’s brief here.