The College Fix

Last week The College Fix reported on a troubling case out of Johns Hopkins University: A group of pro-life students were being denied official recognition as a campus group. And their pro-life message was actually being described as “hate speech” by those who sought to deny them the right to exist as a recognized campus group.

Jennifer Kabbany laid out the details of the case:

In denying official club status to Voice for Life at Johns Hopkins University, student government members claimed “sidewalk counseling off campus at a Baltimore abortion facility ‘clearly violates the JHU Harassment and Code of Conduct policies,’ ” a Students for Life of America report stated.

Student government members, in their rejection, also referenced one link on the pro-life student group’s website which sends visitors to the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform’s website, judged to be “offensive,” the report stated.

But the story didn’t end there. Across the country, pro-life activists and free speech advocates responded by publicly criticizing the university’s move to deny the group official status.

Today, we have some good news to report: According to a press release from the human rights group, Students for Life, the student government association at Johns Hopkins has reversed itself:

This unanimous decision by the Student Government Association’s (SGA) Judiciary Committee overturns the SGA Senate’s rejection of VFL. When we first broke the story with VFL, they had been denied official status because the SGA had deemed sidewalk counseling “harassment” under JHU rules and because of a link on VFL’s website to an organization that posts graphic images of aborted preborn babies.  Internal SGA emails had also revealed a bias among members against pro-lifers, even comparing them to white supremacists and saying they engage in hate speech.

A second update was made when the JHU administration agreed with us and gave an opinion that sidewalk counseling was protected free speech – as the Supreme Court has ruled – and did not violate any university rules or codes.

It might seem obvious that pro-life speech is protected by the free speech guarantees of the U.S. Constitution. Unfortunately, the First Amendment is something far too many campus cultures oppose or simply don’t understand–especially when it comes to political speech the ofttimes liberal majority disagrees with.

But the speedy reversal in this case at Johns Hopkins just shows that when advocates of free speech speak up and expose discrimination on campus, it can make a huge difference.

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