Join us to Stand for your Rights to Free Speech & Protest at the University of Wisconsin
The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents
Calling on all students, faculty, and Wisconsinites.
On Friday October 6th, 2017, the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents passed a resolution implementing a new set of draconian policies regarding freedom of speech and expression on UW campuses. These policies call for the swift suspension and expulsion of students who partake in protest and civil disobedience on campus. We strongly oppose these measures, which violate the first amendment right to freedom of speech and assembly, and infringe on sections 3 and 4 of Article I of the Wisconsin Constitution, according to which "no laws shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech.” The Board of Regents resolution actively encourages UW institutions to no longer protect and respect the rights to freedom of speech and expression, but instead calls for intimidation and uncalled for threats suppressing diversity of opinion and further undermining the possibilities for peaceful debate in public spaces. For these reasons, these policies are anti-democratic and have no place in our Wisconsin or on our UW campuses.
We strongly encourage the Board of Regents to overturn its latest decision, which limits freedom of speech and assembly, and which will have a deleterious impact on the University System's student body.
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To:
The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents
From:
[Your Name]
I stand united in solidarity with the students of the University of Wisconsin system, who are standing up to protest attempts to violate their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and assembly. Through its latest resolution, passed on Friday, October 6, 2017, the Board of Regents is facilitating the swift suspension and expulsion of UW students who exercise their rights to freedom of speech and assembly. In doing so, the Board is violating the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the first amendment of the Wisconsin Constitution, and the most basic principles of the University of Wisconsin system. We stand with students across the UW system who oppose this infringement on their rights, and fear that they can no longer speak their minds. I strongly urge the Board to reconsider its approval of this draconian and misguided policy, and restore freedom of speech and assembly to University of Wisconsin students statewide.