Tackling Tyranny on Texas Time: Free Speech Victory at University of North Texas School System

The Student Rights Campaign (SRC) has scored yet another victory for Free Speech at the University of North Texas School System! 

University of North Texas (UNT) had become infamous for its anti-speech culture on campus, with far-left radical students participating in “shut-downs” of both their conservative fellow students as well as guest speakers with whom they vehemently disagreed. This led to an environment where those who thought and spoke differently than the status quo were treated as pariahs and publicly shamed into silence while attending UNT. 

Because of this toxic campus culture of censorship, UNT student and SRC chapter member Ryan Dickson decided enough was enough and began a campaign to pressure the administration to put Free Speech protections in their campus policies. 

Refusing to be dissuaded after legal counsel claimed there was no case to pursue, Ryan unleashed an intense campaign to rally his classmates to the cause of Free Speech, constantly petitioning, tabling, and hosting multiple public forums on campus to bring attention to the issue. 

After waking up enough students, the administration of UNT School Systems finally caved to the pressure that Ryan and SRC had successfully built against them, and a new policy protecting Free Speech rights was instituted on campus. 

The new policy, 07.012 Code of Student Conduct or 16.004 Prohibition of Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation, imposes disciplinary sanctions on any student or employee of the school system who interferes with another person’s Free Speech activities on campus. 

In reflection, Ryan offered his thoughts on this hard-fought victory: 

“Even though we got what we wanted, there’s still a long road ahead of us regarding student liberty. Nonetheless, I feel really proud of the YAL team for getting done what got done. I feel a bit more assured about being able to speak my mind more. Universities are supposed to be a place where ideas and perspective form dialogue, not an argument or worse.”

Ryan’s fierce liberty spirit and willingness to fight back against his administration secured one more win in the fight against tyranny across campuses nationwide. Since 2021, the Student Rights Campaign has successfully repealed or changed 191 tyrannical policies and impacted 3 million students. 

With one more victory, SRC is steadfast in its mission to protect the civil liberties of American students.

This article was written by Daniel Gonzalez-Allende Barr, Director of Student Rights Campaign at Young Americans for Liberty

The post Tackling Tyranny on Texas Time: Free Speech Victory at University of North Texas School System appeared first on Young Americans for Liberty.