Free Speech

The SFAI Administration has been mass e-mailing students and using the student mailboxes to campaign against student critics and deride the faculty union.  At the same time, the Administration has been restricting speech rights of students on the campus.  The Administration has banned student communications in the student mailboxes and have caused our leaflets containing constitutional protected speech to be torn down from bulletin boards.  Thus, we believe the SFAI Administration has violated student free speech rights.  

Update: At the 2009 SFAI Commencement, some members of the SFAI Community wanted to wear pink in support of faculty, staff and students, in light of the crisis that had been caused by the Administration's plan to layoff about 25% of tenured faculty.  However, at commencement, SFAI Administrators enforced an outrageous ban on the expression of Pink Support by: 1) prohibiting the distribution of pink informational leaflets on campus; 2) threatening at least one student with arrest for passing out pink felt strips/armbands ("pink fuzzies") on campus; 3) demanding to confiscate pink felt on campus; 4) calling the police to have a peaceful supporter arrested because the supporter handed out some pieces of pink felt and refused to have the pink felt confiscated by SFAI Dean of Students Brian Carlisle and Associate Dean of Students Hallie Hunt; the supporter was removed from campus by the police but the police declined to arrest her.

At the time, SFAI Dean of Students Brian Carlisle stated that he was enforcing a time/place/manner restriction.  For added 'authority,' Mr. Carlisle held himself out as a "law student."  However, it is very clear that the SFAI Administration's ban of pink support expression at commencement was not content neutral.  The restriction was a content regulation and carried disciplinary sanctions, including, in this case, the threat of arrest or arrest.  For a picture of the police at commencement, see the slideshow HERE.

In California, students at private universities have free speech rights.  Read the SFAI Free Speech Nutshell.  

For letters between students and the SFAI Administration about SFAI's conduct, see below:

• Students' Letter to SFAI Administration Regarding Free Speech Rights

• Letter from SFAI's Dean Okwui Enwezor Banning All Communications, Except Official SFAI Business, from Student Mailboxes

• Students' Letter to SFAI Administration Regarding Free Speech Violations

• Marynell Maloney's "Formal Apology"