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February 17, 2010
The Undergraduate Student Government Association
3400 N. Charles Street
Mattin Center, Offit Building
Baltimore, MD 21218
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Ronald J. Daniels
President, Johns Hopkins University
Office of the President
242 Garland Hall
3400 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21218
Re: Higher Education Speech Bill
Dear President Daniels:
We are writing to ask you, on behalf of the university, to support Maryland H.B. 677/ S.B. 805, the Free Speech at Nonpublic Institutions of Higher Education Bill. The free speech rights of students at this university are not fully protected under the law. We currently have a de facto “speech code,” that bans “rude or disrespectful behavior,” and allows the university to punish students for merely expressing views that are controversial. The infringement of 1st Amendment rights hurts the cause of academic freedom at our university and has a chilling effect upon all forms of speech.
The bill helps address this issue by specifically prohibiting disciplinary action against students for exercising rights protected under the 1st Amendment or the Maryland constitution at private universities in Maryland. It ties this requirement to the Sellinger program which gives state funding to qualifying private universities in Maryland. The bill allows affected students to bring civil suits against institutions that punish them for constitutionally protected speech.
Significantly for this university, the law actually ensures that federally mandated harassment codes comply fully with the 1st Amendment. This allows only true instances of harassment, under the law, to be prosecuted by the university. The bill does not force speech on the part of this university. The university is still free to denounce actions and speech with which it disagrees. However, the law bars it from the act of disciplining a student for merely exercising his 1st Amendment rights.
Our Undergraduate Conduct Code binds us to “protect the university as a forum for the free expression of ideas.” Supporting this law will allow the university to be held accountable to these goals. We realize that the creation of a law may seem like an extreme step; but sometimes a neutral, outsider arbiter is needed to keep an institution honest. It is our belief that this bill is in the best interests of both the university and the undergraduates that we represent.
We hope that you will consider supporting this bill in the legislature.
Sincerely,
Marc Perkins
President, Student Government Association
On behalf of the Undergraduate Student Government Association
Via hard copy and email
Cc: Thomas S. Lewis, Interim Vice President for Government, Community, and Public Affairs
Enclosure
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