The University of Southern Maine didn’t wait until it got sued.
The public university revoked its demand for the campus chapter of Young Americans for Freedom to pay $450 in security fees to host a state lawmaker for a speech about immigration policy.
The Alliance Defending Freedom warned the school last week that such a demand was unconstitutional, and the university system’s lawyer quickly backed down, saying it was “reviewing this matter.”
The student group hosted House Rep. Larry Lockman on Thursday for a talk titled “Alien Invasion: Fixing the Immigration Crisis,” according to the alliance’s letter to the school.
YAF was told it had to pay for three security officers or the event would be canceled. University President Glenn Cummings, a former Obama administration education official, justified the mandatory fee on the grounds that the event “could become a highly charged situation” because “there is strong disagreement locally and across our country on immigration issues.”
The alliance targeted a university policy that gives the campus director of public safety “complete and arbitrary discretion to require and charge for public safety,” with “no viewpoint-neutral criteria or guidelines to protect minority viewpoints from discrimination,” it said in a press release Monday.
Cummings called Rep. Lockman “offensive and repulsive” and encouraged students to “peacefully” protest his speech before the president justified the fee in the media, the alliance said:
Courts have repeatedly ruled that the government cannot charge special fees to student groups simply because a controversy “could” erupt, as that can lead to an unconstitutional heckler’s veto. Public universities cannot discourage the expression of unpopular viewpoints by permitting officials to assess fees based on a speaker’s viewpoint.
The alliance said the event “proceeded as scheduled” despite protesters showing up.
Litigation may not be out of the question even with the university rescinding the fee demand.
In its warning letter last week, the alliance asked the school to “take all steps necessary to preserve any documents connected with, discussing, or relevant to the incidents described herein” – a prelude to a lawsuit.
Read the warning letter, lawyer’s response and alliance press release.
MORE: Public university demanded $621 from group to host Ben Shapiro
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