EDITORS' CORNER
UPDATED
A free speech organization accused UCLA School of Law of “double standards” Wednesday after an assistant dean told Federalist Society students that they could be punished for publicly identifying protesters who disrupted their event earlier this month.
On Thursday, a UCLA Law spokesperson told The College Fix that the university apologized to the students.
“UCLA does not discipline students for speech that is protected under the First Amendment,” the unnamed spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “The initial communication was not intended to suggest otherwise, and we have apologized for any lack of clarity. UCLA School of Law also encourages students to engage one another with respect and care.”
The situation has to do with a group of protesters who were caught on video earlier this month hurling insults and making disruptive noises during a Federalist Society event with U.S. Department of Homeland Security General Counsel James Percival.
In an email last week, Bayrex Martí, assistant dean for student affairs, told leaders of the UCLA Federalist Society chapter that they could be punished if they name the protesters in the video, according to FIRE.
“First of all, identifying the names of people who attend a public event is 100% protected speech. You don’t have a right to anonymity in public,” FIRE Executive Vice President Nico Perrino wrote Wednesday on X.
“Second, enough with these double standards. Threatening only one side with punishment for engaging in the same (protected) expression as the other side is viewpoint discrimination,” Perrino wrote.
The free speech organization urged the university to “stop picking favorites” and “correct this immediately.”
Fox News reports more about Marti’s April 22 email to the conservative student group:
“I have also seen requests online to identify students in the audience who are visible in video recordings,” Martí wrote. “I would strongly encourage you and other organizers to not disclose those details.”
Martí warned that if the names were shared and those protesters subsequently faced online criticism or harassment, the Federalist Society itself would be held responsible for “reasonably predictable” consequences.
“If that information is shared despite the tenor of some online commentary, and an implicated student reports behavior from anyone that falls under prohibited behavior per the Student Code of Conduct, the student organization and/or individual students could be connected to it (the allegation being that the outcome was reasonably predictable when the names were disclosed) and subjected to campus processes,” the dean added.
Last week, Michael Waterstone, dean of UCLA School of Law, responded to the protest in a prepared statement shared with The Fix.
“Legal education and the practice of law require a willingness to question assumptions and engage opposing arguments seriously. This should involve approaching difficult conversations with civility and respect, and careful listening,” he stated.
Waterstone also said that the individuals “who did not comply with these principles at a recent student event were issued warnings and were either escorted out or left of their own accord.”
Editor’s note: This article was updated to include a university statement of apology to the Federalist Society students.
MORE: Protesters hurl vulgarity, interrupt DHS general counsel in heckler’s veto at UCLA Fed Soc event
