(Oct. 4, 2022) Columbia, SC: In its latest campaign combatting unconstitutional campus policies, Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF) sent a letter to the University of South Carolina (USC) challenging its bias reporting system. USC monitors speech on campus by urging students to report anything that seems hateful or biased. This creates a police state on campus, where students who dislike their classmates’ views can simply report them for bias.
SLF warns USC in its letter that this policy will most affect conservative and libertarian students who want to engage in speech on controversial topics. With the press of a button, classmates can report those students for bias and prevent them from engaging in their planned speech activities. And because the form is anonymous, there is nothing to stop students from falsely accusing each other of bias.
“Just as students falsely accused their classmates of violating campus health guidelines during COVID to shut down their speech activities, students will falsely report their classmates for bias incidents,” Director of SLF’s 1A Project Cece O’Leary predicts. “Universities will then waste resources on lengthy investigations. This only contributes to the cancel culture that is already present on college campuses.”
SLF Director of Litigation Braden Boucek adds, “USC fails to make it clear that students cannot be reported, investigated, or punished for engaging in expressive activities. Conservative and libertarian students have every right to host events, hand out flyers, and talk to their classmates on any topic without fear of censorship.”