Freedom of expression is ‘not an absolute right’ on CSU campuses, officials say as new semester begins
Days before students returned to California State University campuses for the fall semester, officials sent an email detailing a policy that regulates the First Amendment at the system’s 23 schools, including Long Beach.
After a spring semester that saw mass protests and encampments at universities across the country in response to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, students and faculty of the California State University system received an email last week outlining on-campus protest guidelines.
“Institutions of higher education have a special obligation to encourage and support the free expression of ideas, values, and opinions, even where they may be unpopular or controversial,” the Aug. 22 email reads. “Freedom of expression, however, is not an absolute right.”
