In a recent post, Eugene Volokh analyzes a complaint by numerous advocacy groups to the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR):

A large coalition of advocacy groups has asked the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights to pressure colleges to (1) punish students for their speech and (2) block student access to certain Web sites — especially sites such as Yik Yak, which allow students to anonymously post their views.

Now, some of the speech that the groups mention consists of true threats of violence, including threats of attack and even rape. Such speech is constitutionally unprotected. (Indeed, some of it — threats against people for speaking, for instance, in support of feminist causes — itself attempts to suppress speech.) It is rightly criminalized and can certainly be punished.

But the letter goes very far beyond just calling on universities to punish threats.

After listing examples of speech pointed out by the advocacy groups in their letter, Volokh continues:

All of this speech, offensive as it may be, is protected by the First Amendment. (There is no “hate speech” exception to First Amendment protection.) But despite that, the coalition is arguing that the speech should be restricted precisely because of the viewpoints it expresses, and the offense and “hostile environment” that those viewpoints cause.

*        *        *

Yet another example of today’s Anti-Free Speech Movement for American universities — unfortunately, one that fits well into the Education Department’s attitudes. Fortunately, courts have firmly rejected these kinds of calls to restrict college student speech, though the OCR and the college administrations it pressures can get away with a lot of restrictions until the lawsuits are actually brought.

 The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education has been following and writing about the advocacy groups’ complaint too.