Florida students claim college violated their free-speech rights

The Associated Press

07.29.99

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MIAMI — A policy that requires college students to obtain approval before distributing literature on campus is unconstitutional because it violates the First Amendment, claims a lawsuit filed against Miami-Dade Community College.

Five students at the school's Kendall campus filed the complaint after they were detained and threatened with arrest for distributing religious literature without approval.

The college's policy requires students to fill out an application giving their name and the purpose of the distribution, among other things, and then to wait seven days for approval.

The policy prohibits spontaneous expression, said attorney Matt Staver of the conservative religious organization Liberty Counsel. Staver filed the students' suit in district court yesterday.

"Our main concern is that the policy be ruled unconstitutional," Staver said.

On July 19, several students, including Rosie Cumana and Marcos Garcia, tried to distribute business cards listing the telephone number of a local Christian organization.

Campus security guards approached the students and told them they could not distribute the literature on the school's property.

Days later when the students returned to hand out more cards, they were met by other security guards, a police officer who threatened to arrest them and administrative personnel threatening to take disciplinary action against them if they did not leave the campus.

Staver said the students were intimidated and visibly shaken by the experience.

"These are students, and all they were doing were giving out cards, and if any place should promote an exchange of ideas ... it should be a college," Staver said.

Further, Staver added, there were no guidelines for approving or disapproving the literature, which he said was no different from verbal speech, which is not so regulated.

Student life director Anthony Fiorenza, whose office approves or denies applications for materials intended for distribution, said he had no knowledge of the incident nor of the lawsuit in which he was named.

The suit, which seeks unspecified damages, asks the court to forbid the school from enforcing the distribution policy so that the students can exercise their free speech.

"Big brother has no business telling students when and what they can say," Staver said. "Requiring speech to be preapproved essentially silences the speaker."