On July 29, the national Young Americans for Liberty issued a press release declaring its support for the efforts of the group’s Boise State University chapter in fighting for First Amendment rights on campus.

Boise State had recently received letters from the Center for Defense of Liberty, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education and the ACLU of Idaho all indicating that Boise State’s speech policies are unconstitutional and in need of reform.

Boise State had responded by agreeing to refund certain “security fees” that had been assessed against the Boise State chapter of Young Americans for Liberty, but the university also made it clear that it had no intention of changing its speech policies.

The press release notes that, “While the rescinding of the fee is a step forward, YAL believes that this is only a partial solution. The organization now seeks to address the much larger problem of public universities across the country stifling unpopular speech.”

Although Boise State has indicated that it is not willing to change its speech policies on campus, we are still hopeful that the school will have a change of heart and decide to develop policies that fully comply with the First Amendment. A campus should be a truly free marketplace of ideas.