ADF letter prompts Pitt officials who incited mob to withdraw unconstitutional fee levied on victims

PITTSBURGH – University of Pittsburgh officials have rescinded an $18,734 security fee levied against the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and the university’s College Republicans chapter after a letter from ADF informed the school that the fee violated the student groups’ First Amendment rights.

ADF attorneys sent the letter in June on behalf of ISI and the College Republicans chapter after Pitt officials assessed the security fee in connection with a discussion on gender identity ideology the two conservative groups sponsored in April that university representatives had encouraged protestors to disrupt.

“Encouraging students to shut down a legitimate campus event and then charging the organizers outrageous security fees is the kind of speech suppression the First Amendment forbids,” said ADF Senior Counsel Philip A. Sechler. “While the university denies allegations that its officials incited the disruption, it was right to drop the financial charges against the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and the College Republicans chapter. The university appears to have realized that the cost of chilling student speech is too high.”

On April 18, the student groups hosted an event on the topic “Should Transgenderism Be Regulated by Law?” The event was to include a moderated debate featuring speakers Michael Knowles and Brad Polumbo, 30 minutes of audience Q&A, and a 40-minute meet-and-greet for attendees to meet Knowles. College Republicans planned the event months in advance and followed all university policies and procedures for scheduling it. Although the university initially advised ISI it would be responsible for only around $2,000 in security costs, the university insisted just six days before the event that ISI pay an estimated $16,925 in security fees. Then, on May 19, the university assessed ISI a total of $18,734 for event security and, on June 1, demanded ISI “process this transfer very soon.”

The ADF letter noted that the university’s own communications prior to the event “incited many in the Pitt Community to violence and substantially contributed to the disruption that caused the event to be prematurely terminated.” For instance, on March 10, the university issued a press release calling the April 18 event “toxic and hurtful for many people in our University community.”

ADF further explained that the university violated the constitutional rights of ISI and the university’s College Republicans by assessing an improper security fee on the event, and failing to control the riotous crowd and instead urging ISI to terminate the event before it even concluded.

“ISI is committed to mutual respect, friendship, and the pursuit of knowledge between college students and faculty, which is why we felt compelled to challenge this outrageous fee for a campus event,” said ISI President Johnny Burtka. “We hope university officials have learned that, no matter how much they tried to charge our organization, they will face consequences for attempting to chill Constitutionally protected speech.”

• Pronunciation guide: Sechler (SECK’-lur)

The ADF Center for Academic Freedom is dedicated to protecting First Amendment and related freedoms for students and faculty so that everyone can freely participate in the marketplace of ideas without fear of government censorship.

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