9 July 3 - 9, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents portionate force and repression. Right now, we have President Trump attempting to de- port students who speak out against his poli- cies, and our Texas legislators are working on how to further suppress student speech in- stead of addressing this issue. Freedom of ex- pression is the first right in the Bill of Rights and is a core part of the American identity. Do not let them take it from you.” Noor Saleh, a UT law student, said that what concerned her the most was the bill’s vague language. Saleh said that terms like “reasonable restrictions,” “expressive activ- ity” and “defamation” opened the door for a broad range of speech restrictions on more than just student protests. Saleh said that administrators could use it to limit student journalism critical of campus leadership or the state government; it could be used to chill student expression outside and inside the classroom; and it could be used to target things seen entirely as nonpolitical, like at- tending a tailgate. “When we see [SB 2972] lack specific defi- nitions, what we can expect is things like tail- gate tents no longer being allowed on UT’s campus since tents are just fully banned, which is incredibly disheartening for those of us who like to go tailgating before our football games,” Saleh said. “This bill, while perhaps well-intentioned, opens the door to a trou- bling level of overregulation.” Rizvi said that student events like vigils would also be swept away with this legisla- tion due to the 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. ban. “Banning nighttime demonstrations would essentially prohibit peaceful campus vigils held in remembrance of military ser- vice members, school shooting victims, vic- tims of genocides and other events that are often solemn, unifying, and community- driven,” Rizvi said. Tyler Coward, lead counsel for govern- ment affairs at the Foundation of Individual Rights and Expression, said that FIRE had been a major supporter of SB 18 when it was first proposed because so many Texas schools kept unconstitutionally limiting the First Amendment rights of their students, and something like SB 18 was a significant step forward. “Universities routinely adopted policies or practices that resulted in censorship of stu- dents or faculty,” Coward said. “This bill is a retreat from that very good bill that was passed in 2019. And in fact, this bill requires universi- ties to adopt unconstitutional policies.” With a deadline of Sept. 1, Texas’ public schools have not officially announced changes to their policies. A spokesperson for UTD did not agree to an interview or answer questions about policy changes, but UTD did provide the following statement: “We will follow the law.” Caitlin Vogus, a First Amendment lawyer and senior advisor to the Freedom of the Press Foundation, wrote an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle arguing that this would not be an easy sentiment to follow since the state law di- rectly contradicts the U.S. Constitution, also known as the supreme law of the land. “Almost the entire bill infringes on con- stitutionally protected free speech rights,” Vogus wrote. “The First Amendment pro- tects freedom of expression, and this bill re- stricts expressive activities at night — defined to specifically include First Amend- ment expression. Unconstitutionality doesn’t get any more clear-cut.” Coward said SB 2972 introduces new ways to shut down expression and open de- bate on campus. Since the new law will re- quire universities to shut down events if they cause a material or substantial disrup- tion, activists would, in effect, be given a heckler’s veto for any event or speaker they didn’t want to see on campus. Coward said that while the law might be intended to equip universities with the tools to react to disruptive conduct when it falls outside the scope of the First Amendment, this bill ultimately fails to meet its goal in ev- ery category. “This bill was sloppily drafted and in- cludes just blatantly unconstitutional provi- sions,” Coward said. “Governor Abbott should have vetoed this bill and asked for them to work on something new, during a special session, if he really needed it. It’s a shame that he signed into law a clearly un- constitutional bill.” Jorm Sangsorn/Adobe Stock The Texas Legislature favors free speech, as long as it’s not too loud, happens during certain hours and is said by the right people. D BEST OF DALLAS ON STANDS SEPTEMBER 18 2025 ® IS YOUR BUSINESS THE BEST? BE A PART OF THE BEST OF DALLAS®!
