ADF promises to litigate until all UBuffalo students' 1A rights are protected
Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Caleb Dalton told Campus Reform he is standing up for freedom of speech for all U. Buffalo students
ADF is suing on behalf of Young Americans for Freedom chapter after Student Association revoked their recognition as a student group
The Alliance Defending Freedom says it is standing up for the free speech rights of all students at the State University of New York at Buffalo as it represents the school’s chapter of Young Americans for Freedom in a lawsuit against university officials and student government.
In comments made to Campus Reform, ADF Senior Counsel Caleb Dalton said that the U. Buffalo Student Association violated the First Amendment when it revoked the YAF chapter’s recognition as a student organization. ADF said it is fighting for the right of not just YAF, but all student groups on campus, by suing university officials.
[RELATED: YAF chapter sues University at Buffalo officials for violating First Amendment rights]
“ADF decided to take on this case because of the blatant violation of the First Amendment,” Dalton told Campus Reform. “The university made it clear that it was going to retract recognition from some student groups affiliated with national organizations, including Young Americans for Freedom. Public universities can’t discriminate against particular groups, but that’s exactly what SUNY Buffalo did and that’s entirely unconstitutional.”
According to Dalton, Young Americans for Freedom hosted Daily Wire podcast host Michael Knowles on campus two weeks before the Student Association moved to change its policy. Knowles’s appearance garnered significant attention and even campus protests. When the policy was proposed, the the Student Body President told the student senate “we all know why we’re doing this.”
Dalton said the lawsuit is meant “to correct this egregious violation of the Constitution,” and he hopes to see the university respond favorably. “We are asking the court to step in and correct this violation of the First Amendment and ensure the freedom of all student groups to operate without burdensome restrictions,” he said. “We plan to litigate this until the First Amendment rights of all students at University at Buffalo are protected.”
According to the ADF’s complaint in the federal Western District of New York, the U. Buffalo Student Association amended its policies governing how clubs are recognized on March 27th, 2023. “Except for clubs in the Academic, Engineering, or Sports Councils, and clubs whose sole purpose is to engage in inter-collegiate competition, no SA club may be a chapter of or otherwise part of any outside organization,” the updated policy stated.
The lawsuit further claims that both University at Buffalo and the Student Association were advised that the new policy violated the group’s constitutional rights, and were given ample opportunity to revise the policy. Still, the SA moved forward, passing the new policy and de-recognizing YAF, along with several other student groups including: Brothers and Sisters in Christ (BASIC); Turning Point USA; Amnesty International; and Circle K, the college affiliate of the Kiwanis service group.
