TAMPA - Multiple defendants, including several administrators at the University of Central Florida, are facing civil allegations from Speech First, Inc., which says the university's discrimination and harassment policy violates constitutional free speech protections, according to court documents.
The plaintiff states that the college's policy, formally called the Prohibition of Discrimination, Harassment and Related Interpersonal Violence, ignores decades of precedence to "restrain, deter, suppress and punish speech about the political and social issues of the day."
The policy intends to protect its student and faculty populations from harassment and discrimination due to age, gender identity, race, disability or political affiliation.
The university has a "bias response team" that will pursue a student who has engaged in statements that violate the policy in any way, whether it is legal or illegal, intentional or unintentional and on-campus or off-campus, Speech First complains.
The plaintiff states concern that the policy will stifle and stall discourse and conversation that is paramount to higher education.
Speech First is suing for one count of violation of the First Amendment: discriminatory-harassment policy, one count of violation of the First Amendment: computer policy and one count of violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments: void for vagueness.
The plaintiff is calling for the court to cease the enforcement of the policy, disband the bias response team and ban the university from investigating or acting upon bias-related incidents.
The entire list of defendants includes: Alexander Cartwright, UCF President; Dana Juntenen, UCF Director of Student Rights and Responsibilities and Assistant Dean of Students; Matthew Hall, UCF VP of Information Technology and CIO; Christina Kahn, James Mangan, Reshawna Chapple, Jillian Studivant, Michelle Fitzgerald, Andrea L. Snead, Kerry Welch, Edwanna Andrews, Michael Preston, Shane Land, Angela WIlliams and Ronnie Korsec, members of the Just Knights bias response team; and UCF Board of Trustees members Beverly J. Seay, Tiffany Altizer, Ken Bradley, Bill Christy, Jeff Condello, Joseph Conte, Danny Gaekwad, Joseph Harrington, Sabrina La Rosa, Caryl McAlpin, Harold Mills, Michael Okaty and John Sprouis.
Speech First is represented by Consovoy McCarthy PLLC, of Arlington, Va.