U.C., San Diego Admits First Amendment Mistake After ABFFE and FEN Protest

In the face of a challenge from the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) and other national free expression organizations, the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) has dropped its demand that two student groups -- one a collective that runs a bookstore -- pull links from their Web sites. The university had called for Groundwork Books and the Che Café Collective to make the changes to the Web sites because the links allegedly violated the USA Patriot Act. University officials claimed that the Web links ran afoul of the law's ban on providing "material support" to organizations that have been designated as terrorist groups by the U.S. State Department.

In a letter sent on October 8 to UCSD Chancellor Robert C. Dynes, ABFFE and other members of the Free Expression Network [1] insisted that the university had misconstrued the Patriot Act and had violated the students' First Amendment right to post information on their Web sites. Arguing that "overzealous public officials have violated the First Amendment rights of the students, faculty, and staff of the university," the groups wrote that "Americans have a right to inform themselves about any group, no matter how abhorrent its positions. Acts in furtherance of terrorism are prohibited; speech about it is not." The letter pointed out that "the Patriot Act itself at several points explicitly exempts from investigation any activity 'conducted solely upon the basis of activities protected by the first amendment to the Constitution.'"

Shortly after receiving the letter, Joseph Watson, UCSD vice chancellor for student affairs, acknowledged that the school had made a mistake and would not pursue its demand for the links removal or initiate threatened disciplinary action. "We agree with the signers of this letter that links are a First Amendment right," Watson said, as reported by CNET News.com. ABFFE President Chris Finan welcomed the decision. "We are pleased that the university has acknowledged its mistake and that the students will not be punished for exercising their First Amendment rights," he said.

The problems for the student organizations began in April, when a university official notified the students who run Groundwork Books that they had violated the Patriot Act by posting a link to the Web site of the Kurdistan Workers Party. On September 17, University Centers Director Gary R. Ratcliff told the Che Café Collective that its link to the Web site of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia also violated the law. Three days later, Finan said, Ratcliff informed Groundwork Books that he was recommending that the bookstore be placed on probation for one year, and he threatened to deny it the use of university facilities if it ever linked to another foreign terrorist organization.

Finan noted to BTW that the university's interpretation would have prevented professors, students, and campus organizations from using links for scholarly and reportorial purposes. As the letter noted: "Those who wish to educate about, learn about, and work to understand and critique such terrorist organizations must be able to access, study, and reveal the positions and arguments of those groups. It is unconscionable to set such restrictions in an educational setting where the search for truth and academic freedom is supposed to receive the highest priority." (For the full text of the letter, click here [2].)

In addition to ABFFE, the signatories on the letter are the American Association of University Professors, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU Foundation of San Diego and Imperial Counties, Feminists for Free Expression, the First Amendment Project, the Freedom to Read Foundation, the National Coalition Against Censorship, the Online Policy Group, and PEN American Center.

October 8, 2002

Robert C. Dynes, Chancellor
University of California, San Diego
9500 Gilman Dr., MC 0005
La Jolla, CA 92903

Dear Chancellor Dynes,

News reports indicate that officials of the University of California at San Diego have directed two student groups to remove links from their Web sites to the Web sites of groups that the U.S. State Department has identified as "terrorist organizations." In addition, in a memo dated September 20, University Centers Director Gary R. Ratcliff proposes to punish Groundworks Books, a collective that operates a bookstore, by placing it on probation for one year and threatens to deny use of university facilities to the group if it ever links to another foreign terrorist organization.

The undersigned organizations, members of the Free Expression Network [3] , object strongly to these reported actions by the University because they proceed from a misconstruction of relevant law which, if interpreted in this manner, would violate the First Amendment.

In his letter to one of the groups, the Che Café Collective, Ratcliff concludes that computer links to officially designated terrorist groups are "material support" provided to terrorist organizations in violation of the USA Patriot Act. Ratcliff's definition of "material support" interprets the statute substantially more broadly than necessary or appropriate. Creating a link from one Web site to another merely makes it possible to move between two locations on the Internet.

Moreover, a policy banning links to "terrorist organizations" overlooks the possibility that such links may be created to educate others about the existence of such organizations, their goals and tactics. Americans have a right to inform themselves about any group, no matter how abhorrent its positions. Acts in furtherance of terrorism are prohibited; speech about it is not. Indeed, the Patriot Act itself at several points explicitly exempts from investigation any activity "conducted solely upon the basis of activities protected by the first amendment to the Constitution." (See Sections 214, 215, 501, and 505 of the Patriot Act.)

UCSD's interpretation would prevent any professor, student, or campus news organization from using links for scholarly and reportorial purposes. Those who wish to educate about, learn about, and work to understand and critique such terrorist organizations must be able to access, study and reveal the positions and arguments of those groups. It is unconscionable to set such restrictions in an educational setting where the search for truth and academic freedom is supposed to receive the highest priority.

We urge the university to reaffirm the First Amendment rights of the students, faculty and staff of the University of California at San Diego by rescinding the orders that it has issued to the students who run Groundwork Books and the Che Café.

Sincerely yours,

American Association of University Professors
American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression
American Civil Liberties Union
ACLU Foundation of San Diego and Imperial Counties
Feminists for Free Expression
First Amendment Project
Freedom to Read Foundation
National Coalition Against Censorship
Online Policy Group
PEN American Center

cc: Richard Atkinson, President, University of California; Joseph W. Watson,Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs; Gary R. Ratcliff, University Centers Director