SUNY Cortland Overturns School Senate Decision to Block TPUSA Chapter as Legal Battle Ensues
The State University of New York (SUNY) at Cortland Student Government Association’s (SGA) review committee voted to overturn the university’s Senate decision to block students’ application to form an official Turning Point USA (TPUSA) chapter on campus.
In February, Turning Point USA students, represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), filed a federal lawsuit against SUNY Cortland for allegedly violating students’ First Amendment rights by discriminating against the group’s viewpoint.
Due to these developments within the SGA, students have been able to form an officially recognized TPUSA chapter at SUNY Cortland, however, the organization is still concerned with the policies at the school which appear to allow viewpoint discrimination to take place.
“We’re thrilled with the overturning of the SUNY Cortland SGA’s decision denying TPUSA’s club application—a significant victory for free speech on campus and for our incredible students. However, we remain committed to advocating for policy changes that ensure all viewpoints are respected and protected in the future. This win energizes our resolve to continue fighting for the rights of students nationwide.”
Turning Point USA Spokesperson Andrew Kolvet
The students’ lawsuit against SUNY Cortland is ongoing, as the students maintain that when they “respectfully presented TPUSA to the Student Senate,” the defendants listed in the suit, “launched a planned assault on their views,” and discriminated against the students based on their beliefs. The lawsuit alleges that the school’s still intact Nonrecognition policy allowed such discrimination to occur, and claims that it violates the “First and Fourteenth Amendments and [has] caused and continue[s] to cause irreparable harm.”
The TPUSA chapter members additionally claim in the lawsuit that in their meeting with SUNY Cortland president Erik Bitterbaum, they were told, “We silence voices all the time in this country. That’s the tragedy and also the greatness of democracy.” The lawsuit accuses his alleged statement of being a “faulty interpretation of the First Amendment protections to silence student views on campus.”
In a press release, ADF Legal Counsel Matthew Hoffmann explained, “SUNY Cortland’s [Nonrecognition] policy requires the student government to approve every organization seeking recognition and it allows students to deny recognition for any or no reason at all. Allowing the views of the perceived majority to gatekeep campus discussion discriminates based on viewpoint. But the First Amendment exists precisely to protect competing views.”
