By Ethan Cohen
Editor’s Note: The Long Beach Current misreported the original author of the letter and regrets the error. This article has been updated with the correct author.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU) challenged Long Beach State over its enforcement of the updated protest policy against two professors, claiming it violates the First Amendment.
According to a letter addressed to Patricia Perez, associate vice president for faculty affairs, on behalf of professors Sabrina and Jake Alimahomed-Wilson, the ACLU urged the college to “cease” enforcement of the amplified sound policy and to “excise” it from the university’s protest guidelines.
The letter, signed by ACLU Free Expression and Access to Government Senior Staff Attorney Jonathan Markovitz, stated the university’s policy is “Unconstitutional On Its Face.”
This dispute comes after the California State University system updated its Time, Place and Manner policy, limiting the scope of demonstrations across all 23 college campuses.
Markovitz said in the letter he is concerned the college may have issued warnings to professors Alimahomed-Wilson, in response to their “outspoken defense of Palestinian rights in the past.”
When asked about the letter, Jeffrey Cook, CSULB‘s chief communications officer, said in an emailed statement “We respect the perspectives expressed in the letter from the ACLU but disagree with several of the characterizations made.”
“As our review of the letter continues, we also reaffirm that campus policies related to ‘Time, Place and Manner’ are viewpoint-neutral,” Cook said. “Beyond that, we are unable to comment on specific personnel matters.”
