Malia Mattoch McManusReuters
7:25 p.m. CDT
April 25, 2014
HONOLULU (Reuters) – Two students are suing a Hawaii university after they say they were told in January they could not pass out copies of the Constitution to fellow students, in a lawsuit accusing the school of violating their First Amendment rights to free speech.
In a complaint against the University of Hawaii at Hilo, the students’ lawyers said the school “unconstitutionally restricts access to open areas on campus by requiring students to seek permission to speak at least seven business days in advance.”
The complaint, filed on Thursday, added that the areas where students could engage in “spontaneous expressive activities” was limited to a small fraction of the school’s 115-acre campus.
“Part of the paradox is the idea that on a state campus, the exercise of constitutional rights can be confined to a zone, to one-quarter of 1 percent of the campus,” said Attorney Bob Corn-Revere, who represents students Merritt Burch and Anthony Vizzone.
The First Amendment of the Constitution protects the rights of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.