Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board. Letters to the Editor reflect the view of a member of the campus community and are submitted to the publication for approval.
On Oct. 8, the Colorado State University community won a crucial victory for free speech. Facing widespread opposition, the administration repealed its restrictive Aug. 14 policy and reinstated the 2022 version. But this reversal was not a gift from a benevolent administration embracing open dialogue; it was a concession forced by a vigilant community. The story of this policy’s brief, damaging life is a wake-up call, demonstrating how quickly and quietly our rights can be limited and why this victory demands our continued vigilance.
The administration’s failure to work with its own community was clear from the start. The 2025 policy was unilaterally imposed under the veil of summer break, bypassing traditional community consultation, all while CSU President Amy Parson’s office publicly claimed to value free expression.
This procedural failure was matched by the policy’s substance. It included vague language to chill dissent, a direct assault on employee speech forbidding faculty from using their titles in personal speech — a move the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression called an “impermissible restraint” — and a redefinition of spontaneous chalking from a form of expression into a university marketing tool.
“A university is not a corporation; its purpose is to be a crucible of ideas, a place where uncomfortable and dissenting views can be debated openly.”
The administration also armed itself with a pretext to silence demonstrations by recklessly redefining “peaceful” to exclude any minor policy violation, meaning that even chalking could have rendered an entire protest “unpeaceful” and subject to dispersal.
While the policy was supposedly “under review,” the administration’s actions spoke louder than its words. Several individuals were told the policy was not being enforced, yet chalking was systematically erased. The administration’s true position became undeniable Oct. 7, when it stationed a water tank on the LSC Plaza, washing away messages of dissent the instant they touched the ground.
The very next day, the Aug. 14 policy was gone. While the repeal was the correct course of action, the reversal itself — another top-down decree — proves the university only listened when the community’s opposition became too loud to ignore.
CSU’s actions do not exist in a vacuum. They mirror a troubling national trend in which universities, often pressured by political and financial interests, are retreating from their commitment to free speech, academic freedom and democracy on a campus. A university is not a corporation; its purpose is to be a crucible of ideas, a place where uncomfortable and dissenting views can be debated openly. When an administration decides which ideas are “safe,” it fundamentally breaks its contract with the community. It ceases to be an institution of higher learning and becomes an engine of conformity, undermining the very reason for its existence.
This episode was more than a policy dispute; it exposed the administration’s alarming willingness to dismantle the fundamental rights of students, staff and faculty. An argument to sacrifice liberty for security is always a false choice, especially when the “security” in question is the university’s monetary interests.
When our institution protects its bottom line at the expense of our rights, it is not protection — it is oppression. This attempt to appease an external political agenda is an existential threat to our university’s autonomy and integrity. And let us be clear: This is not a partisan issue. An attack on free speech for one is an attack on free speech for all.
The repeal is not the end. It is our opportunity to demand the administration recommit to a genuine partnership with its campus community and eliminate the fast-track policy systems that bypass community input. But real change doesn’t just come from demands; it starts with conversations. Talk to your peers, your professors and your administrators. Ask them what a democratic campus looks like.
Our rights were restored because we spoke up together. We must continue to demand transparency and democracy from our university.
It is your voice. Do not let them take it.
Claire Pickerel, Colorado State University graduate student
Send letters to letters@collegian.com. When submitting letters, please abide by the guidelines listed at collegian.com.
