Supporters of Bernie Sanders are now free to campaign for the presidential candidate at Austin Community College after members of a student political group on Monday took school officials to court.
(Article by Jazmine Ulloa, republished from http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/local/students-4-bernie-austin-community-college-stymied/nqWPY/)
Martha Mercado, president of Students 4 Bernie, and Andrew Hansen, the organization’s veterans coordinator, were initially seeking a temporary restraining order and an injunction to stop campus police and school officials from derailing their efforts to register voters and pass out campaign literature on campus.
Although not all of the issues in the case have been resolved, lawyers representing the two sides on Monday reached an agreement that would guarantee the group a location on campus for campaign activities and would reduce the number of forms that students must fill out to secure tables to pass out literature. The agreement will remain in effect until the March 1 Texas primary.
The students, who said the school had been violating their civil rights, called the negotiations Monday a legal victory and said they hoped their case would afford other political groups on campus the same rights to organize political activities.
“You would think that on a college campus, you would be able to talk about the candidates you support and the political issues you care about,” Mercado said.
ACC lawyers left immediately after Monday’s court meeting and were not available for comment. But in a statement to the American-Statesman, school officials on Monday said that ACC abides by the Constitution, affording students the right to freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, petition and association.
“Students 4 Bernie, as well as other student groups on campus, has this right with the understanding that such gatherings not interfere with or disrupt the educational process,” the statement said. “ACC is committed to ensuring its campuses provide a supportive learning environment.”
In affidavits, Mercado and Hansen said their organization had received clearance from school officials to set up two separate tables in January to campaign for Sanders and undertake a nonpartisan voter registration drive. But campus police were called to their location and one school official cited a “rule, which she was not able to cite specifically, saying that any form of campaigning on school grounds is not allowed,” the affidavits say.
Mercado and Hansen said that over the next few weeks they were stopped from passing out pamphlets and had trouble reserving a table. School officials repeatedly told the students that there was a campus ban on campaigning but could not cite the rule or provide details, the affidavits state.
Their lawyer, Tim Mahoney, said he hoped Monday’s negotiations would encourage the college to review its policies and make any necessary changes.
“I hope that within the next couple of months ACC will step up to the plate and embrace constitutional rights,” Mahoney said.
Read more at: http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/local/students-4-bernie-austin-community-college-stymied/nqWPY/
