Home      Login

Abstract: 

A U.S. District court ruled against Kansas City Community College after a pro-vegetarian activist, Richard Hershey, was barred from distributing leaflets and displaying pro-vegetarian videos in an area of campus set aside for public purposes. We examine the issues raised in Hershey v. Kansas City Kansas Community College, 2017 WL 661581 (U.S. Dist. Ct., D. Kan.), in which the court ruled that colleges that create designated public forums can regulate their use, but application of rules must be consistent. We also review the 8th Circuit’s decision in Gerlich v. Leath, 861 F.3d 697, in which the University of Iowa was rebuffed when it tried to deny NORML ISU, an officially recognized student organization, permission to display the school logo on T-shirts promoting legalization of marijuana.

Keywords: Hershey v. Goldstein, 938 F.Supp.3d 491; content-based restrictions; compelling governmental interest; viewpoint discrimination; trademark licensing as government speech

Affiliations:  1: Editor; 2: Editor.