I paid $75 for a permit to hold a debate on campus about zoning laws, and they still shut it down.

3 comments

3 Comments

caseys306d agoTop Commenter

Wait... they shut it down over "safety" for a zoning talk? That's wild. It's not like we're debating something that starts riots. It's about housing rules and building heights. If a calm discussion about that is too risky for campus, what isn't? The fee was supposed to cover the right to have the event. Feels like they just didn't like the topic and made up a reason.

angelac635d ago

Maybe they're worried about the wrong kind of crowd showing up... developers and NIMBYs can get pretty heated over this stuff. That fee probably just pays for a janitor, not a security guard. It's easier to cancel than to deal with a real problem.

tessa3947d ago

Consider the disruption a public debate could cause on a busy campus. The permit likely only covered your right to gather, not the content of your speech. Campus officials have a duty to keep the peace and might have seen a real risk of arguments getting out of hand. Paying a fee doesn't automatically protect you from being shut down for safety reasons.