Pubdate: Tue, 17 Apr 2012
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2012 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Brittany Anas

ACLU QUESTIONS CU'S PLAN TO CLOSE CAMPUS TO VISITORS

Shutting down the University of Colorado's campus to visitors Friday 
thwarts the public's right to protest government policy, Mark 
Silverstein, legal director of the Colorado chapter of the American 
Civil Liberties Union, said today.

CU announced that the grassy area of Norlin Quad -- which in past 
years has drawn more than 10,000 people for the unsanctioned 4/20 
marijuana smokeout -- will be closed entirely, and the school will 
apply a fish-based fertilizer to the lawn.

The entire CU-Boulder campus will be closed to the public, unless 
visitors have gained permission ahead of time.

Silverstein today was mum on whether the ACLU will resort to legal 
action to fight the closure, saying it's his office's policy to not 
talk to the press about lawsuits that are not filed.

But he raised serious concerns about the university's tactics.

"By closing the campus to visitors, establishing checkpoints, 
assigning uniformed officers to check papers and threatening arrests 
of visitors without proper credentials, the university does a 
disservice to the values that underlie the First Amendment and the 
constitutionally protected right to dissent," he said.

Only CU students and employees will be allowed on the campus Friday, 
university officials have said, and they will be required to show 
their Buff OneCard identification to authorities.

CU spokesman Bronson Hilliard cited a Boulder campus rule -- "Campus 
Use of University Facilities" -- that allows the chancellor to 
restrict access because of weather, safety concerns or "disruption." 
He said the 4/20 closure falls into the latter category.

But Silverstein disagrees.

"I have a very hard time agreeing that this minor disruption posed by 
this protest is a sufficient reason to close the campus," he said.

Although the Constitution does not provide a right to smoke pot in 
public, the First Amendment does protect the right of students to 
assemble with others to express their views, Silverstein said. They 
are within their rights to amplify the power of their voices by means 
of a collective protest, he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom