The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that conservative University of Michigan students can pursue their lawsuit against the Bias Response Team that they say prevents students from discussing controversial topics like immigration and Black Lives Matter. Even though the team cannot exact any punishment, the court ruled that the team “acts by way of implicit threat of punishment and intimidation to quell speech.” (Courthouse News Service, September 23, 2019, by Jeff D. Gorman)
University officials claimed that the Bias Response Team merely provided support for students who felt they bore the brunt of biased acts. The team can ask students engaging in offending speech to meet with them, but the students are not forced to do so. Speech First, representing the conservative students, said the team can refer incidents to law enforcement, the Office of Student Conflict Resolution or the counseling center. (Inside Higher Education, September 24, 2019, by Jeremy Bauer-Wolf)