1A – Iowa State University

Students across the country rely on tabling as a way to convey their message. Tabling allows students to engage in several forms of speech at once: they can erect a display, hand out flyers, and invite students to speak to them simultaneously. Moreover, tabling is often a safer means of conveying a message because it invites students to approach speakers instead of the other way around. But at Iowa State University, students are limited to only eight tabling reservations a semester.

SLF General Counsel Kimberly Hermann states:

“If students are eager to convey their message at the beginning of the semester and use up all their reservations, they are out of luck. Iowa State won’t let them continue tabling if they’ve reached their limit. This is an unreasonable, unconstitutional prior restraint on speech.”

Director of SLF’s 1A Project Cece O’Leary explains:

“Colleges and universities cannot place limits on how often students can speak. When they do so, it is a form of censorship because they penalize the more proactive student organizations who want to engage in speech activities. It is unconstitutional to favor silence over speech.”