Independent Study: Free Speech on Campus
Professor Lee Epstein and Chancellor Andrew D. Martin
POLSCI 4913-05
Spring 2026
Essay
Student Safety or Student Silencing?
The Controversy
Senate Bill 2972, known as “the Campus Protection Act,” passed by the Texas Legislature in June 2025, restricts expressive activity on public university campuses. The bill was introduced after pro-Palestinian protests took place at universities across the state, including encampments that led to dozens of arrests.
SB 2972 requires “institution[s] of higher education” to adopt a policy that prohibits, in part, the following:
The use of devices to amplify sound during class hours in a manner that intimidates others or interferes with campus operations.
Expressive activities during the last two weeks of a semester in the campus’s common outdoor areas, when conducted in a way that disrupts the university’s functioning.
Camping or erecting tents on campus.
Wearing masks or other means of concealing one’s identity to intimidate others or obstruct enforcement of university rules.
Lowering the institution’s United States or Texas flag with the intent to raise the flag of another nation or a flag representing an organization or group.
Expressive activities on campus between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m
SB 2972 also directs each university’s governing board to designate specific areas on campus to be used by students and employees to engage in expressive activities.
Lawmakers who had supported a 2019 bill, passed after several universities canceled appearances by conservative speakers, and which included provisions establishing all common outdoor spaces on public campuses as traditional public forums, defended SB 2972. Critics of the bill, however, argue the new law is selective restriction based on political content.
Your Essay
Relying on class materials (readings, lectures, and discussions), your essay should consist of three parts:
A defense of the proposition that the law’s requirement of a reasonable outlet for student speech constitutes a legitimate effort to balance free speech with safety, and that this law should be upheld.
A defense of proposition that the law is unconstitutional under the free speech principles you have learned and also represents poor public policy.
A statement explaining which of the two views (1 or 2) you find more persuasive and why.
Instructions
Your essay should be no longer than 3 pages (including any references), double-spaced with 1-inch margins, using 12-point Times New Roman (or another serif) font.
Feel free to use any materials you want but be sure to reference them appropriately. Any citation style is fine as long as we can identify the source.
You should not collaborate (or discuss the essay) with your classmates (or any other humans for that matter).
It’s OK to use generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT) but if you incorporate any information it produces please cite it as you would any other source and include your prompts on a separate page at the end of your essay. Prompts/responses do not count toward the 3-page limit.
Your grade will be based on your analysis of the Texas Law on all three points above. Additionally, essays that are well-organized, clear, and to the point will earn higher scores.
If you have questions, please email TA Caroline Piskurich (piskurich@wustl.edu) between April 14 and April 23 or Professor Epstein (epstein@wustl.edu)
Please email your essay to Professor Epstein at epstein@wustl.edu on or before April 27, 2026 by 5 pm central time. Essays will be marked down (from, for example, an A to an A-) for each day late—including essays received after 5 pm on April 27, 2026.