ACLU Supporter, our case to protect Florida students’ right to free speech moved to oral arguments.

Yesterday, we were at the courthouse in Tallahassee to block Florida officials’ attempt to deactivate the University of Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. This deactivation order, which tries to punish a student group for something a different group said, is blatantly unconstitutional.

Students have the First Amendment right to associate freely and to advocate for the movements and causes they believe in. That’s why our clients sued more than two months ago to stop this order from ever going into effect.

Check out our explainer to learn everything you need to know about our case and the fight to end campus censorship >>

The fight to protect free speech on campuses has never been more critical. Across the country, we’ve seen public officials and schools use student safety as a false reason to censor protected speech – from banning student groups to accusing protestors of supporting terrorism. But these actions only serve to silence perspectives these officials disagree with.

Take it from the students we're representing: This ban not only violates our rights, "it runs contrary to everything I've learned and understood about how our democracy is supposed to work."

For more than 100 years, the ACLU has fought to protect free speech and association – and against government censorship in all forms. Florida's attempt to deactivate the University of Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine is both dangerous and wrong.

If the court doesn't act, actions like these could pave the way for additional censorship and discrimination in our schools and across the nation – against whichever groups those in power decide they don't like.

Learn more about how we're defending the free speech rights of pro-Palestinian students in Florida.

ACLU Supporter, as we continue the fight to protect students' speech nationwide, I'm glad to have you with us.

Onward,

The ACLU Team