American college students have the right to speak. Sometimes that right comes under attack, as with the infamous speech codes, but those codes have been struck down regularly. Students also have the right to associate freely, to form groups and decide who may join. Unfortunately, that right is not very secure, due to the mania for “diversity” on many campuses.

In today’s Martin Center article, Casey Mattox writes about the restrictions that students can encounter on their associational rights.

After noting that the Supreme Court has been solid on free speech, Mattox writes, “But unfortunately, the Supreme Court’s decisions on freedom of association leaves that crucial freedom at some risk, especially on campus. Although many Supreme Court decisions have protected freedom of association for religious and political groups, a 2010 decision in Christian Legal Society v Martinez is a troubling outlier.”

In that case, a campus “diversity” policy held that a Christian student group had to accept anyone who applied for membership. The Court upheld the university in a decision by Justice Ginsburg.

Mattox explains: “Justice Ginsburg’s decision treats freedom of association as a second-tier right. It forces student groups to choose between equal access to a university speech forum or their freedom of association. If they want to speak like other groups on campus, the Court decided, universities can require student groups to give up the most essential aspect of freedom of association — the ability of a group to decide who speaks for it.”

Colleges and universities should recognize that the right to freely associate includes the right to exclude those who don’t fit in, and the courts should uphold that right when it is challenged.

Mattox points out that Congress can help to uphold the right to freely associate by withholding funds from schools that violate it. There is such a bill under consideration now.