James Madison University students could face more restrictions on their free speech rights this semester according to First Amendment experts.   
 
The proposed restrictions come in a recent revision to a segment of JMU’s Student Handbook.  Previously, the section read, “No student shall engage in lewd, indecent or obscene conduct or expression on university property or in university-owned or operated buildings.” Now, the words “regardless of proximity to campus” have been attached to the end of the section.
 
The change, according to Josh Bacon, director of Judicial Affairs, is due to an off-campus incident last semester that left the campus Judicial Council unable to charge the student offender.  The policy change could allow the University to punish students for statements made off campus. 
 
Adam Goldstein, attorney advocate for the Student Press Law Center, believes charging students for incidents like this lies under the jurisdiction of police, not the University.
 
Samantha Harris, the director of speech code research for Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, said, “The policy change means that JMU has made a conscious decision to prohibit more student speech, which presumably means that they are also willing to punish more student speech.”
 
Not many students know about the revision yet. JMU Senior Brittany Smith, a student judicial coordinator, was not completely familiar with the change in the policy. “I know that one charge from last semester was brought up, but I don’t know if it’s going to take away First Amendment rights,” Smith said.
 
Harris said it’s important for students to understand their rights and potential threats to those rights.

“Students can be very effective at bringing about change when they know their rights and are willing to stand up for them,” she said.

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