SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA / A news summary : The Regional Review / DEVELOPMENTS IN ORANGE, RIVERSIDE, SAN BERNARDINO AND VENTURA COUNTIES : Students’ Suit Raises Campus Freedom Issues

Is the front lawn of Irvine Valley College a public forum?

The answer may be of particular importance in the coming weeks, when the South Orange County Community College District’s policy on campus speech and expression will face legal scrutiny from a federal judge in Santa Ana. It’s the latest in a series of free-speech clashes pitting both students and teachers against district administrators.

The policy, adopted by the district board last April, restricts students at Irvine Valley and Saddleback colleges from hanging posters, distributing fliers, giving speeches or holding demonstrations or events, except in a few designated areas. One area where the activity is not permitted is a highly visible plaza in front of the student services building at Irvine Valley College, where such events traditionally have been held.

In a lawsuit filed Aug. 31, three students argue that the policy is an illegal restraint on their constitutional right to free expression. Two Los Angeles County lawyers are representing the students pro bono.

A key issue in the case could be how U.S. District Court Judge Alicemarie H. Stotler defines the Irvine Valley College campus, according to Michael Small, chief counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 21.

“The general rule is that if a piece of public property is considered a public forum, the government has less leeway to restrict expression there,” Small said.

The traditional definition of a public forum is limited to streets, parks and sidewalks. “College campuses are an interesting species. It may be that at a public college like this one, the public quad would become akin to a park,” Small said.