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Regents Approve Punishing Students Who Jeer During Speeches

The UW Board of Regents approved a policy on Friday, that calls for suspending and expelling students who disrupt campus speeches and presentations.  The Board of Regents approved the policy on a voice vote at UW-Stout.  State School Superintendent Tony Evers cast the lone dissenting vote.  

The policy states that students who twice engage in violent or other disorderly conduct that disrupts others' free speech would be suspended for a semester.  A third offense would mean expulsion.  

The policy comes as conservatives fear right-wing speakers aren't treated with the same respect on campus as liberals.  It mirrors a Republican bill that's moving through the legislature.  Opponents say the policy is unconstitutional and tries to suppress free speech.

Marti was a reporter with WUWM from 1999 to 2021.