KCC Agrees To Settlement In Lawsuit Over Free Speech

Kellogg Community College has now settled a lawsuit filed against them, which alleged the college violated the free speech rights of some people on campus.

The lawsuit had been filed after a September 2016 incident, where three people were distributing materials and attempting to recruit passerby to the group Young Americans for Liberty on the college's Battle Creek campus. The three were arrested for trespassing, for violating the Solicitation Policy KCC had in place at the time.

The college was then sued by two of the individuals, who were represented by the group Alliance Defending Freedom. 

At the time, KCC said groups were allowed to solicit on campus, they just had to first get approval from the Office of Student Life. The college says that "on its own" it decided to institute a new Freedom of Expression Policy in August 2017, because the Solicitation Policy wasn't clear enough.

The Freedom of Expression Policy was further modified January 17, 2018, per the terms of the lawsuit settlement. KCC says that "without admitting any liability or recognizing the validity of the plaintiffs' claims", they agreed to a financial settlement and make minor changes to their policy.

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