FIU Students Punished for Indoor Protest

Florida International University is penalizing seven students for a silent protest they held in March, in which they stood in the audience of a campus event wearing shirts reading, “ICE OFF FIU,” WLRN, a public media station in south Florida, reported. The penalty will require the students to record videos about the policies FIU claims they violated; the students fear the videos could require them to express opinions that they disagree with.

The campus policy FIU says they violated bans “expressive activities” from taking place indoors.

An FIU spokesperson defended the punishment to WLRN, writing in an email, “FIU applies its rules prohibiting protests and demonstrations in university buildings consistently, regardless of viewpoint. This ensures that classes, research, and academic spaces can function without interference or disruption. The University allows protests and demonstrations in outdoor areas, giving people a meaningful way to share their views, just not inside university lecture halls, labs, offices, or residence halls.”

An attorney representing the students said the punishment is itself a First Amendment violation—government bodies, including public colleges, may not require an individual to promote an opinion or position they disagree with. Doing so is referred to as compelled speech.

The students also raised concerns about how consistently FIU enforces its policy against indoor expressive activities.