AZ State Rep. Austin Smith (R-29), left, and John Arnold, executive director, AZ Board of Regents | AZleg.gov / AZRegents.edu
AZ State Rep. Austin Smith (R-29), left, and John Arnold, executive director, AZ Board of Regents | AZleg.gov / AZRegents.edu
Arizona State Rep. Austin Smith (R-29) is questioning the Arizona Board of Regents over what he says is a “disturbing trend of free speech suppression" at Arizona State University (ASU).
Smith sent a letter to John Arnold, executive director of the board of regents, regarding two specific cases at ASU.
“Arizona has a robust first amendment, free speech, and expression protection laws,” Smith told the NW Valley Times. “If those are not being followed at universities funded by tax money, then we need to have a serious conversation about the purpose for the Regents at all if they are not governing the universities at all.”
“Secondly, if staff are being fired at public universities for having conservative viewpoints then the Regents need to take swift action to rectify this behavior,” Smith said. “ASU has embarrassed the state twice now with this type of behavior and the Regents need to discipline for it if necessary.”
Smith’s letter references the recent case of Ann Atkinson, the now-former executive director of ASU's T.W. Lewis Center for Personal Development at the Barrett Honors College, who said in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed that she was fired for inviting Charlie Kirk, of Turning Point USA, and Dennis Prager, host of the online “Dennis Prayer Show”, to speak at the center.
"ASU claims to value freedom of expression," Atkinson wrote in her op-ed. "But in the end, the faculty mob always wins against institutional protections for free speech."
Smith’s letter also references the case of Tim Tizon, an ASU student who was arrested in October 2022 while handing out copies of the U.S. Constitution on the campus while representing Young Americans for Liberty.
Liberty Justice Center, the organization representing Tizon, wrote, “Tizon was then charged with and convicted of criminal trespassing in the third degree, and was sentenced to pay a fine and complete community service—all for handing out copies of one of the nation’s founding documents to other students in a public forum.”
All charges against Tizon were dropped in May 2023, reported The Washington Times.
Smith’s letter asks the board of regents to investigate ASU’s actions and provide Smith a response by July 21, 2023.
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