CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Attorneys from the ACLU of North Carolina have sent a letter to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill demanding the immediate reinstatement of Professor Dwayne Dixon, who was placed on administrative leave after an outside activist made allegations on social media about Dixon’s association with anti-racist and anti-fascist political groups.
The letter asserts Professor Dixon’s suspension amounts to unconstitutional retaliation against Dixon’s perceived political associations and viewpoints in violation of the First Amendment.
UNC Chapel Hill is a public university. The First Amendment prohibits the government from infringing upon individuals’ First Amendment rights to speech and association. Courts have recognized that public universities have a particularly important role in protecting the First Amendment rights of faculty, staff, and students. Public universities generally cannot discipline staff and faculty for their speech or the groups they associate with when off duty.
The letter also points out that UNC has imposed additional unconstitutional restrictions on Professor Dixon’s speech, including prohibiting him from communicating with UNC students and staff, both past and present, without permission from a university dean. These sweeping prohibitions would prevent Professor Dixon from getting medical care from UNC providers, speaking with his UNC affiliated colleagues and friends, and communicating with anyone who has ever worked or studied at UNC.
The letter demands that the university reinstate Professor Dixon by Friday, October 3 at 5pm, without conditions. Otherwise, the ACLU of North Carolina intends to take legal action on Professor Dixon’s behalf.
“UNC’s decision to remove Professor Dixon due to his alleged political beliefs and associations is a blatant First Amendment violation,” said Kristi Graunke, legal director of the ACLU of North Carolina. “Rather than defend our oldest and most profound Constitutional rights in this time of national upheaval, UNC is pandering to political extremists.”
“The Constitution protects every individual’s right to speak, to associate, and to hold political beliefs without fear of retaliation,” said ACLU-NC Staff Attorney Ivy Johnson. “Professor Dixon’s suspension is a part of a concerning pattern of government censorship and the weakening of free speech in North Carolina and across the country.”
You can read the complete letter here.
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