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The Military Academy at West Point cannot require civilian faculty members to obtain approval before using their West Point affiliation to speak to outside audiences about their areas of expertise, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The academy also cannot prevent a professor, Tim Bakken, from expressing his opinions to students in the classroom on subjects he teaches, Judge Cathy Seibel of U.S. District Court in White Plains, N.Y., said in the ruling.<\/p>\n
Professor Bakken, who has taught at West Point since 2000, had sued the academy, saying that its policies had violated the First Amendment. He has spoken and written frequently and at times critically about the U.S. military, including West Point, his lawsuit notes.<\/p>\n
Judge Seibel issued a preliminary injunction blocking both the approval requirement and the restrictions on Professor Bakken\u2019s speech. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
She said that the government had offered no real justification for limiting his ability to express opinions in the classroom. She said the rule was \u201cnonsensical if the mission is to prepare the nation\u2019s future military officers.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cFor genuine strength and leadership to result,\u201d Judge Seibel wrote, \u201ccadets must be exposed to a variety of viewpoints and trained to think critically about them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWest Point cadets are already, by definition, smart, tough and patriotic,\u201d the judge added. \u201cThey are not snowflakes who will somehow be harmed by learning about controversial issues or competing viewpoints. They will not somehow be weakened in their future defense of our country if their classroom discussions are robust and open.\u201d<\/p>\n