West Virginia University drops 'free speech zones'

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Under legal pressure from a civil liberties organization, West Virginia University has dropped a policy that restricted student protesters to designated "free speech zones" on campus.

The Rutherford Institute of Charlottesville, Va., claimed victory after the Board of Governors rescinded the policy on Friday.

The organization had sued the university in June, contending the free speech zones were an infringement on freedom of speech.

"We will continue to monitor the situation on campus for positive signs that the school intends to follow through with the revised policy," Rutherford Institute president John W. Whitehead said.

A policy creating the free speech zones first appeared in a student handbook in 1995. But the zones were rarely enforced.

The university adopted as many seven zones constituting less than 5 percent of the campus at the 23,000-student university.