In Healy v. James, 408 U.S. 169, 183 (1972), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the denial of recognition of the left-wing "Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)" by a state college, the Central Connecticut State College (CCSC).
Justice Powell wrote for the Court:
- Because respondents failed to accord due recognition to First Amendment principles, the judgments below approving respondents' denial of recognition must be reversed. Since we cannot conclude from this record that petitioners were willing to abide by reasonable campus rules and regulations, we order the case remanded for reconsideration. We note, in so holding, that the wide latitude accorded by the Constitution to the freedoms of expression and association is not without its costs in terms of the risk to the maintenance of civility and an ordered society. Indeed, this latitude often has resulted, on the campus and elsewhere, in the infringement of the rights of others. Though we deplore the tendency of some to abuse the very constitutional privileges they invoke, and although the infringement of rights of others certainly should not be tolerated, we reaffirm this Court's dedication to the principles of the Bill of Rights upon which our vigorous and free society is founded.
Healy v. James, 408 U.S. 169, 194 (1972).