An LGBTQ group is suing Indiana State University for blocking its 2025 Pride festival on campus. The Pride Center of Terre Haute, with the ACLU of Indiana, claims ISU violated the First Amendment by denying them access to the Quad, a campus space for free expression. ISU hosted the festival in 2023 and 2024, but this year secured a deal to hold it off-campus at a city park without the group’s consent.
The Pride Center argues this undermines the event’s purpose of showing ISU as welcoming to LGBTQ students and staff. The lawsuit claims the university is discouraging queer support on campus.
ACLU Legal Director Ken Falk, however, claims that ISU’s refusal to host Pride Fest is censorship. He insists the Pride Center has a constitutional right to hold the festival on the Quad. This case highlights ongoing battles for LGBTQ+ representation and rights on college campuses.
