On April 14, the 8th circuit ruled that most of the walkways on public universities are unlimited designated public fora. Bowman v White, 04-2299. This 3-0 decision should make it easier for petitioning to be carried on, in the outdoor, open areas of publicly-owned colleges and universities, at least in the states inside the 8th circuit. Those states are North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and Arkansas.

The lower court had ruled that public college campuses are not public fora at all. As a result of the 8th circuit decision, the university may still require 3 days notice before outsiders wish to engage in First Amendment activity, and the university may still ban such activity during finals week. But a university rule that let outsiders speak on only 5 days per semester was declared unconstitutional.