University of North Carolina at Greensboro: Punishment of Free Speech Protestors

Case Materials

• "UNC Greensboro Drops All Charges Against Free Speech Protestors," FIRE Press Release, January 17, 2006: Bowing to public pressure, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro has dropped charges against two students who led a peaceful protest against the university’s policy of quarantining free speech to small areas of campus. FIRE first brought the university's repression to light last December.
• "E-mail from UNC Greensboro Asst. Dean of Students Brett Carter to Allison Jaynes, January 13, 2006," January 13, 2006
• "FIRE Letter to UNC General Counsel Leslie Winner, January 12, 2006," January 12, 2006
• "Letter from UNC Vice President and General Counsel Leslie Winner to FIRE, January 5, 2006," January 5, 2006
• "UNC Greensboro Persecutes Students for Demanding Freedom of Speech," FIRE Press Release, December 15, 2005: The University of North Carolina–Greensboro is attempting to discipline two students for peacefully protesting outside two small “free speech zones” on campus. Ironically, the students were actually protesting the existence of those zones, which unconstitutionally restrict free speech. FIRE has intervened on the students’ behalf in this shameful case of campus censorship.
• "UNC Greensboro Facilities Use Policy," December 15, 2005
• "Letter from UNC Greensboro Counsel Lucien Capone to FIRE, December 9, 2005," December 9, 2005
• "FIRE Letter to UNC Greensboro Chancellor Patricia Sullivan, December 5, 2005," December 5, 2005
• "Charge Notification for UNC Greensboro Free Speech Protestor Allison Jaynes," November 28, 2005

Media Coverage

• "Free-speech zones on campus at issue," Associated Press, December 17, 2006
• "The AHA's Double Standard on Academic Freedom," David Beito, Ralph Luker, and Robert “K. C.” Johnson, Perspectives (American Historical Association), March 1, 2006: While academic freedom eventually triumphed in most of these cases, it was only because outside organizations, especially the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), spread adverse publicity or threatened lawsuits. In the meantime, the college administrators in question had displayed to the world an appalling disdain for free speech, while all too many faculty, by not speaking out, showed either failure of nerve or outright complicity in injustice.
• "College groups unite for free speech at UNCG," Amy Kingsley, Yes! Weekly (Greensboro, N.C.), February 1, 2006: College Republicans and Democrats joined the College Libertarians Jan. 26 for a protest in front of Jackson Library, which is not one of the designated areas for political activity. More than a dozen students braved the cold, windy weather to raise awareness and circulate a petition to have the policy changed.
• "First Amendment covers campuses, too," News & Record (Greensboro, N.C.), January 22, 2006: The citation against Jaynes and Sinnott said they "held a free speech demonstration in a non-free speech area and refused to move when given a directive from official." It sounds so Orwellian it should have embarrassed university leaders. To their credit, they dropped the case rather than actually meting out some punishment and inviting a lawsuit they certainly would lose.
• "UNC-G loses ground in free speech battle," Ashley Christian, The Daily Tar Heel (UNC-CH), January 19, 2006: Shibley added, "We are hoping that UNC-G will do the right thing and make the entire campus a free speech zone."
• "Honor code charges against UNCG students dropped," Lanita Withers, News & Record (Greensboro, N.C.), January 18, 2006: The advocacy group working with Jaynes and Sinnott, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, was pleased to hear the charges were dropped. "Public universities need robust and open exchange and candor in order to properly function, the idea of quarantining free speech to a tiny parts of campus is entirely incompatible with universities societal role," said Greg Lukianoff, interim president of the organization.
• "Colleges to avoid, Part III," Mike Adams, Townhall.com, January 17, 2006: While students in North Carolina may want to consider attending ECSU, they would do well to avoid The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). Among other things, UNCG has an Orwellian policy that outlaws “disrespect for persons.” Surely, Lucien Capone, the university attorney for UNCG, is aware that banning “disrespect” at a public university poses First Amendment problems. Nonetheless, administrators at UNCG act like “untouchables” with little fear of violating federal laws with which they disagree.
• "Report: School limits on free speech illegal," News & Record (Greensboro, N.C.), January 11, 2006: Another example was the prohibition on "disrespect for persons" at UNCG. Later this month, UNCG will hold an honor code hearing for at least one student charged with a violation of the university's honor code. UNCG Senior Allison Jaynes was cited for holding "a free speech rally in a non-free speech area and refusing to move when given a directive from an official," according to the allegation.
• "UNCG in free speech battle," Jane Stancill, News & Observer, December 17, 2005: “UNCG’s implementation of ‘free speech zones’ is a perversion of constitutional and statutory law and has no place at an institution committed to intellectual rigor, robust debate and a free and vibrant community,” wrote Robert Shibley of FIRE in a Dec. 5 letter to UNCG Chancellor Patricia Sullivan.
• "Protest outside free speech zone lands students in trouble," Associated Press State & Local Wire, December 16, 2005: The students, Allison Jaynes and Robert Sinnott, helped organize the rally of about 40 people Nov. 16 on a lawn in front of the campus library, according to the Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which has intervened on the students’ behalf.