Dixie State University

Location: Saint George,
Website: https://dixie.edu/
Type: Public
Federal Circuit: 1st Circuit

Speech Code Rating

Dixie State University is not currently rated in our system. To request speech code information about this school, please submit a speech code request form.

At present, FIRE does not maintain information on this school's policies.

  • Dixie Leaks, The American Federation of Teachers, and Why DSU’s Troubles Stretch Far Beyond Campus

    September 25, 2016

    By Dallas Hyland at The Independent There is simply no way around it. Dixie State University is finding itself in the news again. And despite its attempts to whitewash why through its innocuous press releases of all the “good” that is going on at the school, all the bad it has done and not atoned for is the “tell tale” of the heart. The simple fact is that DSU has earned its place in the annals of critical speculation. It may even be on track to lose its accreditation if it does not straighten up and fly right… Read more here.

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  • Martin Luther King Jr. Would be Horrified at the Free Restrictions on College Campuses Today

    April 15, 2016

    By C.J. Sailor at Opinion Martin Luther King, Jr. fought for racial equality, justice, and freedom. He led the civil rights movement with peace, morale, and most importantly, the ability to change minds with his powerful voice… Read more here.

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  • Bills Aim to Free Up Free Speech on Utah College Campuses

    February 17, 2016

    By Annie Knox at The Salt Lake Tribune A Utah lawmaker wants colleges to face prosecution if they deny students’ First Amendment rights.   Read more here.

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  • DSU Rebranding and the False Sense of Achievement

    December 13, 2015

    By Dallas Hyland at The Independent Dixie State University is trying to rebrand its image with yet another campaign to change its mascot name. However, no amount of rebranding will assuage its false sense of achievement. The school changed its name once before from the Rebels to the Red Storm and the mascot to “Red D” in 2009. This came after a push from within the community to move away from the Rebel and the racial undertones some associated it with. It is fair to assert this was also an attempt to make the school more appealing in light of […]

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  • Free Speech Becomes More Costly on College Campuses

    November 2, 2015

    By Mary Reichard at World News Group Academic inquiry needs open minds and open ears. So why do open mouths prompt college campus authorities to shut them with speech restrictions? Feminist lawyer Wendy Kaminer told the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice last summer that the Department of Education is “out of control,” with a culture of censorship prevailing on campus. “Campus censorship, like western European bans on hate speech, establishes a right of particular audiences not to be offended at the expense of the universal right to speak,” Kaminer said. More recently, Republican presidential candidate Ben […]

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  • Colleges Will Pay for Stifling Diversity of Ideology

    October 21, 2015

    By Patrick Everson at Las Vegas Review-Journal Colleges and universities are supposed to be marketplaces of ideas, but that’s less and less true today. While higher education systems champion diversity of race, ethnicity and sexual identity, they’re completely unconcerned with diversity of ideology. Nothing highlighted that better than a story last week from The Cornell Daily Sun, an independent, student-run newspaper serving the Cornell University community. Phoebe Keller and Emily Friedman reported that more than 96 percent of Cornell faculty donations to political candidates over the past four years went to Democrats. Out of 323 donors, only 15 gave to conservative […]

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  • Progress Made With FIRE’s Litigation Project

    October 19, 2015

    By Bob Kellogg at OneNewsNow.com A Utah university has finally restored free speech rights to its students. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education(FIRE) filed a lawsuit on behalf of Dixie State University students who were not allowed to pass out flyers that were critical of former President George W. Bush, President Barak Obama, and even Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara. FIRE’s Catherine Sevcenko reports that Dixie State has agreed to comply with the demands of the lawsuit. “They have completely revamped their policies regarding free expression,” she tells OneNewsNow. “There is no more free speech zone, no more prior restraint […]

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  • Students Score Victory for Free Speech at Dixie State University

    October 5, 2015

    By Joshua Gill at The Daily Signal The right to free speech gained new ground last month—not in some distant land, as one might expect, but at Dixie State University, because of three students who refused to be silenced. The case of Jergins v. Williams, a lawsuit filed on March 4, 2015, by students William Jergins, Forrest Gee, and Joey Gillespie, ended in a settlement on Sept. 17 that resulted in a major revision of Dixie State’s once restrictive speech codes. Jergins was a senior at Dixie State when the events that led to the lawsuit began. According to an article […]

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  • Dixie State University Lawsuit Settled in Students’ Favor

    September 20, 2015

    By Craig Bennett at The Independent A lawsuit filed by three students against Dixie State University, with the assistance of FIRE, (Foundation for Individual Rights in Education) has been reached.  The lawsuit states that the settlement restores free speech rights to students at the University. In a release issued on Sept. 17 by FIRE on behalf of three DSU students, Dixie State University has agreed to revise speech policies and pay $50,000 in damages as well as attorney’s fees. The situation began when three students at the university, William Jergins, Joey Gillespie, and Forest Gee, attempted to get flyers approved from […]

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  • Dixie State Settles Free Speech Lawsuit; Students Get $50,000

    September 18, 2015

    By Mori Kessler at St. George News ST. GEORGE – Dixie State University has reached a settlement in a lawsuit filed earlier this year by three students over the university’s free speech policies, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education announced Thursday. As part of the settlement, the university will pay the students $50,000 total in damages and attorney fees. DSU is also revising the speech policies plaintiffs claimed were restrictive and vague. Once the lawsuit was filed, Dixie State quickly came to the table “Once the lawsuit was filed, Dixie State quickly came to the table and we were able to […]

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  • DSU to Pay $50K in Damages, Adopt New Free Speech Policies

    September 17, 2015

    By  David DeMille at The Spectrum Dixie State University is paying $50,000 and agreeing to stick to less-restrictive free speech policies after settling this week with students who sued the school after alleging their efforts to host a club rally was thwarted by unconstitutional school rules. Signed by DSU President Richard “Biff” Williams on Monday and finalized with the plaintiffs on Thursday, the settlement outlines new changes to the school’s policies regarding club events, flier approval processes and the controversial practice of designating “free speech zones” in specific areas of campus. The school also agrees to provide training to administrators about the new […]

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  • Utah University Settles Free-speech Suit with Former Students

    September 17, 2015

    By Annie Knox at The Salt Lake Tribune Dixie State University has settled a free-speech lawsuit from three students who were blocked from posting satirical portraits of Barack Obama, George Bush and Che Guevara on campus. The settlement was finalized Thursday, closing the suit directed by nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). One of the plaintiffs, former Dixie student William Jergins, said he’s “absolutely thrilled” by the resolution. “We’re told in every civics class since the third grade how important freedom of speech is in a democracy,” Jergins said. If First Amendment rights are restricted on college campuses, […]

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  • Schools Mend Their Repressive Ways

    July 8, 2015

    By Bob Kellogg at OneNewsNow Two schools in different states – each with the same problem: speech codes and policies that prohibit student free speech – have seen the error of their ways. Students at Dixie State University in Utah filed a suit after they were told their flyers depicting two former U.S. presidents along with an image of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara “disparaged” the former chief executives. Catherine Sevcenko of theFoundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) says the students contacted them for help. “I cannot imagine anything that is greater core political speech than mocking a U.S. president,” […]

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  • Opinion: Should Dixie State University Be Applauded For Allowing Free Speech?

    May 10, 2015

    By Dallas Hyland at The South Utah Independent  Last week, in response to a lawsuit filed by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education representing three Dixie State University students, DSU President Richard “Biff” Williams announced in both a campus wide email and to various press members that the current free speech codes were being placed under a moratorium. Seeing that a moratorium is the suspension of an activity, the fact that Williams would make such an announcement infers that it has been realized that the speech codes no longer serve the best interests of the university. But it begs […]

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  • Dixie State Announces It Will Revise Free Speech Polices In Wake Of Lawsuit

    May 10, 2015

    By Mori Kessler at St George News ST. GEORGE – In an email sent to students and faculty Monday, Dixie State University President Richard Williams announced parts of the university’s speech policy are being suspended while staff review and revise it. The announcement comes in the wake of a lawsuit filed against the school in March by three student who claim DSU’s speech policies were unconstitutionally restrictive. Aiding the students in pursuing the lawsuit is FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. It has brought to our attention the need to update and revise some of our University policies […]

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  • FIRE Makes Another University Back Down on Speech Restrictions

    May 7, 2015

    By George Leef at National Review The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education has a great record when it comes to getting colleges and universities to abandon their policies against free speech. A new case is Dixie State University in Utah, where administrators told students affiliated with Young Americans for Freedom that they would not be permitted to hand out flyers. Read about it here. What’s particularly interesting in the Dixie State case is that the students’ flyers were critical of both George W. Bush and Barack Obama, connecting both with Che Guevara. “Naughty, naughty” said the speech police. “We […]

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  • Dixie State University To Revise Policies To Protect Free Speech

    May 6, 2015

    By Mary Lou Byrd at The Washington Free Beacon Dixie State University, located in St. George, Utah, announced Tuesday it will suspend its unconstitutional speech codes and amend other policies after a lawsuit filed by three students challenged the university and its restriction of their free speech. Dixie State President Richard Williams announced in an email to the campus community that the university will revise its policies and suspend its speech codes. “As we work toward writing an updated, comprehensive free speech policy, the administration is mindful of Dixie State’s mission, which is to be ‘a teaching institution that strives to enrich […]

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  • Utah University Suspends Speech Rules After Lawsuit

    May 6, 2015

    By Lindsay Whitehurst at SF Gate SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Dixie State University has suspended its campus speech rules amid a lawsuit from students who say the policies violated their right to free speech. The president of the southern Utah institution announced in an email that the school is updating rules that a group of students said blocked the posting of fliers with satirical pictures of President Barack Obama, former PresidentGeorge W. Bush and the revolutionary leader Che Guevara. President Biff Williams said in the all-campus email Monday that he was troubled that the students didn’t bring the concerns […]

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  • DSU Altering Free Speech Policies

    May 6, 2015

    By Kevin Jenkins at The Spectrum Dixie State University President Biff Williams announced Monday that some of the school’s public address policies will no longer be enforced as DSU works to establish a comprehensive Free Speech policy that balances the First Amendment rights of students, faculty and staff against efforts to promote “civility and community values” on campus. “Given the nature of academic inquiry, only an open, robust and critical environment for speech will support the quest for knowledge and understanding,” Williams’ email to DSU students, which was shared with The Spectrum, stated. According to the email, until a new […]

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  • Dixie State University Suspends Speech Restrictions in Wake of Suit by 3 Students

    May 6, 2015

    By Bob Nelson at KUER A lawsuit by three Dixie State University students against the school has resulted in the suspension of what the students call unconstitutional free speech codes on campus. The suit was filed in federal court in March. It focuses on DSU’s flyer approval process and posting policy, the defined free speech zone, and club event policies. Attorneys for the non-profit Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, or FIRE are supporting the suit. Catherine Sevcenko is an associate director of litigation for FIRE. She says their organization works with universities around the country on First Amendment problems. […]

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  • Pres. Williams Announces Moratorium on Several DSU Free-Speech Codes, Lawsuit Continues

    May 5, 2015

    By Marcos Camargo at The South Utah Independent On Monday, May 4, Dixie State University President Richard Williams announced a moratorium on many of the school’s speech codes. The policy change, released in a campus-wide email, came as a result of a lawsuit, filed by three students against DSU in March, alleging that the university violated the students’ free speech rights. The lawsuit was filed after school officials refused to approve the distribution of fliers criticizing Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush as well as revolutionary leader Che Guevara.  In addition to refusing to approve the fliers, the suit […]

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  • Dixie State University Plans to Revise Free Speech Policies

    May 5, 2015

    By Morgan Jacobsen at Deseret News ST. GEORGE — Dixie State University announced Monday it has placed a moratorium on parts of its free speech policy after three students sued the university in March for refusing to let them post satirical fliers. University leaders also plan to revise policies dealing with free speech as well as materials posted on campus bulletin boards and residence halls. In an email Monday, Dixie President Richard Williams said he was “troubled” that students didn’t try to resolve the issue with him before taking legal action, but it did highlight the need to “update and […]

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  • Dixie State Tosses Free Speech Limits After Students Sue Over Bush Posters

    May 5, 2015

    By Annie Knox at The Salt Lake Tribune A lawsuit brought by three students has forced Dixie State University to drop its limits on free speech — at least until attorneys draft new campus rules. The St. George school announced Monday that students no longer need prior approval to post fliers or hold events on campus. Dixie State President Richard Williams announced the changes in a university-wide email. He called Dixie State a campus “where even unpopular answers, seemingly absurd ideas, and unconventional thought are not only permitted, but even encouraged.” Still, Williams urged students and others to use caution. […]

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  • Fascism Much? Dixie State U. Prohibited Flyers That Mocked U.S. Presidents

    March 30, 2015

    By Robby Soave at Reason Online Administrators at Dixie State University prohibited libertarian students from handing out flyers to promote their club because the flyers featured images that playfully mocked U.S. Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Mockery, even of national political figures, is considered disparaging behavior and is forbidden under school policy. Here are a few of the offending images from the flyers, according to The College Fix: That’s right: Using memes and catchphrases to lamely poke fun at kings Bush and Obama was deemed impermissible at a public university in the state of Utah. If that wasn’t […]

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  • Students Told They Cannot Lampoon U.S. Presidents Because Campus Forbids ‘Mocking’

    March 27, 2015

    By Andrew Desiderio at The College Fix Students at Dixie State University have filed a lawsuit against their school after administrators refused to approve their request to distribute flyers to promote their libertarian club, hand outs that rebuked big government by playfully lampooning George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Campus officials denied the flyers on the grounds that they violated school policy, which does not allow students to disparage others, according to the lawsuit. But the students, members of Young Americans for Liberty, allege their free speech rights have been infringed, and a leader of the group said in an […]

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  • Higher Ed., Lower Thinking: 2 States Dumb-Down Student Speech

    March 12, 2015

    By Bob Kellogg at OneNewsNow A university in Utah believes that students should not say or post anything that “disparages” or mocks any individual — even including Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara — while a university in Wisconsin prohibits all speech that can cause “emotional discomfort.” In the Beehive State, Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) students at Dixie State University filed a lawsuit after the school refused to approve YAL promotional flyers that featured negative images of Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara. Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) executive director Robert Shibley argues that such […]

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  • University Attempts To Regulate Free Speech Wall, Gets Sued

    March 12, 2015

    By Taylor Grenawalt at Campus Reform Students at Utah’s Dixie State University have filed a lawsuit against the university for attempting to regulate their free speech. The Young Americans for Liberty organization at Dixie State attempted to organize a free speech wall with the use of promotional flyers. The flyers characterized presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, along with Communist revolutionary leader Che Guevara, in a satirical manner that the university did not approve of. According to the school, policy prohibits students from mocking individuals and all promotional flyers must be “in good taste.” Not only was the YAL […]

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  • Students File Lawsuit Against Dixie State University Over Free Speech

    March 9, 2015

    By Staff at Good4Utah.com ST GEORGE (ABC 4 Utah) – Three Dixie State University students filed a lawsuit against the university stating that their right to free speech were violated. William Jergins, a senior at DSU, told ABC4’s Tasmin Mahfuz that he founded the Young Americans for Liberty chapter at DSU last fall semester and was frustrated when the university banned his fliers to advertise the club. He said that someone else had tried to establish a chapter on campus prior to him but the university denied their request and required them to merge with a different organization. “It took […]

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  • OPINION: Dixie State University Lawsuit And The Millstones Of Justice

    March 8, 2015

    By Dallas Hyland at the SU Independent Last week, three Dixie State University students, with the assistance of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), filed a lawsuit against the school for the unconstitutional restrictions placed on the First Amendment Rights of the students. FIRE maintains that DSU is a repeat offender of First Amendment rights citing the incident in 2012 where student, Indigo Klabanoff was thwarted, hazed, and threatened by the administration for attempting to have a club using Greek Letters in its name. (That was the school’s contention but it was seen by some as a thin […]

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  • Students Banned from Handing Out Flyers Critical of Obama, Bush, Che Guevara

    March 6, 2015

    By Mary Lou Byrd at The Washington Free Beacon Three students have filed a lawsuit against Dixie State University in St. George, Utah, claiming their First Amendment rights were violated when flyers they made promoting their student club were censored by school officials. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) is assisting with the lawsuit, which was filed this week against the university. Dixie State disapproved of promotional flyers by the student group Young Americans for Liberty (YAL), which negatively portrayed Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara. The flyers were not approved because the school […]

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  • DSU Club Sues University Over Free Speech Limits

    March 5, 2015

    By Kevin Jenkins at The Spectrum ST. GEORGE – Three members of a Dixie State University club are suing the school over alleged violations of their Constitutional rights to free speech and equal protection under the law after efforts to draw participation in an on-campus rally were allegedly frustrated by school officials. William Jergins, Joey Gillespie and Forrest Gee are listed as the plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit filed Wednesday against DSU’s president, police chief, dean of students and other officers, in which the students seek changes to school policy and monetary damages, as well as expenses for their out-of-state […]

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  • Young Libertarians Sue Dixie State U, Clinton Will Release Some Emails, Ferguson as Conspiracy Against Residents: A.M. Links

    March 5, 2015

    By Elizabeth Nolan Brown at Reason Online “I want the public to see my email. I asked State to release them,” Hillary Clinton tweetedlast night, days after it was revealed that Clinton used a personal email address, kept on a privately-managed server, during her time as Secretary of State. But “at very best, Clinton is asking State to turn over emails that her staffers have already weeded through and marked as potentially acceptable for public consumption,” writes Peter Suderman. A new lawsuit aims to decriminalize prostitutionin California. Filed by the Erotic Service Providers Legal, Education, and Research Project, the suit alleges […]

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  • Dixie State Violates Free Speech, Students Say in Lawsuit

    March 4, 2015

    By Lindsay Whitehurst at The Associated Press Three Dixie State University students filed a lawsuit Wednesday saying that administrators at the southern Utah college violated their free speech rights by refusing to let them post fliers with satirical pictures of former President George W. Bush and the revolutionary leader Che Guevara. The members of Young Americans for Liberty also say one of their events designed to celebrate free speech was wrongly relegated to a small, out-of-the-way part of the St. George-based campus. The lawsuit filed in federal court seeks damages and changes to rules the students call arbitrary. “I don’t […]

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  • Dixie State named among top 10 worst free speech violators in U.S.

    December 29, 2013

    by Cami Cox The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), a Philadelphia-based organization on a mission to defend and sustain individual rights at America’s colleges and universities, released its list of 2013’s “10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech” yesterday. Making the list was St. George’s own Dixie State University. Dixie made this annual list of collegiate Constitution violators alongside entities like Harvard University (which was named for a faculty e-mail monitoring scandal that occurred earlier this year) and the University of Alabama (which came under FIRE’s fire for a grounds-use permit policy that restricts students’ freedom of speech and […]

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  • ON Kilter: Dixie State, is this the Top 10 you want to be in?

    December 28, 2013

    by Dallas Hyland OPINION – My friend, Cole Hulse, posted on his Facebook: “Behold, the only time Dixie will ever be in a Top Ten list with Harvard,” referring to a report published by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, simultaneously published with The Huffington Post College Blog, naming The 10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech. Dixie State University achieved an ignoble notable No. 4 spot on the list. And so I ask, is this who you want to be DSU? At the heart of FIRE’s ranking is the current and ongoing fight university senior Indigo Klabanoff is engaged in to be allowed her […]

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  • DSU student recruits civil rights group to create Greek sorority on campus

    November 30, 2013

    by Zach Whitney ST. GEORGE, Utah – A group of Dixie State University students are pushing forward with an effort to get administrators to allow a Greek sorority on campus. Now they have the backing of civil rights advocates. Administrators denied the request by DSU senior Indigo Klabanoff earlier this year. She approached them wanting to create Phi Beta Pi, but says she was quickly shot down. “The campus is a little bit opposed to the idea of even a club with Greek letters,” says Klabanoff. “They don’t want to connotate a party school image.” Since then, Klabanoff has recruited […]

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  • Sorority plans

    November 17, 2013

    In the months since Dixie State University denied student Indigo Klabanoff’s request to start a sorority on campus, both parties have stood their ground. DSU officials maintain they don’t want to perpetuate a “party school” image by approving a sorority and that other endeavors are a higher priority at the moment. Klabanoff says that DSU “can’t just pick and choose what club names they like and don’t like because it’s freedom of expression, and it’s a constitutional right.” If DSU is concerned that a sorority will destroy the entire university’s reputation and years of accomplishments, then that is the real […]

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  • Phi Beta Pi Continues To Fight

    November 7, 2013

      by Emily Bills As Phi Beta Pi is caught in a whirlwind of national controversy surrounding Dixie State University, its leaders strive to keep on keeping on. Although the club is still under restraints by DSU administration to deny Greek letters in its name, President Indigo Klabanoff, a senior communication major from Boston, said all the national recognition means the club’s hard work has paid off. Members of DSU administration have been actively battling against the decision to charter a club or sorority with Greek letters. Past students reached out to Dean of Students Del Beatty in 2009 and requested support […]

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  • DSU continues to stymie sorority effort

    November 6, 2013

    by Casie Forbes ST. GEORGE – Dixie State University officials are not wavering from their decision to deny an attempt to establish a Greek life system on campus, but a DSU student refuses to accept the institution’s decision. Earlier this year, DSU administrators denied an application to approve a sorority club using the Greek letters Phi Beta Pi founded by DSU student Indigo Klabanoff, stating the club would not coincide with the institution’s mission. Administrators also voiced concerns that a Greek life program would hinder efforts to eliminate its “party school” reputation as it rebrands itself as a university. Wednesday, DSU […]

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  • ON Kilter: Dixie State defies 1st Amendment, why the silence?

    November 1, 2013

    by Dallas Hyland OPINION – Dixie State University is in a legal battle – though by the behavior of its administrators you would hardly know it. They are in a face-off with a senior class student, Indigo Klabanoff, and The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, over Klabanoff’s First Amendment rights to freedom of expression and association. And the whole stalemate turns on a letter, a Greek letter – or, to be clear, three. They are an independent association of university women Klabanoff has formed an association of women under the banner, Phi Beta Pi. She and other women formed […]

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  • Dixie State University Refuses to Allow Greek Letter Groups on Campus for Fear of Being Labeled a ‘Party School’

    October 30, 2013

    by Russell Westerholm A public college in Utah will not officially recognize any groups with Greek letters in its name to avoid any chance of being labeled “a party school,” but that ban may infringe on a very basic right any student has. Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) president Greg Lukianoff wrote in a blog post on the Huffington Post that Dixie State University that a student is continually being denied in starting a sorority on campus simply because of the school’s policy. Indigo Klabanoff, a senior at Dixie and founder of Phi Beta Pi noted that school recognized clubs that promote partying, such […]

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  • Dixie State feeling growing pains in becoming a university

    September 30, 2013

    by Lindsay Whitehurst Becoming a university means more than a new name, revamped logo and enhanced prestige. For the Dixie State University, it also means divergent voices on campus, including a former newspaper sex columnist and a would-be sorority sister. Indigo Klabanoff is a Boston transplant and a 22-year-old communication major who decided she wanted to start a sorority last November. “I’ve always liked the idea. … You learn wonderful things about how to network, leadership skills and getting out into the community,” she said. And though she changed her goal from a nationally chartered chapter to a school club, she […]

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  • Dixie State faces legislative scrutiny after attempting to terminate professor

    September 21, 2018

    Dixie State University is starting to feel the heat for undermining academic freedom. Right now, the Utah State Senate, the American Association of University Professors, and Dixie State’s own faculty are speaking out in support of former tenured professor Ken Peterson, whose mistreatment by the university administration has become a rallying cry for protecting academic freedom and due process on the campus. FIRE reported on Peterson’s case last month, and John K. Wilson at the American Association of University Professors’ Academe blog has covered the case extensively. In brief, Dixie State issued termination notices to Peterson and fellow professor Glenn […]

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  • How far will Dixie State University go to fire a tenured professor? Ask Ken Peterson

    August 10, 2018

    At the American Association of University Professors’ Academe blog, John K. Wilson has been following a troubling case involving the abrupt termination of two Dixie State University music professors. The termination of one in particular, tenured professor Ken Peterson, has free speech and academic freedom advocates deeply concerned. In early March 2018, DSU issued termination letters to Peterson as well as to Glenn Webb, chair of DSU’s music department, hanging its case against the professors in large part on an alleged violation of employee confidentiality. Among other things, they were accused of disclosing to unauthorized persons the outcome of the […]

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  • ‘Censored in America’: ‘Fox News’ Special to Report on Dixie State Lawsuit

    October 9, 2015

    Why did a group of students decide to stand up for their free speech rights and sue their college? Tune into Fox News Channel at 8 p.m. Eastern time tomorrow to find out. Dixie State students and Young Americans for Liberty (“YAL”) members William and Joey Jergins will sit down with John Stossel to talk about their lawsuit against Utah’s Dixie State University earlier this year. As part of FIRE’s Stand Up for Speech Litigation Project, William, Joey, and fellow student Forrest Gee filed a First Amendment lawsuit against Dixie State on March 4, 2015. The suit alleged Dixie State […]

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  • VICTORY: Lawsuit Settlement Restores Free Speech Rights at Dixie State U. After Censorship of Bush, Obama, Che Flyers

    September 17, 2015

    Dixie State agrees to revise restrictive speech policies, pay $50,000 in damages and attorney’s fees University claimed Bush, Obama, Che flyers “mock[ed]” individuals Lawsuit is seventh consecutive victory for FIRE’s undefeated litigation project ST. GEORGE, Utah, September 17, 2015—Dixie State University’s 8,570 students have a special reason to celebrate Constitution Day today after their university agreed to settle a First Amendment lawsuit filed earlier this year by three students. The settlement—finalized today—is the seventh consecutive victory for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s (FIRE’s) unprecedented and undefeated Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project. As part of today’s settlement, Dixie […]

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  • Dixie State U., Cal Poly Pomona Suspend Restrictive Speech Codes in Wake of FIRE-Led Lawsuits

    May 7, 2015

    PHILADELPHIA, May 7, 2015—Dixie State University in Utah and California State Polytechnic University, Pomona have both agreed this week to suspend numerous policies that substantially restrict students’ free speech rights on campus. The policy suspensions result from lawsuits filed this year as part of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s (FIRE’s) Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project, an unprecedented and undefeated national effort to eliminate unconstitutional speech codes from the nation’s public colleges and universities. “FIRE has been warning colleges for years that the Constitution is clear—there is no place for speech codes on a public college campus,” said […]

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  • After Lawsuit’s Filing, Dixie State Suspends Restrictive Speech Codes, Plans to Revise Policies

    May 5, 2015

    ST. GEORGE, Utah, May 5, 2015—Dixie State University has announced that it will suspend the unconstitutional speech codes that three students challenged in a First Amendment lawsuit filed in March. The lawsuit, which is supported by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), targeted Dixie State’s unconstitutional flyer approval process, posting policies, “free speech zone,” and club event policies—all of which are now suspended. In addition to suspending the speech codes, Dixie State President Richard B. Williams announced in an email yesterday to the campus community that the university will permanently revise its policies. In his email, President Williams […]

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  • Media Report on Latest Stand Up For Speech Case: Censorship at Dixie State

    March 18, 2015

    Earlier in the month, students William Jergins, Joey Gillespie, and Forrest Gee filed a First Amendment lawsuit against Utah’s Dixie State University, the eighth and most recent suit filed as part of FIRE’s Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project. We at FIRE are no strangers to the argument that campuses must be a “safe space” free from emotional and ideological discomfort. Dixie State kicks it up a notch by ensuring that sitting presidents and long-dead revolutionaries are also protected from the peril of college students with sharpened viewpoints—in this case, flyers negatively portraying Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush […]

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  • Students Sue Dixie State U. Over ‘Free Speech Zone,’ Censorship of Bush, Obama, Che Flyers

    March 4, 2015

    ST. GEORGE, Utah, March 4, 2015—Students filed a First Amendment lawsuit today against Utah’s Dixie State University, with assistance from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). The lawsuit challenges numerous unconstitutional restrictions that Dixie State, a repeat offender against freedom of speech, has placed on the First Amendment rights of Dixie State students. The lawsuit alleges that Dixie State refused to approve promotional flyers produced by the Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) student group that featured images negatively portraying Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara. Dixie State administrators told student plaintiff William […]

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  • Dixie State’s Refusal to Recognize First Amendment Gains More Attention

    January 16, 2014

    Last week, a new semester began at Dixie State University, and while the classes may have changed, the school’s refusal to uphold its students’ First Amendment rights to free expression and free association remains the same. After senior Indigo Klabanoff re-applied for official recognition for her student group, Phi Beta Pi, FIRE wrote a third letter to the school on December 18 explaining—again—why Dixie State cannot ban Greek letters in club names just to avoid a “party school” image. We sent the letter to Dixie State’s trustees, as well as the Board of Regents of the Utah System of Higher Education. Disappointingly, Indigo’s group was denied […]

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  • The 10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech: 2013

    December 27, 2013

    College is where inquisitive minds go to be exposed to new ways of thinking. But on some campuses, the quest for knowledge is frustrated when administrators censor speech they would prefer be kept out of the marketplace of ideas. To close out the year, we at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) want to highlight some of the worst colleges for free speech since March 2012—the last time we published this list. (Our first list, from 2011, is here.) Most of the schools we include in this year’s list are public colleges or universities bound by the First Amendment. But some of […]

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  • Dixie State Dean Relies on Attorney General’s Incorrect Legal Analysis

    November 13, 2013

    Despite continuing pressure on Dixie State University administrators to acknowledge and uphold students’ First Amendment rights to free expression and freedom of association, Dixie State has reiterated its refusal to officially recognize student group Phi Beta Pi because the group name has Greek letters in it. According to the Dixie Sun News student newspaper, Dean of Students Del Beatty won’t budge on the issue: “Beatty said the attorney general told [the administrators] there is no problem and urges DSU to ignore the media’s pressure because there is no valid case.” Let’s take a closer look at the language Beatty is relying on. Utah Assistant Attorney […]

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  • Dixie State Students For Liberty Collect Over 200 Signatures Supporting Phi Beta Pi

    November 7, 2013

    The student organization Students For Liberty (SFL) at Dixie State University gathered signatures on Tuesday for a petition in support of Phi Beta Pi, asking the school to change the student organization bylaws that prohibit officially recognized non-academic groups from using Greek letters in their names. SFL Vice President Jeff Peterson led the campaign and gathered over 200 student signatures in just a few hours, and SFL and Phi Beta Pi are continuing the petition online. On Monday, FIRE exposed the conflicting and disingenuous statements Dixie State administrators have been making as to why the school is refusing to recognize the group, even after Phi Beta […]

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  • Dixie State Admins Make Conflicting Statements and Impossible Requests

    November 4, 2013

    For months, Dixie State University administrators have repeatedly told student Indigo Klabanoff that her student group, Phi Beta Pi, could not be officially recognized by the school because its name includes Greek letters. Since FIRE issued a press release about the situation last week, Dixie State administrators have been scrambling to justify their actions—one making impossible demands of Phi Beta Pi and the other backpedaling with respect to what exactly Phi Beta Pi needs to do to be recognized. Dean of Students Del Beatty has said publicly that members of Phi Beta Pi should simply go to a school with Greek life instead of Dixie State. […]

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  • Dixie State Dean of Students Continues Throwing Spaghetti at the Wall

    October 31, 2013

    Yesterday, FIRE released a new video on Dixie State University student Indigo Klabanoff’s push against the university after it denied recognition to her student organization because there are Greek letters (Phi Beta Pi) in its name. Dixie State administrators repeatedly told Klabanoff that campus clubs may not have Greek letters in their names because they would convey the image of a “party school.” Dixie State must be feeling the heat, because according to Utah’s Deseret News, Dean of Students Del Beatty is now claiming that the university has refused to recognize Phi Beta Pi because its name raises trademark and confusion issues. I guess Dixie […]

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  • Dixie State University Bans an Alphabet, Tells Women They Can’t Use Greek Letters in Club Name

    October 30, 2013

    Nineteen female Dixie State University students are being forced to fight their own school for the right to use Greek letters in the name of their organization. Indigo Klabanoff and the members of Phi Beta Pi have repeatedly been denied official recognition because administrators feel that the use of Greek letters in an organization name will give Dixie State a “party school” image.

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  • Dixie State Rejects Sorority Because Its Name Includes Greek Letters

    August 27, 2013

    For nearly a year, Dixie State University senior Indigo Klabanoff has been working to start a local sorority at her public Utah university that would be dedicated to providing services for the community and learning opportunities for its members. Dixie State administrators have flatly stated that Klabanoff’s sorority, Phi Beta Pi, will not be approved as an officially recognized student group as long as it has Greek letters in its name. The college went so far as to retroactively amend the school’s student club bylaws to prohibit such groups from recognition. Last week, FIRE sent a letter urging Dixie State […]

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