School Spotlight
North Carolina State University – Raleigh
Speech Code Rating
Bias Impact Response
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: August 30, 2019NC State’s OIED Bias Impact Response Team (BIRT), serves the campus community by offering a system and processes that invite students, faculty and staff to document and proactively address the impacts of bias-related incidents, behaviors, and actions. BIRT supports affected individuals and groups, promotes education... Read MorePOL 04.25.01 – Freedom of Speech and Expression
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: August 30, 2019Academic freedom, free speech and free expression are fundamental to the mission and purposes of NC State University. NC State supports, encourages and upholds the freedom of inquiry for students, faculty and staff, to the end that they may purse these goals responsibly through teaching, learning, research, discussi... Read MoreREG 11.55.02 – Use of University Space
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: August 30, 20195.1 Advance Notice Groups and individuals must reserve the use of space for their activity before the proposed time and date of the event (the “notice requirement”). The university may waive the notice requirement for good cause shown. 5.1.1For outdoor uses of University space, the notice requirement is at least t... Read MoreREG 07.25.12 – Solicitation
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: August 30, 20192.5 “Non-Commercial Solicitation” means any hand distribution of leaflets, brochures or other written materials designed for informational and not commercial purposes. This definition does not include the dissemination of information for purposes of the administrative, academic, research, or extension activitie... Read MorePOL 04.25.05 – Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination Policy
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: August 30, 20194.2 Harassment is any unwelcome conduct directed toward a person based on the person’s Protected Status that: (A) denies, limits or adversely impacts a term or condition of a person’s employment, education, or participation in University programs or activities; and (B) either: (i) the submission to or rejection of s... Read MoreREG 08.00.02 – Computer Use Regulation
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: March 6, 20193.1. Authorized users may access University IT resources for occasional, inconsequential personal uses, with no expectation of privacy, if the following conditions are met: 3.1.1. The use does not disrupt, negatively impact, or interfere with the security, functions, availability or performance of University IT reso... Read More
University of North Carolina System: State of the First Amendment
January 10, 2006
FIRE teamed up with the John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy to release the Report on the State of the First Amendment in the University of North Carolina System. The Report notes that UNC System’s many speech codes and illiberal restrictions on religious groups would likely not survive a legal challenge. It also… Read more
As student debates about Hong Kong continue, U.S. universities must be prepared to respond to free speech controversies
December 4, 2019
The mass protests that have swept Hong Kong in recent months are unlikely to cease anytime soon. What is likely, though, is that this movement will continue to spread protests of both support and opposition at campuses around the world. Are American universities prepared for the free speech challenges posed by the often passionate student… Read more
North Carolina’s largest university scraps unconstitutional speech policies, earns top free speech rating
March 6, 2019
RALEIGH, N.C., March 6, 2019 — North Carolina State University leaders brought the school’s speech policies in line with the Constitution, making NC State the largest university in North Carolina to earn the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s highest free speech rating. Eleven colleges and universities in North Carolina now earn a “green light”… Read more
REPORT: North Carolina is home to some of America’s best colleges for free speech
September 24, 2018
Eight colleges in North Carolina earn FIRE’s highest rating for free speech — more than in any other state — but 17 still maintain policies that substantially restrict student expression. PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 24, 2018 — A new report finds that North Carolina’s colleges and universities lead the way nationally for protecting student free speech. The… Read more
Independent Newspapers Crucial for Students in ‘Tense Times’
December 22, 2016
It’s a time-honored tradition for college students to use independent newspapers to respond to pressing issues on campus and avoid top-down censorship from administrators. As The Chronicle of Higher Education recently reported in their piece, “In Tense Times, Black Students Find Ways to Tell Their Own Stories,” there has been a surge in publications run… Read more
North Carolina State University Will No Longer Require Written Permission to Speak on Campus, Paying a Hefty Settlement
July 21, 2016
Last month, a federal court ordered North Carolina State University (NC State) to stop enforcing a policy that required student groups to get written permission from administrators before distributing literature or merely speaking to students on campus. While NC State repeatedly defended the policy—a policy squarely at odds with the First Amendment—the university has now… Read more
Federal Court to NC State: Stop Requiring Speech Pass to Speak on Campus
June 8, 2016
On Saturday, a federal district court ruled that a student organization, Grace Christian Life, was likely to be successful in its First Amendment lawsuit against North Carolina State University, ordering the university to immediately cease enforcing a policy requiring permission to distribute literature on campus. While the court could later vacate the preliminary injunction following… Read more
Perennial Controversy over NC State Free Expression Tunnel Inspires Problematic Tactic by Admins
April 6, 2015
According to a report by Campus Reform’s Kaitlyn Schallhorn posted last week, a North Carolina State University administrator emailed students to encourage them to cover up offensive speech painted in the university’s Free Expression Tunnel. Students are (supposedly) welcomed by the university to use the Tunnel to express themselves openly on a range of topics,… Read more
Why NC State’s ‘Civility Statement’ Earns a ‘Green Light’
January 3, 2014
As part of a blog series about some of the best “green light” university policies, we took a look last week at Mississippi State University’s policy on “Harassment” and examined why it is a useful model for other colleges and universities to follow in properly addressing harassment on campus. Today, we take a look at North Carolina State University’s “Civility Statement,”… Read more
FIRE in the News: Watch Clips of ‘Stossel,’ ‘Red Eye’ Featuring FIRE Cases!
October 2, 2012
It’s been a big television week for FIRE. Last Thursday, I appeared alongside Campus Freedom Network members David Deerson and Derek Spicer on an episode of the Fox Business Network show Stossel, filmed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). We had a great discussion of speech codes at UNC and civility… Read more
FIRE’s NC State Victory in the News
September 10, 2012
FIRE’s latest victory in the battle against "civility" speech codes on campus has hit the news. Both The Chronicle of Higher Education and Minding The Campus report on the welcome revision of North Carolina State University’s civility policy. Check them out!
Free Expression Blockade at NC State
November 5, 2010
Early yesterday morning, a group of students gathered at North Carolina State University’s free expression tunnel to protest against hate speech. The tunnel, which is free for students to paint with messages of their choice, had reportedly been painted with a caricature of President Obama and homophobic and racial slurs. In response, a group of… Read more
UNC Rejects the Heckler’s Veto
April 24, 2009
The First Amendment scored a victory this week at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill when UNC removed and arrested six hecklers who disrupted a campus speech by former Virginia congressman and illegal immigration opponent Virgil Goode. Goode was invited to speak on campus by a group called Youth for Western Civilization. Problems with disruptive… Read more
Rights in the News: A Good Week for FIRE at Virginia Tech
April 17, 2009
I blogged on Wednesday on the press generated by FIRE’s successful effort to get Virginia Tech President Charles Steger to shelve a requirement that would have more deeply ensconced a "diversity" requirement for tenure and promotion for the university’s arts and sciences faculty. FIRE’s efforts and success at Virginia Tech were reported by The Chronicle… Read more
FIRE Weighs in on NCAA’s Warning to Students Regarding Facebook ‘Recruiting’
April 15, 2009
The Associated Press reports that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is putting pressure on member schools to crack down on student-operated Facebook groups which urge talented high school athletes to attend their college or university. The AP’s story, which has been picked up by over 200 news outlets in the past week, details what… Read more
Three Days Left to Submit Comment to NC State Task Force on “Campus Culture”
February 13, 2009
The Technician, the student newspaper at North Carolina State University (NCSU), reports that the Campus Culture Task Force Committee for North Carolina State University is still soliciting input from concerned students and community members, and will continue to do so until Monday, February 16. The committee, formed after the discovery of racist comments painted on… Read more
From an Alumnus, a Vigorous Defense of Free Speech at N.C. State
January 21, 2009
Jon Sanders, a policy analyst and research editor at the Raleigh, North Carolina-based John Locke Foundation, has written an astute column on North Carolina State University’s venerable "Free Expression Tunnel," which has been a flashpoint for controversy in the wake of the election of President Barack Obama. Torch readers will remember that shortly following Obama’s… Read more
New ‘FIREside Chats’ Episode Features Samantha Harris’ Interview on NewsTalk
January 12, 2009
The second season of FIRE’s podcasting series, FIREside Chats, kicks off with Samantha Harris’ December 26 interview on NewsTalk 680 WPTF in Raleigh, North Carolina. Samantha is FIRE’s Director of Speech Code Research. During the interview, Samantha discusses speech codes in the University of North Carolina System, FIRE’s Spotlight on Speech Codes Report, and the… Read more
Two North Carolina Newspapers Opine on NCSU’s ‘Free Expression Tunnel’ Debacle
December 2, 2008
Adam and Robert wrote last week about racist messages written in North Carolina State University’s "Free Expression Tunnel." Now, two North Carolina newspapers have weighed in on the controversy. On Saturday, an editorial in the News-Record of Greensboro, N.C., comments on President Erskine Bowles’ instituting a commission to consider a system-wide policy to ban this… Read more
ACLU Weighs in Against Possible Ban on “Hate Speech” in University of North Carolina System
December 2, 2008
Katherine Lewis Parker, Legal Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation (ACLU-NCLF), wrote to UNC system President Erskine Bowles last week regarding the much-publicized case of racist speech in the “Free Expression Tunnel” at North Carolina State University (NCSU). The North Carolina ACLU got engaged in this issue once Bowles… Read more
More ‘Hate Speech’ in NCSU’s ‘Free Expression Tunnel’
November 25, 2008
“Anger and controversy,” Robert wrote yesterday, “have been swirling at North Carolina State University about messages painted in N.C. State’s ‘Free Expression Tunnel’ on November 5 in the wake of Barack Obama’s presidential election victory.” The messages were clearly racist and have disturbed people both on and off campus. Why has N.C. State censored these… Read more
N.C. State in Uproar Over Racist Messages in ‘Free Expression Tunnel’
November 24, 2008
For the last two weeks, anger and controversy have been swirling at North Carolina State University about messages painted in N.C. State’s “Free Expression Tunnel” on November 5 in the wake of Barack Obama’s presidential election victory. One message reportedly read, “Hang Obama by a noose.” Here is a picture of another one, which read,… Read more
“Free Expression Tunnel” No Longer Free at NC State
October 8, 2007
North Carolina State University persuades students to enroll by advertising their “Free Expression Tunnel,” which “gives students a venue for expressing their thoughts and feelings about anything.” Well, not anything. According to a recent report, NC State officials regularly monitor the tunnel for things like “hate speech” and then paint over whatever they do not… Read more
Piracy on the Increase in Academia
April 19, 2005
Those of you who, like me, are concerned about issues of piracy in the modern age have good reason to worry, as pirates have evidently taken over the student government of North Carolina State University. Fox News is reporting that a gentleman named The Pirate Captain was just elected president of NCSU’s student body. He… Read more
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