School Spotlight
Texas Tech University
Speech Code Rating
Student Handbook: Freedom of Expression Activities and Forum Areas
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
Last updated: October 16, 2018Students engaged in freedom of expression activities may be subject to discipline under the Code of Student Conduct for the following actions: … Activities that include the use of obscenities, libelous statements, or “fighting words,” as defined by law. Read MoreStudent Handbook: Code of Student Conduct- Misconduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: October 16, 2018Harmful, Threatening, or Endangering Conduct Intentional or reckless behavior that harms, threatens, or endangers the physical or emotional health or safety of self or others … Read MoreStudent Handbook: Code of Student Conduct- Bullying/Cyberbullying
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Bullying Policies, Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: October 16, 20185. Bullying / cyber bullying a. Repeated or severe aggressive behaviors that intimidate or intentionally harm or control another person physically or emotionally. Activities protected by freedom of expression will not be considered violations of the Code of Student Conduct. Read MoreStudent Handbook: Anti-Discrimination Policy
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: October 16, 2018Examples of inappropriate behavior that may constitute unlawful sexual harassment include, but are not limited to: Sexual teasing, jokes, remarks, questions, looks, gestures, innuendoes or stories; Sexual favoritism; Pressure for dates or sexual favors; Gifts, letters, calls, e-mails, or materials of a sexual natur... Read MoreRisk Intervention & Safety Education: Campus Climate & Incident Reporting Form
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: October 16, 2018At Texas Tech, we are committed to an open and diverse society where each member of the Texas Tech community has the right to be treated with respect and dignity. Because we deeply value tolerance and dignity, the University is committed to appropriately responding to incidents that impact our campus climate. The Ca... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Code of Student Conduct- Sexual Misconduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: October 16, 2018c. Sexual Misconduct Sexual Harassment Unwelcome sex-based verbal, written, or physical conduct when: … Such conduct has the purpose or effect of interfering with the individual’s work or educational performance or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working or educational environment. To const... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Anti-Discrimination Policy
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: October 16, 2018a. Discriminatory harassment is verbal or physical conduct that shows hostility toward an individual based on or related to sex, race, national origin, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or other protected categories, classes, or characteristics and that creates an i... Read MoreInformation Technology Division: Misuse or Abuse of Computer Equipment, Programs, or Data
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: October 16, 2018Conduct for which disciplinary action may be taken–in relation to computer equipment, programs, or data–include, but are not limited to, the following: … Any violation of federal, state, or Texas Tech computer-use laws and policies or Code of Student Conduct. Read MoreStudent Handbook: Freedom of Expression Activities and Forum Areas
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: October 16, 2018The open exchange of information, opinions, and ideas between students is an essential element of the campus experience. These policies are intended to protect the interests of all students as well as other members of the University community. These policies presume that students are generally free to engage in free... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Membership in the TTU Community
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: October 16, 2018As members of the academic community, University students enjoy the privileges and share the obligations of the larger community of which the University is a part. … Freedom of discussion, inquiry and expression is protected and nurtured in the classroom as the safeguard of the freedom to learn. Read More
Texas Tech University: Speech Code Litigation
February 6, 2003
FIRE intervened at Texas Tech when students recognized its overbroad policies, which include a speech code that prohibited "insults," "ridicule," and "personal attacks," and restricted free speech to twenty foot-diameter gazebo referred to as a "Free Speech Zone." With FIRE’s coordination and support, along with the Liberty Legal Institute and the Alliance Defense Fund, the… Read more
Texas Tech Dean of Students Approves of Lack of Procedural Safeguards for Accused Students
April 28, 2015
Earlier this week, Texas Tech University student newspaper the Daily Toreador reported on elements of the student judicial process that have inspired mixed reactions from students and some worrying remarks from administrators. Many of the comments from the Texas Tech community reflect the worryingly common presumption that students accused of conduct code violations are guilty…. Read more
New (and, Fortunately, Failed) Disinvitation Attempts Span Political Spectrum
February 12, 2015
Last year, FIRE published a report detailing the growing trend of “disinvitations” of invited speakers on college campuses. This month, students at Texas Tech University and Saint Louis University (SLU) are proving that “disinvitation season” is taking place throughout the year, and that demands for revoked invitations for speakers are not limited to one side… Read more
Commencement Invitation Drama Continues; Free Speech Advocates Speak Out
May 9, 2014
This spring, FIRE has already brought you the news of women’s rights activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali being disinvited from speaking at Brandeis University, Condoleezza Rice canceling her commencement speech at Rutgers University after some students objected to her invitation, and Pasadena City College disinviting and then re-inviting Academy Award-winning writer Dustin Lance Black. It’s been a pretty active “disinvitation season” so far, and free speech advocates are speaking up about why this trend is so worrying.
Speech Code of the Month: Colorado Mesa University
April 7, 2014
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for April 2014: Colorado Mesa University. Colorado Mesa’s policy on “Free Speech” limits students’ expressive activities to just one “concrete patio” on the university’s 86-acre campus. While the university has the right to enact reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions, courts have held time and again that onerous restrictions like this one are not reasonable.
Hearing Today in ‘Free Speech Zone’ Lawsuit in Texas
January 12, 2010
The Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas) is reporting on today’s hearing in federal court regarding FIRE’s case at Tarrant County College (TCC). As Torch readers will remember, TCC violated the constitutional rights of student protesters who intended to participate in the national “Students for Concealed Carry on Campus” protest by wearing empty holsters—just like students around… Read more
FIRE’s Will Creeley Discusses Texas Tech’s Speech Code Rating on Local News Broadcast
December 16, 2009
Yesterday, FOX34 News in Lubbock, Texas, ran a segment on Texas Tech University’s "red-light" rating in FIRE’s Spotlight database. The university earned this rating because of language in its policy on e-mail and computer use that restricts freedom of expression by stating that The use of computers and the network is a privilege, not a… Read more
Universities’ Compliance with Speech Code Decisions Leaves Much to Be Desired
September 24, 2009
FIRE’s newest Justice Robert H. Jackson Legal Fellow is Erica Goldberg. Erica is a graduate of Tufts University, where she was editor-in-chief of Tufts’ weekly newspaper, and of Stanford Law School, where she was a member of the moot court board. She also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Ronald L. Gilman on… Read more
This Month in FIRE History: Lawsuit Challenges Speech Code and “Free Speech Gazebo” at Texas Tech
June 30, 2009
One of the most important lawsuits ever coordinated by FIRE’s Speech Code Litigation Project was filed six years ago this June against Texas Tech University. The lawsuit challenged the university’s policies, which were "overbroad, vague, involve[d] content-based and viewpoint discrimination, and unconstitutionally restrict[ed] student speech." Specifically, it challenged Texas Tech’s unconstitutional speech code and free… Read more
Questions Surround Proposed ‘Free Speech Zone’ at Northeastern Illinois University
December 19, 2008
Deanna Isaacs of the Chicago Reader reports troubling developments at Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU), a public university in Chicago. According to Isaacs, NEIU President Sharon K. Hahs has proposed instituting an unconstitutional free speech zone on the NEIU campus, with prior approval requirements that put an impermissible onus on students and faculty members seeking to… Read more
American Public Universities Take Cue from Singapore
June 28, 2007
When you think of a place where order takes precedence over liberty, where the government regulates every minute aspect of civil life, you may well think of Singapore. Over the years, Singapore has made the news for everything from caning an American teenager for vandalism to banning chewing gum to fining people for failing to… Read more
Emmett Hogan on 2006: The More Things Change…?
January 5, 2007
Emmett Hogan is a student at University of Michigan Law School and a luminary early FIRE employee. As we looked back on 2006 in campus rights and abuses I wanted to check in with him for his thoughts on the past year in FIRE history. This was his thoughtful response: One of FIRE’s most gripping… Read more
The Trouble with Free Speech Zones
June 24, 2005
The Daytona Beach News-Journal article that Charles discusses below highlights the controversy over many public universities’ “free speech zone” policies—policies that limit free speech to specific, and often tiny, areas of campus. FIRE President David French is quoted as saying that free speech zone policies are “very common”—“[i]t’s gotten to the point where if I’m… Read more
Bigger in Texas?
February 22, 2005
Responding to our recent post about the University of North Texas, a reader from Texas wrote: Well, I appreciate your understanding of the scale of things here in Texas. I noticed that, in your discussion of the fun at North Texas, you made reference to “nearby Texas Tech.” We are about 300 miles from North… Read more
Calls for Censorship in Texas
February 21, 2005
The Denton, Texas, Record-Chronicle carried a story on Saturday (registration required) about an uproar over a free-expression issue at the University of North Texas. Apparently, the university chapter of the Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) at UNT held a “Capture an Illegal Immigrant” event to draw attention to what they see as the problem of… Read more
This Month in FIRE History: FIRE Declares Free Speech Should Not Be Quarantined to Tiny ‘Free Speech Zones’
February 17, 2005
Three years ago this month, back when FIRE was in its toddlerhood, we won our very first victory in the battle against so-called Free Speech Zones. These “speech zone” policies restrict free speech and expression to tiny corners of campus and have been identified (and often defeated, thankfully) at dozens of campuses across the country…. Read more
Texas Tech’s ‘Free-Speech Zones’ Are Unconstitutional, Judge Rules
October 15, 2004
A federal judge has struck down “free-speech zones” at Texas Tech University, ruling unconstitutional a requirement that students who wish to give speeches must stay within a designated area. The case was brought by Jason Roberts, a law student who had sought to speak publicly about his view that “homosexuality is a sinful, immoral, and… Read more
Victory for Free Speech at Texas Tech
October 5, 2004
LUBBOCK, Texas, October 5, 2004—In the third victory in the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s (FIRE’s) ongoing legal campaign for free speech on America’s public campuses, a federal judge struck down Texas Tech University’s speech code. The judge also ordered large areas of the university to be opened to free expression and prohibited the… Read more
Practical Advice for Fraternities Caught in the Battle for Free Speech on Campus
September 16, 2004
I. Introduction While there is no shortage of free speech battles on college campuses, fraternities have the dubious honor of being at the center of many of the least sympathetic controversies. From Halloween parties where brothers show up dressed as Ku Klux Klan members to fraternity newsletters that graphically relate a brother’s sexual exploits with… Read more
Texas Tech Loosens Speech Restrictions, But Some Repressive Policies Remain
December 9, 2003
LUBBOCK, TX—In response to the pressure of a free-speech lawsuit and student demands for constitutional rights, Texas Tech University is backing away from at least some of its severe restrictions upon free expression. In July, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) coordinated a lawsuit to force Texas Tech—a public university with 28,000 students—to… Read more
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