School Spotlight
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Location:
Birmingham, Alabama
Type:
Public
Speech Code Rating
University of Alabama at Birmingham has been given the speech code rating Yellow. Yellow light colleges and universities are those institutions with at least one ambiguous policy that too easily encourages administrative abuse and arbitrary application.
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This school has adopted the chicago statement for free speech.
Residence Life Handbook: The UAB Inclusive Campus Commitment
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies Restricting Freedom of Conscience
Last updated: September 29, 2020I will strive to build an inclusive community at UAB. I believe that every student, faculty member, and staff member has the right to be treated with dignity, respect, and self-worth. I will work to ensure that my behavior and my actions do not harass or make fun of anyone due to their race, gender, culture, faith, ... Read MoreEqual Opportunity and Discriminatory Harassment Policy
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 29, 2020Discriminatory Harassment of a Non-Sexual Nature The same principles related to sexual harassment also apply to harassment on the basis of any characteristic that is protected by law. Thus, UAB’s policy prohibits discriminatory harassment of a non-sexual nature, which includes verbal, physical, or graphic conduct t... Read MoreResidence Life Handbook: Respect for Persons
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
Last updated: September 29, 20202. The Office of Student Housing and Residence Life respects and celebrates the diversity of its residents. Acts of intolerance and /or harassment due to race, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, religion, disability, or sexual orientation are neither appropriate nor tolerated. 3. Residents will refrain from ... Read MoreResidence Life Handbook: Harassment
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 29, 2020Harassment is defined as an attempt made to threaten another person(s) physically, emotionally or mentally by using verbal language, or electronic communication, including, but not limited to, text messaging and social networking sites. Read MoreStudent Conduct Code: Harassment/Endangerment
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Bullying Policies, Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 29, 2020Engaging in unwelcome conduct directed towards an individual through any action, method, device, or means (e.g., physical, verbal, graphic, written, electronic) which is so severe and/or pervasive, and objectively offensive that it interferes with or denies an individual access to an educational opportunity or benef... Read MoreEqual Opportunity and Discriminatory Harassment Policy: Sexual Harassment
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 29, 2020Sexual Harassment is any unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favors, or other unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, whether verbal, non-verbal, graphic, physical, or otherwise, when the conditions outlined in (a) and/or (b), below, are present. Gender-Based Harassment includes harassment based on gender, sex... Read MoreTitle IX Student Violence and Sexual Misconduct Policy
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 29, 2020Sexual harassment prohibited by this Policy is defined as conduct based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, which may include acts of aggression, intimidation, or hostility, whether verbal or non-verbal, graphic, physical, or otherwise, even if the acts do not involve conduct of a se... Read MoreAcceptable Use of Computer and Network Resources
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: September 29, 2020Users shall take full responsibility for data that they store in University computers, portable devices and transmit through network facilities. No one shall use University computers or network facilities to store or transmit data in ways that are prohibited by law or University policy, standards, and rules. Users... Read MoreFreedom of Expression and Use of UAB Facilities Policy
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: September 29, 2020Outdoor Areas of campus are available for non-amplified spontaneous express activity by students, administrators, faculty, and staff at any time without the need for reservations or prior approval, unless the space is already reserved. Students, staff, and faculty shall be permitted to assemble and engage in spontan... Read More
FIRE surveyed roughly 37,000 students at 154 colleges and universities about the climate for free speech at their institutions. In 2021, FIRE released rankings of those schools, based on a number of factors, including openness, tolerance, self-expression, administrative support for free speech, and campus policies, scoring overall speech climate on a scale from 0-100. See the full report on FIRE’s 2021 College Free Speech Rankings for more information.
Rankings / out of 154 colleges surveyed |
|
| Overall Ranking | 118 |
| Ideological Diversity | 48 |
Overall / out of a top score of 100 |
|
| Overall Score | 57.73 |
| Openness | 9.44 |
| Tolerance (Liberals) | 8.89 |
| Tolerance (Conservatives) | 7.01 |
| Administrative Support | 5.99 |
| Comfort | 16.22 |
| Disruptive Conduct | 10.18 |
| Speech Code | YELLOW |
University of Alabama at Birmingham: Administration ‘Reviewing’ Professor’s Tweet After Rush Limbaugh’s Death
February 19, 2021
Following talk radio host Rush Limbaugh’s death from complications of lung cancer on February 17, 2021, Sarah Parcak, a University of Alabama at Birmingham professor, tweeted from her personal account: “When a terrible piece of scum who caused immeasurable harm to millions dies, there is no sympathy. Only a desire that they suffered [sic] until… Read more
FIRE warns UAB not to punish professor over tweet about Rush Limbaugh’s death
February 23, 2021
The death last Wednesday of Rush Limbaugh, the hugely influential and provocative talk radio host, predictably elicited a variety of public reactions, from mournful tributes to blunt ridicule. Sarah Parcak, a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, was among those on social media who reacted to Limbaugh’s passing with contempt. Now, UAB is… Read more