School Spotlight

University of Alaska Fairbanks
Speech Code Rating
Department of Equity and Compliance: Anti-harassment Statement
Speech Code Rating: Red
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: July 19, 2022Discriminatory harassment that violates regents’ policy and university regulation includes verbal or physical conduct that degrades, and/or shows hostility or aversion to an individual because of his or her race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, genetic information, marital status, changes in marita... Read MoreTitle IX – Sex & Gender Equity: Sexual harassment, sex discrimination and Title IX
Speech Code Rating: Red
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: July 19, 2022Sexual harassment includes, but is not limited to, unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, unwanted and repetitive messages of a sexual nature, unsolicited and unwelcome transmission of images of a lewd or sexual nature, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature where: … the conduct... Read MoreHousing Handbook: Civility & Involvement
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
Last updated: July 19, 2022You are responsible for respecting the rights of others in the residential community and acting with civility at all times. Social responsibility is the very foundation of everything we do and civility means demonstrating mutual respect for all individuals. This includes all interactions between residents, student s... Read MoreHousing Handbook: General Policies and Procedures- Doors and Room/Apartment Exterior
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Posting and Distribution Policies
Last updated: July 19, 2022Residents have the right to approach anyone who displays a decoration that they believe to be offensive or obscene in order to discuss their concerns and ask for its removal. For example, posters of nude individuals and harassing or intimidating visual materials are generally considered inappropriate. Check with res... Read MoreAcceptable Use of Online Resources
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: July 19, 2022[S]ome uses which are prohibited or restricted include the following: … Partisan political activity, e.g., sending email supporting a political party or group. Read MoreRegents’ Policy: Chapter 09.02 – Student Rights and Responsibilities – Student Code of Conduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: July 19, 2022Harassment is defined as behavior that is severe, pervasive or persistent to a degree that a reasonable person similarly situated would be prevented from fully accessing educational benefits, university services, or other opportunities. Harassment is also defined as behavior that limits the ability of third parties ... Read MoreRegents’ Policy: Chapter 01.04 – Sex and Gender-Based Discrimination Under Title IX
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: July 19, 2022For purposes of this chapter “Sexual harassment” is a form of sex or gender-based discrimination, and is defined as conduct on the basis of sex or gender that satisfies one or more of the following: … Unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that... Read MoreRegents’ Policy: Chapter 01.02 – General Provisions- Freedom of Speech
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: July 19, 2022A. An environment of free and honest inquiry is essential to the functioning and the mission of the university. The board and the university therefore acknowledge, affirm, and espouse the right of freedom of speech as guaranteed in the Constitutions of the United States and the State of Alaska. The essential purpose... Read More
University of Alaska Fairbanks: Complaint Over Student Newspaper’s Articles Results in Months-Long Harassment Investigation
February 11, 2014
University of Alaska Fairbanks student newspaper The Sun Star was subjected to sexual harassment investigations nearly a year after Professor Jensine Anahita filed complaints.
University of Alaska: Investigation of Protected Speech
January 30, 2001
In a memorandum to the faculty of all campuses of the University of Alaska, President Mark R. Hamilton came to the rescue of Professor Linda McCarriston, a poet and teacher of creative writing who was subjected to administrative interference and investigation because of the content of her work. FIRE brought the details and issues of… Read more
Due Process Legal Update: Settlements, Trials, and More
July 27, 2016
A little over five years ago, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued the “Dear Colleague” letter that ushered in a period of unprecedented federal intervention into colleges’ internal disciplinary systems. In just those five years, students around the country have filed more than 110 lawsuits alleging that they were denied a… Read more
FIRE Explains Student Journalists’ Rights (VIDEO)
December 1, 2015
[iframe src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/om76_l81vHc”] In light of recent high-profile threats to a free student press on college campuses nationwide—including threats to defund student publications for publishing controversial material and banishment of student reporters from public events—FIRE wants to ensure that student journalists know their rights. So today, we’re proud to launch a new video designed to do… Read more
VIDEO: University of Alaska Fairbanks Newspaper Investigated for Nearly a Year for Protected Speech
September 19, 2014
Last December, I wrote here on The Torch about a University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) professor’s repeated sexual harassment complaints against independent student newspaper The Sun Star. Two articles prompted the complaints: one satirical April Fool’s Day article about “a new building in the shape of a vagina” and one investigative piece on the “UAF… Read more
A Year Later, Impact of Feds’ ‘Blueprint’ Comes into Focus
August 28, 2014
Last summer, FIRE sounded the alarm about a shockingly broad definition of sexual harassment being pushed by the Departments of Education (ED) and Justice (DOJ) as a “blueprint for colleges and universities throughout the country.” Announced at the conclusion of a year-long investigation into the University of Montana’s sexual assault policies and practices, the resolution agreement and findings letter the feds labeled a “blueprint” defined sexual harassment as “any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature,” including “verbal conduct” (i.e., speech). And this all-encompassing definition wasn’t just a general characterization of sexual harassment; rather, it was the exact policy language that ED and DOJ were requiring the University of Montana to adopt verbatim.
Boring Campuses: Not Just the Fault of Helicopter Parents
April 16, 2014
In a new article, Slate’s Rebecca Schuman laments the phenomenon of colleges and universities becoming toned-down, less playful, even boring. Schuman argues that this is in part due to parents over-planning their kids’ lives, leaving them incapable of finding creative ways to have fun when they’re older and on their own: A recent trip back… Read more
Revisions Promised After Oberlin Faculty Object to ‘Trigger Warning’ Policy
April 11, 2014
Last month, ‘The New Republic’ published an article by Jenny Jarvie on the growing trend of “trigger warnings,” disclaimers to audiences that the material they are about to view or read might “trigger” the remembrance of past traumas like sexual assault or other violence. The warnings have proliferated on websites—particularly Tumblr posts, blogs, and message boards—in recent years, but now they’re being adopted in other contexts, like syllabi for college courses.
Vindicating Freedom of the Press from Alaska to Wisconsin
February 25, 2014
As we celebrate Free Press Week here at FIRE, I find myself thinking back on cases in which FIRE has intervened on behalf of student journalists and protected the freedom of the press that the First Amendment guarantees. I don’t have to look very far back, either. As our work over the past year (including as recently as this month) demonstrates, FIRE is committed to defending student newspapers and media outlets against censorship and ensuring that free press rights can be properly exercised on college and university campuses.
Victory: Free Press Vindicated at University of Alaska Fairbanks
February 11, 2014
In a victory for freedom of the press, the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) has cleared The Sun Star student newspaper of any wrongdoing following a prolonged investigation of the newspaper’s content prompted by repeated and meritless complaints from a UAF professor. UAF officials announced the end of the investigation in a letter to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), which intervened after the situation had dragged on for more than eight months.
At U. of Alaska Fairbanks, Months-Long Investigations of Student Newspaper Chill Speech
December 12, 2013
University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) independent student newspaper The Sun Star is being subjected to an investigation—again—after a faculty member who complained about the paper’s content appealed two separate findings clearing the newspaper of sexual harassment charges based on its content. Although the university has not formally disciplined the newspaper staff, the months-long and burdensome investigations of clearly… Read more
After Removal from Grant Follows Public Criticism of Oil Industry, University of Alaska Professor’s Retaliation Claim Dismissed
October 21, 2009
The University of Alaska has dismissed a retaliation claim brought by Professor Richard Steiner, an outspoken critic of the oil industry. Professor Steiner’s claim concerned his removal from a $10,000 research grant administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 2008, following a press conference held by Steiner in which he criticized NOAA… Read more
Freezing Free Speech at University of Alaska Fairbanks
March 27, 2007
When professors and administrators in the accounting department of University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) began debating the renewal of their program’s accreditation, tenured associate professor Charlie Sparks weighed in, advocating for faculty self-governance and changes in the division’s structure. Sparks now claims that expressing his views on campus won him a one-way trip to… Read more
Professor Under Review for Saying 9/11 Might Be an ‘Inside Job’
July 6, 2006
The provost of the University of Wisconsin at Madison announced last week that the university would conduct a “review” of an instructor who has publicly stated that he believes the 9/11 attacks were an “inside job.” The instructor, Kevin Barrett, was a guest on a radio show last week where he defended his controversial views…. Read more
Grover Furr Ignores Facts, Again
September 9, 2005
In the comments section below my and Azhar Majeed’s Inside Higher Ed article, the infamous Grover Furr makes some outrageous accusations against my and FIRE’s writings. He claims we do not “substantiate” our claims, that our articles are “dishonest” and that our articles “do not merit publication.” Here is my response: Professor Furr, In claiming… Read more
The intimidating atmosphere for free speech on campus
February 19, 2004
The University of Colorado at Boulder decided to teach us all a lesson about free speech last week, but it may not be the lesson it intended. Administrators there had originally told the College Republicans and the Equal Opportunity Alliance that they could not hold an “affirmative action bake sale” on campus. In case you… Read more
Linda McCarriston’s Letter to FIRE
April 9, 2001
April 9, 2001 Dear Professor Kors: It has not been long since Thor Halvorssen of FIRE phoned my university office and found me alone and very frightened in a cinderblock building at the darkest time of the Alaska winter. Perhaps you can imagine my near disbelief that a voice so named, and with so much… Read more
The Scene: Free Speech at the University of Alaska
March 29, 2001
Best of the Web Today: Intestinally Challenged
March 28, 2001
University of Alaska President Proclaims Full Rights of Free Speech
March 27, 2001
ANCHORAGE, AK—In a memorandum to the faculty of all campuses of the University of Alaska, President Mark R. Hamilton came to the rescue of Professor Linda McCarriston, a poet and teacher of creative writing subjected to administrative interference and investigation because of the content of her work. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE)… Read more