School Spotlight
University of California, San Diego
Location:
San Diego, California
Type:
Public
Speech Code Rating
University of California, San Diego 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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Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination: FAQ
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: April 15, 2020The following examples of harassment would likely violate UC policy if found to be sufficiently “severe” and/or “pervasive”: Name calling, teasing or making other derogatory or dehumanizing remarks based on a person’s race (or other protected category). Physical assaults targeting individuals of a particular religi... Read MoreThe UCSD Principles of Community
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies Restricting Freedom of Conscience
Last updated: April 15, 2020UC San Diego faculty, staff, and students are expected to practice these basic principles as individuals and in groups. … We affirm each individual’s right to dignity and strive to maintain a climate of justice marked by mutual respect for each other. We value the cultural diversity of UC San Diego beca... Read MoreOffice for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination: FAQ
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: April 15, 2020Bias incidents are acts of conduct, speech or expression that target individuals and groups based on certain characteristics such as race, religion, national origin, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability and sexual orientation. Examples of bias incidents include: A public speaker who makes homophobic ... Read MoreETS Acceptable Use Policies
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: April 15, 2020Examples of misuse include, but are not limited to, the activities in the following list. … Engaging in activities which result in an excessive and avoidable level of complaints to University officials. For example, publishing controversial material without identifying the individual or organization responsibl... Read MorePolicy & Procedure Manual: Section IX – Policy on Speech, Advocacy and Distribution of Literature on University Grounds
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: April 16, 2020(1) The policy defines prohibited “fighting words” as: “those personally abusive epithets which, when directly addressed to any ordinary person are, in the context used and as a matter of common knowledge, inherently likely to provoke a violent reaction whether or not they actually do so.” (2... Read MoreFreedom of Speech and Expression 101
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: April 15, 2020The First Amendment is applicable not just to Congress and the federal government, but to state and local public officials and entities as well, including UC San Diego. Protection of speech by the First Amendment is intended to encourage the free flow of ideas and to protect individuals whose speech may be considere... Read MorePolicy & Procedure Manual: Section IX – Policy on Speech, Advocacy and Distribution of Literature on University Grounds
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: April 16, 2020Expressive activity on all university grounds is protected provided that it does not: 1. Unreasonably disrupt or interfere with university business; 2. Violate the legal rights of other persons, endanger their safety, or unreasonably disrupt, interfere, or obstruct viewing or hearing an expressive activity of anothe... Read MoreUniversity of California Policy on Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: April 15, 2020Sexual Harassment is unwelcome sexual advances, unwelcome requests for sexual favors, and other unwelcome verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature when: … such conduct is sufficiently severe, persistent or pervasive that it unreasonably denies, adversely limits, or interferes with a person’s partici... Read MoreStudent Conduct Code
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: April 15, 2020J. Conduct (e.g. harassment) that is so severe and/or pervasive, and objectively offensive, and that so substantially impairs a person’s access to University programs or activities that the person is effectively denied equal access to the University’s resources and opportunities. … Y. Physical, verbal, written... Read More
Policies are rated on their inclusion of 10 due process safeguards. Each policy may receive 2 points for fully including that safeguard, 1 point for partial inclusion, and 0 points for no meaningful inclusion. Most, but not all, institutions have separate policies for sexual misconduct and all other misconduct. See FIRE’s Spotlight on Due Process report for more information.
Grades
University of California at San Diego: Unconstitutional Defunding of Student Media
December 18, 2015
On November 18, 2015, in response to a controversial article by satirical student newspaper The Koala, administrators at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) publically condemned the paper’s “offensive and hurtful” language.
University of California at San Diego: First Amendment Violations at UCSD
February 22, 2010
In a victory for freedom of the press on campus, the student government of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) voted last night to end an ongoing moratorium on funding for student media. The vote restores funding for student media organizations and makes no changes to the current policy governing student media. FIRE has… Read more
University of California at San Diego: Censorship of Student Satire Magazine
June 21, 2002
The University of California at San Diego (UCSD) announced that it had dropped its charge of "disruption" against a student humor publication, The Koala. The Koala faced charges after publishing satirical photos of a student member of a campus Chicano organization. FIRE wrote UCSD to remind it of a 1995 case when another UCSD student… Read more
Introducing the FIRE Model Policy for Allocating Student Fees
August 2, 2019
In 2015, the University of California-San Diego attempted to silence a satirical student newspaper, The Koala, by defunding all UCSD student media organizations. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently held that such a pretextual attempt to censor The Koala is unconstitutional. FIRE told UCSD as much back in 2015 and filed… Read more
In landmark victory for student press rights, Ninth Circuit rebukes UCSD’s censorship of satirical student newspaper
July 24, 2019
In a major victory for student press rights, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today reversed a lower court’s dismissal of a First Amendment lawsuit brought by The Koala, a satirical student newspaper at the University of California, San Diego. After The Koala published a 2015 article satirizing “safe spaces,” the… Read more
When U.S. universities clash with China’s ‘sensitive content’
September 13, 2018
In the midst of increased attention on the Chinese government’s involvement in higher education outside its borders, fueled by controversies in Australia and calls for campus disinvitations of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in the United States, a new report addresses how U.S. universities have handled demands that they censor content deemed “sensitive” by… Read more
FIRE files amici brief in Koala’s appeal of UCSD funding cut
August 3, 2017
Today, FIRE and the Cato Institute filed an amici curiae brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, requesting that the federal appellate court review and reverse a district court’s dismissal of Koala v. Khosla, in which the long-running humor publication The Koala sought to reverse a funding cut by the… Read more
In flawed opinion, district court dismisses The Koala’s lawsuit
March 3, 2017
A federal judge dismissed a student humor publication’s lawsuit against the University of California, San Diego on Wednesday in an opinion that is remarkable primarily for how consistently it misinterprets law and precedent. If you have followed FIRE’s work, you are already familiar with The Koala (tagline: “The Worst in Collegiate Journalism Since 1982!”), a… Read more
Dalai Lama faces opposition at UC San Diego
February 23, 2017
By now you may have heard about the objections to the University of California, San Diego’s decision to invite the Dalai Lama as a commencement speaker. The Dalai Lama, a Tibetan spiritual leader, has long been opposed by the Chinese government for his advocacy of self-rule in Tibet, which China views as an attack on… Read more
Due Process Legal Update: The Kangaroo Lives On
November 30, 2016
In my most recent due process legal update, I mentioned that a California appellate court held oral arguments in the case of a University of California, San Diego student who alleged he was denied a fair hearing in a sexual misconduct case at UCSD. Last July, a California judge ruled that UCSD had denied the… Read more
Court Denies Preliminary Injunction for Defunded Satirical Newspaper at UC San Diego
November 14, 2016
Earlier this month, a federal district court in California denied a preliminary injunction request and dismissed the First Amendment claims of a satirical student newspaper at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) that was stripped of funding last year after publishing a controversial article. The newspaper, The Koala, is represented by the ACLU of… Read more
Student Wins Preliminary Victory in UCSD Scantron Cheating Case
October 7, 2016
In August, we told you about an unusual and important due process case involving former University of California, San Diego (UCSD) student Jonathan Dorfman, who was expelled after being accused of copying another student’s Scantron sheet during a 2011 chemistry exam. Dorfman sued the school in 2012, alleging that administrators committed critical due process violations… Read more
‘Stacking the Deck’ Against Due Process at UCSD
August 24, 2016
Among the more unusual and important due process cases FIRE is following this summer is one that began with an allegation that a University of California, San Diego (UCSD) student cheated on a chemistry exam in 2011. Why does this case stand out? Because what it suggests generally about UCSD’s views on due process could… Read more
As ‘The Koala’ Files Lawsuit Against University of California, San Diego, Public Records Reveal Administration’s Censorship
June 1, 2016
Last November, a student-run satirical newspaper at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), The Koala, was one of thirteen student publications whose funding was cut by the UCSD student government—just days after The Koala published an article satirizing “safe spaces.” At the time, Dominick Suvonnasupa, president of the UCSD student government, claimed that “the… Read more
FIRE Announces 10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech: 2016
February 17, 2016
PHILADELPHIA, February 17, 2016—Nearly half of America’s top colleges maintain speech codes that blatantly violate First Amendment standards. But every year the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) takes a closer look at the past year’s incidents of college censorship to determine the nation’s 10 worst abusers of student and faculty free speech rights…. Read more
Student Newspaper’s First Amendment Lawsuit Against University of Kansas Administrators Is Important Reminder about Need to Check Student Government Power
February 10, 2016
On February 5, the University Daily Kansan filed a lawsuit against two administrators of the University of Kansas (KU), alleging that the administrators failed to intervene when the student government slashed funding to the Kansan over an editorial criticizing the results of a student government election. The Kansan story begins in April 2014, when a… Read more
FIRE to UC San Diego: Reverse Unconstitutional Defunding of Student Media
December 18, 2015
This week, FIRE sent a letter to the Chancellor of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and its student government president, urging the reversal of a recent student council vote to yank funding from all student print media outlets. The vote came the same day UCSD administrators condemned the humor publication The Koala in… Read more
California Court: UCSD Sexual Assault Proceedings Violated Student’s Due Process Rights
July 14, 2015
A California court has ruled that the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) acted improperly by using a deeply flawed system to adjudicate a sexual assault allegation and sanctioning the accused based on a process that violated his rights. On July 10, 2015, Judge Joel M. Pressman of the Superior Court of California, County of… Read more
Universities Must Not Intrude Upon Freedom of Conscience in ‘Values’ Statements
January 16, 2014
This winter, FIRE is running a series of blog posts about what makes a “green light” policy. So far, we have examined how universities can craft policies on harassment, civility, and computer usage that achieve their aims while still respecting students’ right to freedom of speech. Today we are going to talk about policies that infringe on students’ right to… Read more
Liberty Requires Tough Choices: The Student Funding Dilemma
July 31, 2013
Kanisha Parthasarathy is a FIRE summer intern. Allocating money to student groups is a tricky game. For many colleges, the amount of money given to groups is not increasing at the same rate as the number of student groups vying for recognition and funding. Funding boards usually solve this problem by creating guidelines to determine how… Read more
Will Creeley on Hate Speech Rules in UC-San Diego Student Newspaper
October 2, 2012
FIRE’s Will Creeley has been interviewed for an article in the University of California, San Diego student newspaper, The Guardian. The article addresses the recent call for the University of California (UC) system to prohibit so-called “hate speech,” an effort that FIRE opposed as clearly unconstitutional. Thankfully, the story has a happy ending: UC President… Read more
What’s in a Name? At UC San Diego, Threats to Academic Freedom
July 19, 2011
Heather Mac Donald’s article in City Journal last week alerted us to the University of California at San Diego’s (UCSD’s) plan to reorganize its diversity-initiatives administrative structure by refashioning the office of Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) as the office of Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. UCSD’s May 4, 2011, announcement states: Following campus and community consultation,… Read more
Faculty Committee Issues Stinging Report on Academic Freedom Violations at UC San Diego
June 9, 2011
"Shocking and appalling" is how UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh summed up an incident described in a report from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) faculty’s Committee on Academic Freedom (CAF). It’s hard to disagree with him. The report in question, delivered at a May 24 meeting of UCSD’s faculty assembly, lashes the UCSD… Read more
Staff Editorial in UCSD ‘Guardian’ Gets It Right on Proposed Hate Speech Bill
April 2, 2010
As Adam blogged earlier, campus publications at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have been admirably defending students’ First Amendment rights at UCSD and elsewhere. In the wake of a campus crisis at UCSD over free speech rights and a student government-imposed freeze on funding for student media, it is good to see student journalists… Read more
UCSD Campus Publications Guard the First Amendment with Vigilance
April 2, 2010
Brenda Madriz Montes, Editor in Chief of the Left Coast Post at University of California, San Diego (UCSD), has written a good letter to the editor of student paper The Guardian this week about the amazingly brash and unconstitutional mass censorship of dozens of student media organizations by Associated Students of UCSD president Utsav Gupta—which apparently was condoned by UCSD… Read more
Five University of California Campuses Missed the Memo on New Discriminatory Harassment Policy
March 19, 2010
As the great UC San Diego free speech crisis unfolded, I noticed that UCSD had missed the memo from President Mark C. Yudof regarding the new Universitywide discriminatory harassment policy as of October 2009. (FIRE has a good idea about exactly why the policy was changed at that time, but that is a story not… Read more
Rights in the News: First Amendment Wins Out at UCSD
March 12, 2010
As we’ve written here a couple of times already, FIRE was pleased to announce yesterday that the students of the University of California, San Diego won’t have to linger another week under the media freeze imposed by its student government. A special thanks to the many who wrote to Chancellor Marye Anne Fox and student… Read more
Behind the Scenes at UCSD: ‘Guardian’ Shows the Lengths Student Government Went to Gain Control of Media
March 12, 2010
After three weeks of heated debate at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), FIRE announced yesterday that the Associated Students of UCSD (ASUCSD) has finally restored funding to the 33 student media organizations whose quarterly funding was frozen by ASUCSD President Utsav Gupta following the utterance of a racial slur on UCSD’s student-run television… Read more
Victory for Freedom of the Press: UC San Diego Ends Unconstitutional Funding Freeze
March 11, 2010
Last night, the student government of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) voted to end an ongoing moratorium on funding for student media. The vote restores funding for student media organizations and makes no changes to the current policy governing student media. FIRE has been working with student media to end the funding freeze…. Read more
Victory for Freedom of the Press: UC San Diego Ends Unconstitutional Funding Freeze
March 11, 2010
SAN DIEGO, March 11, 2010—In a victory for freedom of the press on campus, the student government of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) voted last night to end an ongoing moratorium on funding for student media. The vote restores funding for student media organizations and makes no changes to the current policy governing… Read more
In ‘Pajamas Media,’ FIRE’s Robert Shibley Criticizes Censorship of ‘Hate Speech’ at UCSD
March 11, 2010
Today in Pajamas Media, FIRE Vice President Robert Shibley addresses the questionable effects of efforts to silence “hate speech” at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), rather than let it be judged in the harsh light of the marketplace of ideas. Here’s his brief rundown of the controversy: The impetus for the turmoil is… Read more
In Battling Racism, UC San Diego Must Not Follow the University of Delaware’s Example
March 10, 2010
While much of the University of California, San Diego’s (UCSD’s) campus media remains under the deep freeze imposed by Associated Students of UCSD President Utsav Gupta nearly three weeks ago in the wake of racially-tinged incidents there, news is being made at UCSD on other fronts. A recent letter to the campus from UCSD Chancellor Marye Anne… Read more
Rights in the News: Greg’s New Book Project Announced as Battle For Free Speech Continues at UCSD
March 6, 2010
In a week when a college football coach praised the mass theft of a campus newspaper as a productive “team-building exercise,” and a blanket funding freeze of student fee-funded media continues at UC San Diego over the protests of just about everyone who’s not Associated Students of UCSD President Utsav Gupta, the announcement of FIRE President Greg Lukianoff’s new… Read more
Two California Student Newspapers Address UCSD Free Speech Issues: One Right, One Wrong
March 3, 2010
Two California college newspapers published editorials today regarding the Associated Students of University of California, San Diego (ASUCSD’s) blanket censorship of all 33 student media organizations at UCSD in the midst of an explosive controversy stemming from an off-campus "Compton Cookout" party held two weeks ago. One of the editorials does a masterful job of… Read more
UCSD Students to Protest First Amendment Violations Today
March 3, 2010
Today, students at UCSD will protest the ongoing and unconstitutional violation of their First Amendment rights. Led by CFN member and California Review editor Alec Weisman, students will gather at UCSD Chancellor Marye Anne Fox’s office at 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time. The protest is intended to be orderly, as described on its Facebook event page: We… Read more
San Diego Columnist: Investigating Protected Speech is an Expensive Mistake
March 1, 2010
Writing in San Diego’s North County Times, columnist Jim Trageser makes several important points regarding the controversy that continues to roil the University of California, San Diego, in the wake of the off-campus "Compton Cookout" party. First, Trageser notes that UCSD’s ongoing investigation of protected speech is likely meant to chill further student expression: [S]chool… Read more
Rights in the News: FIRE on Front Lines as Free Speech Saga Unfolds at UCSD
February 27, 2010
Readers of The Torch this week have been treated to a blow-by-blow account of the First Amendment meltdown taking place at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). In case you’re not up to speed on the happenings at UCSD, however, here’s a brief rundown: A Facebook invitation for an off-campus "Compton Cookout" party that… Read more
Why Doesn’t FIRE Condemn [Insert Your Least Favorite Expression Here]?
February 26, 2010
The University of California, San Diego (UCSD), seems to be in the process of melting down over racial issues. What started with a Facebook invitation to a "Compton Cookout" off-campus theme party has become an all-consuming campus imbroglio. The primary focus of the "investigation" into the party has been the invitation itself. Adam discussed it… Read more
San Diego’s American Civil Liberties Union Writes Three Letters Defending Free Speech at UCSD
February 26, 2010
On Tuesday, FIRE reported that the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and its student government have violated the First Amendment by freezing funds for 33 student media organizations, dissolving the student-run television station, and threatening to punish students involved in a controversy over a party invitation for an event called the "Compton Cookout." Student government… Read more
Noose Reported at UCSD Library; Not Protected Speech
February 26, 2010
The UC Regent Live blog has the best information so far on the breaking news overnight regarding at least one noose found hanging in UCSD’s Geisel Library around midnight Pacific Time. The blog reports two people saying that the main student newspaper, The Guardian, received a note saying that more nooses are coming. The blog includes… Read more
UCSD Missed the Memo on New UC Harassment Policy
February 25, 2010
In Monday’s issue of The Guardian, UCSD’s mainstream student newspaper, student journalist Angela Chen reported on the unconstitutional efforts of UCSD administrators to punish students who were involved with a highly controversial "Compton Cookout" party off campus earlier this month. The party was most controversial because of an invitation that asked women to dress and… Read more
UCSD Upholds Media Funding Ban on 33 Organizations
February 25, 2010
The Associated Students of UCSD (ASUCSD), which is the student government at University of California, San Diego, has become a First Amendment nightmare for 33 student organizations on campus. Late last week, ASUCSD’s president, Utsav Gupta, unilaterally froze funding to 33 student media organizations because one of them had permitted another publication, The Koala, to broadcast… Read more
Double Standards at UCSD
February 25, 2010
Anyone following the current free-speech controversy at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) should be aware of the university’s response to another situation that arose at UCSD back in 1995. In March of 1995, a U.S. Border Patrol agent named Luis Santiago was killed in the line of duty. In May of that same… Read more
Support FIRE’s Work at UCSD!
February 23, 2010
Staffers at FIRE are working around the clock to protect the 26,000 students at the University of California, San Diego, whose rights are currently under attack. If you haven’t yet done so, I urge you to read about how UCSD has unconstitutionally frozen funds for its student media groups, shut down its campus TV station,… Read more
Silverglate on ‘Corrupted Language’ in Campus Speech Codes, Federal Law
February 23, 2010
Some people occasionally ask FIRE why we are so adamant that unconstitutional speech codes are a bad idea. FIRE Co-founder and Chairman Harvey Silverglate has a great essay on this subject in today’s Minding the Campus, in which he discusses “How Corrupted Language Moved from Campus to the Real World.” Harvey links the disregard for… Read more
UC San Diego Freezes Funds to 33 Media Groups, Dissolves Student TV, Threatens to Punish Students for Protected Speech
February 23, 2010
The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and its student government have violated the First Amendment by freezing funds for 33 student media organizations, dissolving the student-run television station, and threatening to punish students involved in a controversy over a party invitation for an event called the "Compton Cookout." Student government president Utsav Gupta has… Read more
UC San Diego Freezes Funds for 33 Media Groups, Dissolves Student TV, Threatens to Punish Students for Protected Speech
February 23, 2010
SAN DIEGO, February 23, 2010—The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and its student government have violated the First Amendment by freezing funds for 33 student media organizations, dissolving the student-run television station, and threatening to punish students involved in a controversy over a party invitation for an event called the “Compton Cookout.” Student government… Read more
Two Years Later, New and Improved Speech Policy at UCSD Nears Implementation
October 16, 2009
After more than two years of intense negotiation and debate, the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) is on the verge of implementing a long-awaited revision of its speech policies. UCSD student newspaper The Guardian reported earlier this month that the proposed revisions are now open for public comment. Guardian reporter Xue Mao explains the… Read more
Proposed Speech Policy Reform at UCSD Finalized
June 12, 2009
Last week, University of California, San Diego (UCSD) student newspaper The Guardian reported that after several years of often contentious debate, a UCSD committee of faculty, students and administrators has finalized a proposal to reform UCSD’s current policies regarding speech on campus. FIRE has been in close contact with student leaders on the committee throughout… Read more
UCSD Students Organize Against Proposed Speech Restrictions; FIRE Writes Letter
June 22, 2007
Hot on the heels of last month’s student walk-out in protest of the University of California, San Diego’s (UCSD’s) decision not to rehire Teaching Assistants Scott Boehm and Benjamin Balthaser due to their public criticism of the university, UCSD administrators are now seeking to implement a clearly unconstitutional new speech zone policy. Both the timing… Read more
Students Walk Out at UCSD as Dismissal of TAs Raises Academic Freedom Concerns
May 30, 2007
Students at the University of California, San Diego’s (UCSD’s) Thurgood Marshall College will walk out of classes this afternoon in a coordinated protest of the school’s recent decision not to rehire two teaching assistants (TAs), ostensibly because of their public criticism of the school. The decision raises serious questions about free speech and academic freedom… Read more
Journalism Association Condemns Press Freedom Violations
August 16, 2006
Yesterday, the Student Press Law Center (SPLC) reported the August 4 decision by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) to censure a community college in New Jersey for violating freedom of the press. Ocean Community College (OCC) has already been censured by the College Media Advisers, Inc. (CMA), a national organization… Read more
FIRE’s letter to UCSD
May 22, 2002
May 22, 2002 Chancellor Robert C. Dynes University of California, San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0005 La Jolla, California 92093-0005 URGENT Re: Disciplinary Charges against The Koala. Dear Chancellor Dynes: As you can see from the list of our Directors and Board of Advisors, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) unites leaders… Read more
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