School Spotlight
University of California, Santa Barbara
Location:
Santa Barbara, California
Type:
Public
Speech Code Rating
University of California, Santa Barbara 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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UCSB Residence Hall Policies: Harassment
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: April 16, 2020Verbal and nonverbal harassment made directly or indirectly (via email, social networking sites, written messages, etc.) is not tolerated. This includes threats, malicious pranks, abusive name-calling, prank phone calls, and racial, gender, or sexual orientation harassment. Read MoreUCSB Residence Hall Policies: Posting and Distribution
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Posting and Distribution Policies
Last updated: April 16, 2020All postings must be approved by the Resident Director or Assistant Resident Director of the building. Posting materials on room/ suite, hallway, or floor lounge windows is prohibited. Any signs or objects deemed offensive may require removal. Read MoreUCSB Housing: Bias Repsonse
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: April 16, 2020Residential & Community Living values diversity and inclusivity and will work to promptly address acts of bias and harassment directed at any individual or group in our residential communities; such acts are unacceptable in our residential community. These acts are considered violations of the Residential & ... Read MoreU-Mail Acceptable Use Policy
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: April 16, 2020USER shall not use THE SERVICE to commit any nuisance, annoy, molest, defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten or otherwise violate the legal rights (such as rights of privacy and publicity) of others. Read MoreUCSB Student Conduct Code: Harassment
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: April 16, 2020Harassment, defined as conduct 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. Read MoreCampus Regulations: Speech and Advocacy
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: April 16, 2020On University grounds generally open to the public, all persons may exercise the constitutionally protected rights of free expression, speech, assembly, worship and distribution of literature incidental to the exercise of these freedoms; however, these activities must not interfere with the orderly operation of the ... Read MoreUniversity of California Policy on Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence
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 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, Santa Barbara: Viewpoint Discrimination in Student Activity Funding
May 6, 2011
UCSB’s student government, the Associated Students, repeatedly engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination against the College Republicans by denying funding for a speech by conservative author David Horowitz due to Horowitz’s expression and viewpoints. After the Associated Students Finance Board (ASFB) voted that the group should receive no funding, the group appealed to the Associated Students… Read more
University of California, Santa Barbara: Professor Investigated for Sending E-Mail to Class
June 10, 2009
UCSB subjected Professor William Robinson to a months-long investigation after he sent the students in his Sociology of Globalization class an e-mail comparing the Nazi treatment of Jews with Israel’s actions towards Palestinians. Although students were not required to read, discuss, or agree with the content of Robinson’s e-mail, two students filed formal complaints. The… Read more
University of California, Santa Barbara: Attempt to Stop Website from Using Letters “UCSB”
January 31, 2005
The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) has abandoned an attempt to force the owner of a website called The Dark Side of UCSB from using the letters “UCSB” in his web address. FIRE protested UCSB’s unconstitutional threats, and on the very same day that UCSB received FIRE’s letter, the university notified Mr. Baron that… Read more
University of California, Santa Barbara: Censorship of Student Thesis
May 3, 2000
At the University of California, Santa Barbara, grad student Christopher Brown was denied a Master’s degree for over one year for using language deemed offensive in the preface of his thesis. Brown submitted the thesis, along with his “Disacknowledgments.” Told he would not receive a degree unless he removed the language, Brown took out what… Read more
ProctorU threatens UC Santa Barbara faculty over criticism during coronavirus crisis
March 26, 2020
As universities and colleges across the country rushed to evacuate campuses as COVID-19 ominously loomed, they relied heavily upon online tools to bridge the new distance between faculty and students. At the University of California Santa Barbara, faculty members’ skepticism about the use of one such tool, ProctorU, was answered with a bombastic letter from… Read more
Appellate court: UCSB denied accused student ‘even a semblance of due process’
October 12, 2018
On Tuesday, a panel of California appellate judges issued a scathing opinion ruling that the University of California, Santa Barbara denied a fair hearing to a student accused of sexual misconduct. The court wasted no time explaining what the university had done wrong: John [Doe, the accused student] was denied access to critical evidence; denied… 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
Student Government at UC Santa Barbara Votes to Support Free Speech on Campus
March 4, 2016
On March 2, 2016, the Associated Students Senate of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) voted in favor of a resolution asking administrators to protect free speech at the university, as reported by The College Fix. The vote and resolution are the student government’s response to concerns over UCSB’s Bias Response Team and national… Read more
Speech Code of the Month: University of California, Santa Barbara
September 15, 2015
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for September 2015: the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). This summer, incoming UCSB students received a letter from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, which is also posted on the university’s website under the heading “A Letter to Students: What it Means to… Read more
Former Regent Warns of UC’s ‘Disregard for Constitutional Rights’
September 17, 2014
Today is Constitution Day, and there is no better way to celebrate than by making sure you and your friends (and your enemies!) know your constitutional rights. Earlier this month, Velma Montoya, a former member of the University of California (UC) Board of Regents and former chairwoman of the California Advisory Committee to the U.S…. Read more
UCSB Professor Pleads No Contest After Altercation with Protester
July 28, 2014
University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) Professor Mireille Miller-Young has pled no contest to misdemeanor charges of vandalism, theft, and battery with respect to an incident in March during which she stole an on-campus anti-abortion protester’s sign and fought back physically when the protester tried to retrieve it.
ReasonTV Explores College Classroom ‘Trigger Warnings’ in New Video
May 8, 2014
FIRE President Greg Lukianoff makes an appearance in a new ReasonTV video that discusses proposals at Oberlin College and the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) to require “trigger warnings” on course syllabi.
Free Speech Advocates Unsatisfied with UC Santa Barbara Vice Chancellor’s Mixed Messages
March 28, 2014
On March 4, University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) Professor Mireille Miller-Young took a sign from an anti-abortion protester on campus, claiming she was “triggered” by the graphic images on display as a pregnant woman, and got into a physical altercation with the student in the process. UCSB Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Michael D. Young asserted a commitment to freedom of expression in an email to students on March 19. But despite the fact that UCSB is a public institution bound by the First Amendment, the institution has not signaled that it is taking action against Miller-Young for her censorship of constitutionally protected speech.
University of Chicago Professor in ‘Tribune’: Whither Free Speech?
March 25, 2014
An op-ed in the Chicago Tribune today by University of Chicago Professor Charles Lipson makes a great case for the importance of freedom of speech and open discourse on university campuses.
When Campus Intolerance Means Free Speech Gets Torn Up and Run Over, Literally
March 21, 2014
Being offended is what happens when you have your deepest beliefs challenged. And if you make it through four years of college without having your deepest beliefs challenged, you should demand your money back. I have been saying that line in speeches on campus for more than a decade. Even though it often gets a laugh, the idea that students have an overarching “right not to be offended” seems more entrenched on campus than ever.
Reform Wesleyan’s Speech Code to Maintain Caliber of Academic Discourse
July 30, 2013
Shafaq Hasan is a FIRE summer intern. Earlier this year, FIRE identified Wesleyan University as its February 2013 Speech Code of the Month. Listed under responsibilities shared between each member of the university, Wesleyan maintains a problematic policy that prohibits “actions that may be harmful to the health or emotional stability of the individual or that… Read more
UCSB Associated Student Senate Grapples with Tough First Amendment Issue
March 8, 2013
Things are starting to get back on track in the Associated Student Senate at the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB). As we have described here and here, last month, the Senate passed a resolution calling on its staff and the university administration to pressure Facebook to shut down two gossip pages: "UCSB Hook-Ups" and "UCSB… Read more
UCSB Student Government Passes Resolution Calling for Censorship
February 22, 2013
An interesting controversy is brewing at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) this month. According to student newspaper The Bottom Line, two Facebook pages that publicize social interactions at UCSB—”UCSB Hook-Ups” and “UCSB Confessions”—have rubbed members of the Associated Students Senate the wrong way. The two Facebook pages have attracted upwards of 5,000 followers,… Read more
University of California Schools Flout Student Speech Rights
November 29, 2011
While some University of California schools are facing scrutiny due to their handling of students’ exercises of free speech and civil disobedience, others in the system have unfinished business protecting students’ free speech rights in their policies. All eight of the UC universities reviewed by FIRE have “red light” or “yellow light” ratings for restricting campus… Read more
UCSB’s ‘Daily Nexus’ Struggles to Accept the Truth after Viewpoint Discrimination against David Horowitz Event
October 28, 2011
Yesterday I described in detail how University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) has been struggling to deny the obvious: Student government officials completely denied funding for $2,000 for a David Horowitz event sponsored by the College Republicans (CRs) earlier this year because of opposition to his views and expression, while a second group of student… Read more
‘San Francisco Chronicle’ Reprints UCSB’s Lies about Viewpoint Discrimination against David Horowitz Event
October 26, 2011
Reasonable people disagree about a wide variety of things. But sometimes, people just lie or misrepresent the truth. Sadly, a lot of this is happening over at University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), and the lies are making it into the press. The documentation is quite clear on the following points: 1. Student government officials… Read more
Victory at UC Santa Barbara: University Nixes Student Government’s Unconstitutional Rejection of David Horowitz Speech
October 10, 2011
LOS ANGELES, October 10, 2011—Officials at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) have stepped in after its student government unconstitutionally denied funding for a speech by conservative activist David Horowitz. The student government had engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination on two separate occasions and then tried to hide the evidence of its wrongdoing. The… Read more
FIRE to UC Santa Barbara: Stop Student Government’s Viewpoint Discrimination
June 8, 2011
Yesterday FIRE sent a second letter to University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) Chancellor Henry T. Yang to help him understand the grave danger to First Amendment rights posed by the UCSB student government’s explicit viewpoint discrimination against the UCSB College Republicans and conservative writer and activist David Horowitz. As the minutes of last month’s Associated Students… Read more
Students Peacefully Engage Horowitz at UCSB, but Student Government Injustices Remain Uncorrected
May 31, 2011
As David Horowitz quipped Thursday evening, when finally making his scheduled appearance at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), "This is a university campus, I’m 72 years old, and I’m some big threat?" The Associated Students Finance Board (ASFB) sure seemed to think so, according to the minutes of its May 4 meeting. As Adam thoroughly… Read more
Much More Evidence of Viewpoint Discrimination by UC Santa Barbara Student Government Regarding Tonight’s David Horowitz Event (Details)
May 26, 2011
Earlier today I wrote about the clear case of viewpoint discrimination by the student government at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), when it twice denied funding for a lecture tonight by conservative writer and speaker David Horowitz due to Horowitz’s viewpoints. In that post, I showed the strong evidence of viewpoint discrimination in the notes from… Read more
Much More Evidence of Viewpoint Discrimination by UC Santa Barbara Student Government Regarding Tonight’s David Horowitz Event
May 26, 2011
Earlier today I wrote about the clear case of viewpoint discrimination by the student government at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), when it twice denied funding for a lecture tonight by conservative writer and speaker David Horowitz due to Horowitz’s viewpoints. In that post, I showed the strong evidence of viewpoint discrimination in… Read more
UC Santa Barbara Student Government Tries to Derail David Horowitz Event, Lies About It
May 26, 2011
The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) student government has unconstitutionally discriminated against the UCSB College Republicans by twice denying funding for a lecture tonight by David Horowitz because of his conservative views. After FIRE pointed out that discriminating on the basis of political views in student fee funding violates the First Amendment, UCSB student leaders apparently… 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: Victories at UCSB and Wright State as Pressure on Bucknell Intensifies
June 26, 2009
FIRE’s victories for religious liberty and academic freedom at Wright State University and the University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) were in the news this week, while Bucknell University’s continuing refusal to acknowledge its wrongful and discriminatory treatment of the Bucknell University Conservatives Club has only intensified the media spotlight it is trying to avoid. As… Read more
Victory for Academic Freedom at University of California–Santa Barbara
June 26, 2009
University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) has notified Professor William Robinson that it is no longer pursuing charges against him for sending an e-mail to his Sociology of Globalization class which offended students and critics both within and outside the university. Exactly two weeks after FIRE wrote UCSB Chancellor Henry Yang, the university’s Charges Committee reported… Read more
Greg in ‘Huffington Post’ on the Conclusion of UCSB’s Investigation of Professor Robinson
June 25, 2009
FIRE President Greg Lukianoff has posted his third, and hopefully last, blog entry on Professor William I. Robinson’s case at UC Santa Barbara on The Huffington Post. The controversy began when Professor Robinson sent around an e-mail to the students in his Sociology of Globalization class comparing the Nazi treatment of Jews with Israel’s actions… Read more
Victory for Academic Freedom at University of California–Santa Barbara
June 24, 2009
University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) has just notified Professor William Robinson that it is no longer pursuing charges against him for sending an e-mail to his Sociology of Globalization class which offended students and critics both within and outside the university. Exactly two weeks after FIRE wrote UCSB Chancellor Henry Yang, the university’s Charges Committee… Read more
UC Santa Barbara ends investigation of professor for anti-Israel e-mail
June 24, 2009
Since late April I have been following the case of Professor William I. Robinson at UCSB, who became the subject of an official university investigation after sending the students in his Sociology of Globalization class an e-mail comparing the Nazi treatment of Jews with Israel’s actions towards Palestinians. The e-mail ignited a firestorm of controversy… Read more
FIRE Defends a Professor—And One of His Fiercest Critics—On the Same Day
June 11, 2009
Yesterday, FIRE sent out two letters. One, as Greg noted at The Huffington Post, was in defense of William Robinson, a University of California, Santa Barbara, professor who has been under investigation for months after writing his students an e-mail comparing the Nazi treatment of Jews with Israel’s actions towards Palestinians. The other letter was… Read more
FIRE protests UC Santa Barbara’s investigation of Professor Robinson
June 10, 2009
Back in May, I reported on the case of William I. Robinson, a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara who is being investigated for writing his students an e-mail comparing the Nazi treatment of Jews with Israel’s actions towards Palestinians. At that point the investigation seemed somewhat tentative and I had hoped that… Read more
Greg in ‘Huffington Post’ on UC Santa Barbara Investigation of Professor
May 4, 2009
In his most recent article for The Huffington Post, FIRE President Greg Lukianoff discusses the recent controversy at UC Santa Barbara, where Professor William Robinson is being investigated for sending an anti-Israel e-mail to his students. Greg examines the arguments that have been made about this case, and concludes that hurt feelings and being offended… Read more
UC Santa Barbara investigates professor for anti-Israel e-mail
May 1, 2009
Academic freedom is once again in the news, this time because a professor at UC Santa Barbara is being investigated for sending his students an anti-Israel e-mail blast. At the middle of the controversy is sociology professor William I. Robinson, a self-proclaimed “scholar-activist,” who sent an e-mail comparing Israeli policy with that of the Nazis… Read more
UC Santa Barbara’s Unlikely Claims
February 8, 2005
Last week the University of California at Santa Barbara capitulated in its attempt to force the owner of a site called thedarksideofucsb.com to remove the initials “UCSB” on its site. This is a remarkable case for so many reasons, not the least of which is that it highlights the trend of using intellectual property law… Read more
Victory for Free Speech at UC Santa Barbara
February 4, 2005
SANTA BARBARA, Calif., February 4, 2005—The University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) has abandoned an attempt to force the owner of a website called The Dark Side of UCSB from using the letters “UCSB” in his web address.UCSB threatened Mr. James Baron, the site’s owner, with criminal sanctions if he did not change the… Read more
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