School Spotlight
University of Illinois Springfield
Speech Code Rating
Unlawful Discrimination and Harassment
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: July 12, 2022The University of Illinois will not engage in discrimination or harassment against any person because of the following protected categories: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, order of protection status, genetic information, marital status, disability, sexual orientation including gender ide... Read MoreUIS IT Policies, Procedures & Guidelines: Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resources
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: July 12, 2022All users must refrain from the following activities: … Using computing facilities to send obscene, abusive, threatening, defamatory, or harassing messages. Read MoreDepartment of Residence Life Community Living Guide: Non-Compliance
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: July 12, 2022Any verbal abuse, harassment, or intimidation of staff will be documented and subject to disciplinary action. Read MoreStudent Conduct Code
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: July 12, 2022The following categories of conduct are specifically prohibited and may form the basis for disciplinary action: A. Violence, the threat of violence, harassment, or intimidation directed against another person or persons. Read MoreSexual Misconduct Policy Appendix
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: July 12, 2022Title IX Sexual Harassment. Title IX Sexual Harassment is conduct on the basis of sex that satisfies one or more of the following: Unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to a UIS education program or a... Read More
University of Illinois System: Faculty and Student Employees Banned from Participating in Political Activity on Campus
September 29, 2008
In the fall of 2008, all employees of the University of Illinois system, including faculty members and graduate students, were notified by the University Ethics Office that they were prohibited under a state law from engaging in certain “prohibited political activity.”
Repression of Political Speech and Activity Abounds on College Campuses in 2008
December 24, 2008
In an election year when the presidential race between Senators Barack Obama and John McCain dominated much of the country’s attention and media headlines, college and university campuses were certainly not immune to election fever. University students and faculty across the nation joined in the multitude of voices advocating for, criticizing, protesting, and otherwise commenting… Read more
Weekly Media Round-up: FIRE’s Policy Statement on Political Activity a Needed Voice of Reason on Campus
October 17, 2008
As Will wrote here on The Torch this Wednesday, FIRE released its 2008 Policy Statement on Political Activity on Campus this week. FIRE’s Policy Statement comes on the heels of controversial restrictions on protected political expression at such institutions as the University of Illinois, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Texas at Austin,… Read more
With Election Weeks Away, Political Speech Under Attack on America’s Campuses
October 15, 2008
PHILADELPHIA, October 15, 2008—With the presidential race between John McCain and Barack Obama the focus of national attention, political speech on our nation’s campuses has come under sharp attack. In recent weeks, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has investigated open and blatant attacks on political expression at colleges and universities across the… Read more
Stanley Fish Misunderstands FIRE on Illinois ‘Buttons’ Controversy
October 14, 2008
Although Stanley Fish says he agrees with FIRE most of the time, in his New York Times blog on Sunday he disagreed with us on the issue of a memo from the University of Illinois that banned university faculty from engaging in political activity on campus such as attending political rallies—even when they were off… Read more
National Attention Continues for FIRE’s Work at Illinois
October 8, 2008
We blogged last week about the Chicago Tribune‘s coverage of FIRE’s letter in defense of political expression at the three University of Illinois (UI) campuses, where a memo circulated by UI’s ethics office banned a wide variety of political expression on campuses—down to the bumper stickers on the cars of UI faculty and staff. Instead… Read more
University of Illinois Responds to Widespread Complaints Against Ban on Political Activity
October 6, 2008
FIRE, the ACLU, the AAUP, the National Association of Scholars, and the Illinois Association of Scholars all agree that the recent statement by the University of Illinois Ethics Office went too far in banning political expression and participation on University of Illinois campuses. Here is the response from University of Illinois president B. Joseph White… Read more
‘Chicago Tribune’ Highlights FIRE’s Work Defending Political Speech
October 3, 2008
An article in today’s edition of the Chicago Tribune further investigates the outrage among many at the University of Illinois over the September 2008 edition of Ethics Matter, a “newsletter from the University of Illinois Ethics Office.” The memo, which has caused widespread outrage among faculty, suggests that a whole host of political activity is… Read more
University of Illinois Bans Wide Variety of Political Activity by Faculty
September 25, 2008
The blogosphere and other media are lighting up in response to a memo circulated to faculty and staff of the University of Illinois by its University Ethics Office. The policy bans a wide variety of political activity on university property, including such research as "surveying or conducting an opinion poll related to anticipating an election… Read more