School Spotlight
University of Miami
Location:
Miami, Florida
Type:
Private
Speech Code Rating
University of Miami has been given the speech code rating Red. A red light university has at least one policy that both clearly and substantially restricts freedom of speech.
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Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook: Student Code of Conduct- Harassment or Harm to Others
Speech Code Rating: Red
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: April 2, 2021Unwelcomed and/or discriminatory words or acts, whether intentional or a product of the disregard for the safety, rights, or welfare of others, which intimidate, degrade, demean, threaten, bully, haze or otherwise interfere with another person’s daily activity. Read MoreStudent Rights and Responsibilities Handbook: Student Code of Conduct- Online/Internet Social Networking Usage
Speech Code Rating: Red
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: April 2, 2021Prohibited usage of internet/networking sites may include: … Creating language on a social network that is hateful, threatening, vulgar, or derogatory; … Read MoreStudent Rights and Responsibilities Handbook: Freedom of Expression: Demonstration, Outside Speakers, and Political Campaign Policies
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: April 2, 2021Recognized University organizations and full or part‐time students who wish to schedule a demonstration, rally, protest or equivalent activity, may request the space through the Dean of Students Office on their respective campus and the appropriate venue manager. Any such request must be made no less than four busin... Read MoreStudent Rights and Responsibilities Handbook: Student Code of Conduct- Disorderly Conduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
Last updated: April 2, 2021Lewd, indecent or obscene conduct or expression made by any means; … Read MoreStudent Rights and Responsibilities Handbook: Bias Related Incidents
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: April 2, 2021[T]he University is committed to encouraging everyone to report bias incidents that occur in our campus community so that inappropriate and unwelcome behavior may be properly addressed and the community at large can be educated. At the University of Miami a bias incident is defined as an action, behavior or expressi... Read MoreStudent Rights and Responsibilities Handbook: Freedom of Expression: Demonstration, Outside Speakers, and Political Campaign Policies
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Security Fee Policies
Last updated: April 2, 2021The Department of Student Activities & Student Organizations – in consultation with the University of Miami Police Department – may require that additional security be present to ensure the safety of the speaker and program participants. The costs of security measures are the responsibility of the sponsoring o... Read MoreStudent Rights and Responsibilities Handbook: Student Code of Conduct- Sexual Misconduct and Sex- or Gender-Based Discrimination Policies
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: April 2, 2021Sexual Harassment means: … Hostile Environment Harassment: unwelcome sexual conduct on the basis of sex determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies an individual equal access to the University’s education programs or activities. For the pur... Read MoreStudent Rights and Responsibilities Handbook: Freedom of Expression: Demonstration, Outside Speakers, and Political Campaign Policies
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: April 2, 2021[T]he University supports and protects the rights of students, and recognized student organizations, to demonstrate and publicly proclaim their views, however unpopular. 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 Miami: Dean Refuses to Disavow Punishing Law Professor over Political Expression
November 20, 2020
On November 7, 2020, University of Miami School of Law Dean Anthony Varona suggested that he would not renew the contract of law school lecturer Daniel B. Ravicher due to his controversial tweets about the 2020 election. FIRE wrote to the university on November 20, explaining that the university’s promises of academic freedom and free… Read more
University of Miami: Refusal to Approve Conservative Student Group
April 7, 2003
The University of Miami (UM) refused to approve, on four separate occasions, a student organization created for “the exposition and promotion of conservative principles and ideas.” The proposed student group, Advocates for Conservative Thought (ACT), tried consistently to gain official recognition through the Committee on Student Organizations (COSO), UM’s authorized agent for handling such matters…. Read more
University of Miami refuses to disavow punishing law professor over political expression
December 14, 2020
Ambiguity surrounding the University of Miami’s alleged plan to punish a law professor over his political speech has chilled the expressive rights of UM faculty. In early November, UM School of Law lecturer Daniel B. Ravicher tweeted a series of controversial takes on the outcome of the presidential election. A swarm of criticism by the… Read more
University of Miami Law Prof: Affirmative Consent Effectively Shifts Burden of Proof to Accused
September 11, 2015
University of Miami (Florida) law professor Tamara Rice Lave has joined the growing number of people—including FIRE—arguing that “affirmative consent” policies unfairly shift the burden of proof to students accused of sexual misconduct to prove themselves innocent. In a pair of posts on the legal blog PrawfsBlawg, Professor Lave discusses her concerns with affirmative consent… Read more
Speech Code of the Month: University of Miami
May 1, 2006
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for May 2006: University of Miami. The University of Miami’s “Harassment or Harm to Others” policy, found on page 64 of the Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook, prohibits: Any words or acts, whether intentional or a product of the disregard for the safety, rights, or welfare of… Read more
This Month in FIRE History: Victory at U Miami
May 4, 2005
Two years ago this month, FIRE secured a victory in a case involving a student group Advocates for Conservative Thought (ACT). The student government had refused to recognize ACT, essentially arguing “we already have a conservative group on campus and we don’t need more.” U Miami was sort of trendsetter by making this argument and… Read more
Victory for Equality and Free Speech at the University of Miami
May 8, 2003
University Belatedly Approves Conservative Student Group CORAL GABLES, FL—The University of Miami (UM) has abandoned a double standard that it had used to deny official approval to a conservative student group, Advocates for Conservative Thought (ACT). The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) had written to UM President Donna E. Shalala on April 7,… Read more
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