School Spotlight
University of Minnesota
Speech Code Rating
- At present, FIRE does not maintain information on this school's policies.
Leadership roundup: How college leaders are answering questions about free speech
April 25, 2017
Controversy around free speech on college campuses seems to only be escalating: Charles Murray’s disastrous visit to Middlebury College, the violent response to Milo Yiannopoulos’ visit to the University of California, Berkeley, the shutting down of Heather Mac Donald’s Claremont McKenna College event, and just last week, Berkeley’s attempt to shut down Ann Coulter’s visit… Read more
At the University of Minnesota, reports of ‘bias’ often include political speech
April 10, 2017
Last week, a Minneapolis Star Tribune report on the University of Minnesota’s “Bias Response and Referral Network” highlighted the debate over whether — or to what extent — bias reporting systems may chill free speech on college campuses. The Star Tribune’s report follows FIRE’s own report on bias reporting systems and, just as we did… Read more
University of Minnesota Football Team to Boycott Bowl Game Over Perceived Lack of Due Process for Teammates [UPDATED]
December 16, 2016
Update (December 17, 2016): FIRE’s Joe Cohn spoke to The Washington Post and The New York Times about the issues raised by the team’s boycott. Yesterday evening, the University of Minnesota football team announced its intention to boycott a bowl game after 10 members of the team were suspended indefinitely earlier this week following the university’s investigation… Read more
More Campus Leaders Address Free Speech; Some Do It Better Than Others
October 27, 2016
We’ve been keeping our eye on the recent uptick in campus leaders addressing free speech. In our latest roundup of public commitments to freedom of speech by college and university administrators, we’re focusing only on “The Good”—bringing you a few of our recent favorites. We’ve even included one statement that almost made our “Bad” list…. Read more
What Campus Leaders Had To Say About Free Speech This Week [UPDATED]
October 7, 2016
Campus leaders have recently been taking advantage of opportunities—sometimes under pressure—to explain their approach to freedom of speech and other principles enshrined in the First Amendment. How did they fare with such tests this week? The Good Washington State University (WSU) Members of WSU’s administration—President Kirk Schulz, Provost and Executive Vice President Dan Bernardo, and… Read more
University of Minnesota Moves Closer to Adopting Powerful Free Speech Statement
May 3, 2016
The University of Minnesota Faculty Consultative Committee (FCC) has drafted a statement of four core principles regarding the role of free expression on campus, which is now working through the university approval process. Professor Dale Carpenter, one of the statement’s sponsors, reported at The Volokh Conspiracy today that it was unanimously approved by the “top… Read more
Minnesota Faculty Committee Votes to Move Free Speech Statement Forward
March 10, 2016
A faculty committee at the University of Minnesota voted to provisionally approve a free speech resolution in a 7–2 vote today—a significant first step in getting the resolution formally adopted by UMN. The resolution states: Ideas are the lifeblood of a free society and universities are its beating heart. If freedom of speech is undermined… Read more
Minnesota Faculty Senate Committee to Consider Free Speech Resolution
March 9, 2016
After several recent controversies over the limits of free speech at the University of Minnesota (UMN), including speaker shout-downs and protests over “hate speech,” faculty at the university will soon have the opportunity to commit to protecting free expression on campus. Tomorrow, UMN Law School Professor Dale Carpenter will formally introduce a free speech resolution… Read more
Heckler’s Veto Hits Minnesota Law School
November 5, 2015
In the latest stateside skirmish in the unending Israeli-Palestinian conflict, students at the University of Minnesota (UMN) decided to engage in some vigilante censorship on Tuesday when they disrupted a speech by Israeli academic and New York University professor Moshe Halbertal, who is also a professor of Jewish thought and philosophy at Hebrew University. Professor… Read more
University of Minnesota Student Leads Charge for Chicago Principles
September 18, 2015
Momentum is building nationwide behind a push for adoption of the University of Chicago’s statement in support of freedom of expression on campus, endorsed by FIRE this past January. On Wednesday, USA TODAY’s editorial board penned a stirring call for the statement’s widespread adoption, echoing a New York Daily News editorial from late August. Now… Read more
FIRE’s ‘Star Tribune’ Op-Ed: Affirmative Consent Policy ‘Obviously Flawed’
August 14, 2015
Minnesota’s Star Tribune published an op-ed by FIRE Executive Director Robert Shibley yesterday evening, explaining the consequences of University of Minnesota’s “obviously flawed” affirmative consent policy: In an attempt to address the problem, the University of Minnesota recently proposed an “affirmative consent” (sometimes called “yes means yes”) policy for sexual activity among students. Colleges and… Read more
FIRE Weighs in on Minnesota’s ‘Affirmative Consent’ Policy, Commends Delay
July 13, 2015
Implementation of the University of Minnesota’s (UMN’s) controversial “affirmative consent” policy for sexual assault prevention remains delayed after FIRE and other civil rights groups decried it as a due process disaster. On the heels of laws mandating similar policies in New York and California, UMN’s policy would require that students have “a clear, unambiguous, informed,… Read more
Follow FIRE