School Spotlight
University of North Carolina – Charlotte
Speech Code Rating
University Policy 406: Code of Student Responsibility- Prohibited Conduct
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: May 29, 2019Harassment/Intimidation/Bullying –Engaging in unwelcome conduct directed toward a particular individual or identifiable group of individuals through any action, method, device, or means which is so severe or pervasive, and objectively offensive, that it unreasonably interferes with the target individual’s Univ... Read MoreUniversity Policy 406: Code of Student Responsibility- Prohibited Conduct
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: May 29, 2019Gender-Based Harassment – Engaging in unwelcome conduct based upon a target individual’s actual or perceived gender, including harassment based on gender identity or non-conformity with gender stereotypes, which is so severe, persistent, or pervasive that it unreasonably interferes with an individual’s Univers... Read MoreUniversity Policy 503: Fighting Words Harassment in the University Community
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: May 29, 2019This Policy prohibits the face-to-face use of “fighting words” by a student, faculty member, or staff member to harass any person or persons on the University campus or other property under University control. “Fighting words” are abusive words or phrases that: (1) inflict injury or are likel... Read MoreUNC Charlotte Standard for Responsible Use
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: May 29, 2019The following activities are specifically prohibited and considered violations of responsible use of university information resources: … Use of electronic mail messages or web pages that constitute invasion of privacy, harassment, defamation, threats, intimidation, or discrimination on a basis prohibited by fe... Read MoreUniversity Policy 406: Code of Student Responsibility- Philosophy and Purpose
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: May 29, 2019The University embraces and strives to uphold the freedoms of expression and speech guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the North Carolina Constitution. Read MoreUniversity Policy 502: Sexual Harassment Policy and Grievance Procedures
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: May 29, 2019Sexual harassment of students is a form of prohibited sex discrimination. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature by a University employee, by another student, or by a third party, constitutes sexual harassment if such conduct is suffi... Read MoreUniversity Policy 406: Code of Student Responsibility- Prohibited Conduct
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: May 29, 2019Discriminatory Harassment/Intimidation – Engaging in unwelcome conduct directed toward a particular individual or identifiable group of individuals based upon the target individual’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, age, national origin, ethnicity, disability, or veteran status through any action, method, ... Read MoreUniversity Policy 802: Conduct at Speech Events
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: May 29, 2019The transmission and advancement of knowledge and understanding flourishes in an environment in which the broadest range of ideas and ideologies may be freely expressed, examined, and debated. Read More
University of North Carolina System: State of the First Amendment
January 10, 2006
FIRE teamed up with the John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy to release the Report on the State of the First Amendment in the University of North Carolina System. The Report notes that UNC System’s many speech codes and illiberal restrictions on religious groups would likely not survive a legal challenge. It also… Read more
Anti-socialism display theft at UNCC raises free speech concerns
November 15, 2019
Being from Philly and living here, I am pretty used to walking by things I don’t like. Whether it’s trash in the street, protests around City Hall I don’t agree with, or Patriots fans breathing the air in my city, I’ve become accustomed to stroll past things I have a natural revulsion to. This approach… Read more
REPORT: North Carolina is home to some of America’s best colleges for free speech
September 24, 2018
Eight colleges in North Carolina earn FIRE’s highest rating for free speech — more than in any other state — but 17 still maintain policies that substantially restrict student expression. PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 24, 2018 — A new report finds that North Carolina’s colleges and universities lead the way nationally for protecting student free speech. The… Read more
UNC Charlotte earns FIRE’s highest rating for free speech
June 22, 2017
CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 22, 2017 — The University of North Carolina at Charlotte has earned the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s (FIRE’s) highest, “green light” rating for its commitment to the First Amendment. The state of North Carolina now has five institutions with this rating, more than any other state. “UNC Charlotte is showing… 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
FIRE’s Robert Shibley Speaking at UNC Charlotte Tomorrow
September 24, 2014
Students, faculty, and FIRE supporters in the Charlotte area are invited to hear FIRE Senior Vice President Robert Shibley speak at University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. in Fretwell Building, Room 113. Robert will be speaking about free speech on a panel with Alex Johnson from Generation Opportunity and Jason… Read more
Report Exposes Extensive Constitutional Violations in University of North Carolina System
January 10, 2006
RALEIGH, N.C., January 10, 2006—Today, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and the John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy released their Report on the State of the First Amendment in the University of North Carolina System. The Report explains precisely what the First Amendment obligations of the UNC System schools are—and… Read more
The State of the First Amendment in the University of North Carolina System
January 10, 2006
A Joint Report of the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education Executive Summary If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or… Read more
The Remedy for Bad Speech Is…
April 15, 2005
As a nonreligious political liberal who has spent much his career defending religious students and students under the thumb of censorship from the left, I am used to defending protests or expression that I do not agree with. In fact, as I have often quipped, “I almost feel like I am cheating when I defend… Read more
The ‘Charlotte Observer’ Gets It Right
February 25, 2005
There few issues that cause more passionate debate on campus (and elsewhere) than affirmative action. While many campuses have stifled that debate by, for example, censoring conservative protests, UNC Charlotte did the right thing—permitting both the affirmative action protest and a counter-protest by the program’s supporters. This boisterous exercise in free speech triggered an outstanding… Read more
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