School Spotlight
University of Texas at Austin
Speech Code Rating
University Catalog: Appendix D- POLICY ON SEX DISCRIMINATION, SEXUAL HARASSMENT, SEXUAL ASSAULT, SEXUAL MISCONDUCT, INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE, AND STALKING
Speech Code Rating: Red
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: August 11, 2020Sexual Harassment: Unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature. Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that can occur when … unwelcome physical acts of a sexual nature, or unwelcome requests for sexual favors or other verbal conduct of a sexual nature, that have the effect of creating an objectively host... Read MoreInstitutional Rules on Student Services and Activities: Chapter 13- Speech, Expression, and Assembly: Harassment
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: August 14, 2020Verbal harassment may consist of threats, insults, epithets, ridicule, personal attacks, or the categories of harassing sexual speech set forth in Policies 3-3031 and 9-1810 of the Handbook of Operating Procedures. Read MoreHandbook of Operating Procedures 3-3020: Nondiscrimination Policy
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: August 11, 2020Harassment: As a form of discrimination is defined as verbal or physical conduct that is directed at an individual or group because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, citizenship, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression w... Read MoreInformation Security Office: Acceptable Use Policy for University Students
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: August 14, 2020Electronic communications should meet the same standards for distribution or display as if they were tangible documents or instruments. Identify yourself clearly and accurately in all electronic communications. … Examples of inappropriate use of resources are shown below. These actions frequently result in com... Read MoreCampus Climate Response Team
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: August 11, 2020Received hateful comments? Witnessed prejudiced behavior? Experienced a bias incident on campus? Examples of bias incidents include: Derogatory graffiti Verbal harassment Hostile classroom environment Hateful written comments BIAS INCIDENTS are offenses against individuals, groups or property, motivated in whole... Read MoreInstitutional Rules on Student Services and Activities: Chapter 11- Student Discipline and Conduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
Last updated: August 11, 2020Notwithstanding any action taken on account of the violation by civil authorities or agencies charged with the enforcement of criminal laws, the dean of students may initiate disciplinary proceedings under subchapter 11–500 against a student who … otherwise engages in the following acts of inappropriate conduc... Read MoreResidence Hall Manual: Computer Lab Policies
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
Last updated: August 11, 20207. Respect others’ privacy. Don’t access their files and email, or send harassing and objectionable messages. … 11. Don’t access materials that may be distracting or offensive to other users. Read MoreInstitutional Rules on Student Services and Activities: Chapter 13- Speech, Expression, and Assembly
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: August 11, 2020The freedoms of speech, expression, and assembly are fundamental rights of all persons and are central to the mission of the University. In accordance with this Chapter, students, faculty members, staff members, and members of the public have the right to assemble, to speak, and to attempt to attract the attention o... Read MoreInstitutional Rules on Student Services and Activities: Chapter 11- Student Discipline and Conduct
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: August 11, 2020[H]arassment is defined as conduct that is sufficiently severe, pervasive, or persistent to create an objectively hostile environment that interferes with or diminishes the ability of an individual to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by the University … Read MoreInstitutional Rules on Student Services and Activities: Chapter 13- Speech, Expression, and Assembly
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: August 11, 2020Subchapter 13–900. Public Assemblies without Amplified Sound Sec. 13–901. General Rule on Public Assemblies a. “Publicly assemble” and “public assembly” include any gathering of persons, including discussions, rallies, and demonstrations. The rules in Subchapter 13–800 apply to any use of amplified sound at a public... Read More
University of Texas at Austin: Lack of Transparency in Student Group Funding Raises First Amendment Concerns
March 28, 2014
In March 2014, the UT Objectivism Society applied for $1,920.64 in funding from the University of Texas at Austin (UT) Events CoSponsorship Board (ECB) to support a planned on-campus debate. ECB is staffed by students and supported with funding collected through UT’s mandatory student activity fees for the purpose of supporting student programming. On March… Read more
University of Texas at Austin student government urges official adoption of ‘Chicago Statement’
February 22, 2019
Earlier this week, the student government at the University of Texas at Austin approved a resolution endorsing the body’s “support of free speech and free expression rights of all students.” The resolution urges the university administration to adopt the “Report of the Committee on Freedom of Expression” at the University of Chicago (the “Chicago Statement”),… Read more
A Longhorn’s lessons in free speech
August 7, 2018
If the eyes are the windows to the soul, creativity is the key that unlocks the front door. As college students, we’re pushed to our limits in academic and extracurricular commitments alike; we are no strangers to stress. And sometimes, we’re left with only one option: to develop creative solutions to our problems. But what… Read more
University of Texas objects to own courtroom stance on academic freedom
July 23, 2018
The University of Texas at Austin is the second school in recent months to argue in court that its own institutional academic freedom supersedes that of its faculty. It’s a stance at odds not only with long-recognized principles of academic freedom, but also with — according to university officials — the university itself. Back in… Read more
FIRE Q&A: ‘Hero in a hijab,’ Amina Amdeen
February 1, 2017
The media dubbed University of Texas at Austin sophomore Amina Amdeen the “Hero in a Hijab” for physically shielding a Donald Trump supporter from attacks at a post-election “Love Trumps Hate” rally at the Texas Capitol on November 13. The Austin American-Statesman, Amdeen’s hometown paper, reported that the 19-year-old Amdeen wedged herself between 6-foot-6-inch, 350-pound… Read more
‘Affirmative Action Bake Sale’ Disrupted at UT Austin
November 4, 2016
Everyone loves a good bake sale, right? Well, apparently not. Last week, the University of Texas at Austin chapter of Young Conservatives of Texas held an “affirmative action bake sale,” where the prices of the baked goods varied depending on the racial identity of the purchaser. The event, which was designed to critique affirmative action… Read more
Universities Give Students Frightening Halloween Assignment: Pick a Costume
October 31, 2016
Is your “exhausted undergrad” costume ready for tonight’s festivities? That might be one of the frighteningly few outfit choices remaining if you attend a university expecting you to avoid “cultural appropriation” this year. And beware: The rules are petrifyingly hard to follow. While institutions are well within their rights to suggest costume considerations to their… Read more
Texas Students, FIRE’s Joe Cohn is Coming to a Campus Near You
October 6, 2014
Yeehaw! Joe Cohn, FIRE’s Legislative and Policy Director, will be traveling across the Lone Star State for a rootin’ tootin’ Texan campus tour. Students and faculty at or near the University of Houston, University of Texas at San Antonio, University of Texas at Austin, Texas State University at San Marcos, and Texas A&M are invited… Read more
Victory for Student Rights: UT Austin Restores Transparency in Funding Student Organizations
May 19, 2014
The assessment of mandatory student fees for the purpose of supporting a variety of student organizations and programming is commonplace at public universities. Distribution of these funds is often placed in the hands of students themselves, with the understanding—reinforced by multiple Supreme Court decisions—that this process must be content- and viewpoint-neutral. In the absence of transparency, however, the fair allocation of student fee funds can be threatened—as was until recently the case at the University of Texas at Austin (UT). Fortunately, in response to concerns raised by FIRE, UT is taking steps to ensure transparency is restored and funds are distributed even-handedly.
Threat of Honor Code Charges Causes Texas Student Group to Cancel Event
November 21, 2013
On Monday, the University of Texas-Austin (UT-Austin) chapter of the Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) announced that it would host a “Catch an Illegal Immigrant” event on Wednesday, during which volunteers for the group would wear a label stating “illegal immigrant,” and other students would have the opportunity to “capture” them for a $25 gift card bounty…. Read more
University of Texas Police Arrest Man for Standing Around Talking about Politics
August 11, 2010
President Obama was at the University of Texas at Austin on Monday to give a speech and, as expected, the Presidential visit drew the usual complement of protesters and political activists. Among them was John Bush, the executive director of a group called Texans for Accountable Government, along with several others. A video has been posted… Read more
Victory for Freedom of Expression: University of Texas Permanently Suspends Window Posting Ban
July 30, 2009
Torch readers may remember that last fall, in the midst of the election season, the University of Texas at Austin (UT) threatened to punish two students if they did not remove political campaign signs that they had placed in their dormitory room window. Thankfully, after national media attention, the university came to its senses quickly and suspended its rule banning signs in students’… Read more
In Texas, First Amendment Imperiled in 2008
January 1, 2009
I’m not sure what happened down in Texas in 2008, but administrators at several schools have been unusually cowardly about even the slightest challenges to their ideas of good order on campus. During the election season there was the Great Non-Riot of 2008 at the University of Texas at Austin (UT), where two students faced… Read more
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
Breaking News: UT–Austin Suspends Rule on Political Signs
October 9, 2008
Less than two hours ago, Will Creeley blogged about the University of Texas at Austin’s ban on political signs in dorm room windows, calling it "a silly, if not necessarily unconstitutional, ban on student expression in dorm windows and on dorm doors." Two students, Connor and Blake Kincaid, were to be punished for refusing to… Read more
Political Censorship at UT–Austin
October 9, 2008
Late yesterday afternoon, in a brazen act of censorship on campus, the University of Texas at Austin (UT) ruled against two students who have refused to remove political signs posted on their dormitory door and window, according to a report from The Daily Texan this morning. Connor Kincaid and Blake Kincaid reportedly had until 7… Read more
Student Paper at University of Texas at Austin Seeks Relief from Prior Review
December 15, 2006
Last week, the Student Press Law Center reported that the Texas Student Publications Board has removed the requirement of official prior review from its agreement with The Daily Texan, the University of Texas at Austin student paper and one of the only major college papers still subject to prior review. The new contract has been… Read more
Speech Codes: Alive and Well at Colleges
August 1, 2003
Five years ago, a higher-education editor for The New York Times informed one of us, Harvey Silverglate, that Neil L. Rudenstine — then president of Harvard University — had insisted that Harvard did not have, much less enforce, any “speech codes.” Silverglate suggested the editor dig deeper, because virtually any undergraduate could contest the president’s… Read more
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