University of West Florida

Location: Pensacola, Florida
Website: http://www.uwf.edu
Type: Public
Federal Circuit: 11th Circuit

Tell University of West Florida to revise its speech policies by filling out this form.

Speech Code Rating

University of West Florida has been given the speech code rating Yellow. Yellow light colleges and universities are those institutions with at least one ambiguous policy that too easily encourages administrative abuse and arbitrary application. Read more here.

At present, FIRE has not been involved in any cases at this school.
Yellow Light Policies

  • Student Code of Conduct

    Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
    Last updated: November 15, 2017

    Conduct that creates an intimidating, intolerable, or offensive campus, educational or working environment for another person, unrelated to the victim’s protected class, if any.

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  • Student Code of Conduct

    Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
    Last updated: November 15, 2017

    Harassment based on any of the following protected classes: gender (including gender identity and sex), race, color religion, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status or sexual orientation. Harassment is defined as conduct that is sufficiently severe or pervasive so that it unreasonably interferes with an individual’s academic or employment status or performance (Harassment on the basis of these protected classes may include threatened or actual physical harm or abuse, stalking, or other intimidating conduct directed against the individual based on his or her protected class.).

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  • Student Code of Conduct

    Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
    Last updated: November 15, 2017

    Use of University computing facilities or resources to send obscene or abusive material.

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  • Housing Handbook: Standards for Community Living

    Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
    Last updated: November 15, 2017

    Bigotry and hatred will be given no home within our community. Our community will not tolerate verbal or written abuse, threats, intimidation, and will not accept false humor, anger, intoxication, or substance abuse as an excuse, reason, or rationale for such behavior. We strive to develop and support a learning environment so each of us can genuinely enjoy equal opportunities to live, work, and learn.

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  • Prohibition of Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation

    Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
    Last updated: November 15, 2017

    Harassment, as defined by this Policy, is unwelcome conduct based on an individual’s protected class.

    Harassment based upon an individual’s protected class that is sufficiently severe or pervasive, so as to alter the terms and conditions of the individual’s employment environment or substantially disrupt the individuals’ work or educational environment is a violation of this policy and is prohibited.

    The following are additional examples of harassment that constitute a violation of this policy: … Where such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work or academic environment or creates an objectively intimidating, hostile or offensive work or academic environment.

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  • Sexual Misconduct, Sexual Violence, Gender-Based Discrimination and Retaliation

    Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
    Last updated: November 15, 2017

    Sexual Harassment – unwelcome conduct, based on sex/gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity, that is sufficiently severe or pervasive so that it alters the terms and conditions of the Complainant’s employment or educational environment. Sexual harassment may include, for example, unwanted sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other physical or verbal conduct of sexual nature.

    …

    (a) Sexual Harassment. Sexual harassment violates this Policy when any one of the following occur:

    (i) the unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature is sufficiently severe or pervasive so as to alter the terms and conditions of the individual’s employment or educational environment…

     

     

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Green Light Policies

  • Notice of Proposed Regulation Amendment: UWF/REG-5.050 Speech, Assembly and Public Expression in Outdoor Areas on Campus

    Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
    Last updated: June 19, 2018

    [E]xpressive activities are permitted in outdoor areas of campus so long as the conduct is lawful and does not materially and substantially disrupt the normal operations and functions of the University or infringe on the rights of other members of the University community …

    Although it is not necessary for a person to obtain prior permission from the University for expressive activities, it is strongly encouraged that such persons contact the University Commons and Event Services office for scheduling purposes at least two (2) business days in advance in order to make adequate arrangements for safety and security and to assure such activities do not interfere with the University’s mission and operations.

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  • Florida becomes ninth state to ban restrictive campus free speech zones

    March 12, 2018

    Florida State, University of West Florida, Florida Atlantic, and other schools must change speech policies TALLAHASSEE, Mar. 12, 2018 — Yesterday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed into law SB 4, a broad higher education bill, which was amended to include free speech protections at the state’s public colleges and universities. The new law prohibits Florida public colleges and universities from quarantining student expression into small, misleadingly labeled “free speech zones.” The campus free speech provisions are based on the CAFE Act model legislation from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. “Students at public colleges and universities in Florida should […]

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  • Free Speech Zone Policy Debated at University of West Florida

    March 4, 2011

    On Valentine’s Day at the University of West Florida (UWF), people strolling the public university’s Cannon Greens did not see the language of love displayed, but instead the graphic images of genocide victims and aborted fetuses provided by a California anti-abortion group. According to an article by Terry Strickland in UWF’s student newspaper The Voyager, the display was held outside of UWF’s “free speech zone” (between buildings 18 and 21 on the campus map), and not without complaint. Many students claimed that the display was “a violation of decency” and questioned why it had not been confined to UWF’s free […]

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