FIU Libraries: Free Speech, Academic Freedom, &amp; Intellectual Freedom: College Campuses & Free Zones

First Amendment Center

Specific topics in college campus speech:

Campus Speakers
Sexual harassment
Fan Profanity
Hate Speech & Campus Speech Codes
Art Contraversies
Student Fees & Clubs
Academic Freedom
Free-Speech Zones
Student Newspapers & Yearbooks
Social Media Speech

What is a campus free-speech zone?

"Limiting student protests and demonstrations to certain select areas of the campus"
An overview of Free- Speech Zones by David L. Hudson Jr., First Amendment Scholar, and Andrew Gargano, First Amendment Center Intern

Speak Freely by Keith E. Whittington
ISBN: 9781400889884
Publication Date: 2018-04-10
Free speech is under attack at colleges and universities today, with critics on and off campus challenging the value of open inquiry and freewheeling intellectual debate. Too often speakers are shouted down, professors are threatened, and classes are disrupted. In Speak Freely, Keith Whittington argues that universities must protect and encourage free speech because vigorous free speech is the lifeblood of the university. Without free speech, a university cannot fulfill its most basic, fundamental, and essential purposes, including fostering freedom of thought, ideological diversity, and tolerance. Examining such hot-button issues as trigger warnings, safe spaces, hate speech, disruptive protests, speaker disinvitations, the use of social media by faculty, and academic politics, Speak Freely describes the dangers of empowering campus censors to limit speech and enforce orthodoxy. It explains why free speech and civil discourse are at the heart of the university's mission of creating and nurturing an open and diverse community dedicated to learning. It shows why universities must make space for voices from both the left and right. And it points out how better understanding why the university lives or dies by free speech can help guide everyone--including students, faculty, administrators, and alumni--when faced with difficult challenges such as unpopular, hateful, or dangerous speech. Timely and vitally important, Speak Freely demonstrates why universities can succeed only by fostering more free speech, more free thought--and a greater tolerance for both.
Free Speech on Campus by Erwin Chemerinsky; Howard Gillman
ISBN: 9780300226560
Publication Date: 2017-09-12
Can free speech coexist with an inclusive campus environment? Hardly a week goes by without another controversy over free speech on college campuses. On one side, there are increased demands to censor hateful, disrespectful, and bullying expression and to ensure an inclusive and nondiscriminatory learning environment. On the other side are traditional free speech advocates who charge that recent demands for censorship coddle students and threaten free inquiry. In this clear and carefully reasoned book, a university chancellor and a law school dean--both constitutional scholars who teach a course in free speech to undergraduates--argue that campuses must provide supportive learning environments for an increasingly diverse student body but can never restrict the expression of ideas. This book provides the background necessary to understanding the importance of free speech on campus and offers clear prescriptions for what colleges can and can't do when dealing with free speech controversies.

Free Speech Is Threatened on Campus: A Debate

The First Five
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"Can your boss fire you because of your political views? Can a journalist publish stolen information? Can a university ban a controversial speaker? Learn the answers to these questions and more by listening to The First Five. Hosts Lata Nott and Gene Policinski talk to the experts and cut through the jargon to explain how the five freedoms of the First Amendment work, and what you can do to protect them."
Podcast: The First Amendment speech debate on college campuses
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This podcast discusses recent controversies at Yale University and the University of Missouri involving the First Amendment, the 14th Amendment, free speech and hate speech.
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Published November 20, 2015 by NCC Staff

Campus Protest @FIIU

Expressive Activities and Free Speech

Since its inception in 1965, FIU has dedicated itself to the support and growth of its diverse student population and strives to produce an atmosphere which encourages both students and faculty to exercise their freedom of speech on a variety of issues. We cherish the right of free speech and understand the great benefit provided to our campus community and society at large when everyone can express themselves, regardless of whether others agree. One of FIU's values is Freedom of thought and expression, regardless of the content of that thought and expression.

FIU's Regulation FIU-110: Expressive Activities in Outdoor Areas on Campus Regulation is in place to provide the means by which students and others can lawfully have expressive activities such as assemblies, exercises of free speech, protests, parades, marches, and picketing on campus. Regulation FIU-111: Camping discusses permissible use of University grounds for the purpose of living accommodation, no matter the duration, such as sleeping, storing personal belongings, and cooking, and specifically includes, without limitation, erecting tents and temporary structures. Please review these policies and this site to learn more.

Any student or organization with questions or concerns regarding the ability to conduct expressive activities at FIU is encouraged to contact the Dean of Students Office at (305) 348-2797.

in the news

The Free Speech Project
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The nonpartisan and independent Free Speech Project at Georgetown University will assess the condition of Free Speech in America today - in higher education, in civil society, and in the world of state and local government. It will assemble information on a national scale, document incidents in which Free Speech has been challenged or compromised in recent years, and collect analysis from various points of view of the struggle to sustain First Amendment values in these divisive and tense times. The Free Speech Project will also be concerned with the health of independent media and their ongoing capacity to help citizens understand how government is conducting the public's business. After two years, the Free Speech Project hopes to be able to suggest new frameworks to enhance the prospects for lucid and open conversation in the public sphere, especially on college and university campuses, about the great issues of our time.
Florida Senate changes campus free speech restrictions
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"Governor Rick Scott recently signed Florida Senate Bill 4, the “Florida Excellence in Higher Education Act of 2018.” While most of the bill focuses on fiscal issues, a large provision includes the enacting of Campus Free Expression Acts (CAFE) legislation across all public universities."
"University of Florida drew inspiration from UC Berkeley's handling of 'Free Speech Week' for Richard Spencer event security.

HB 909

#HB909: Campus Free Expression Act
See what people are saying about HB 909 on Twitter
CS/CS/HB 909: Higher Education
Higher Education; Revising and providing methods of recognition for academic achievement; requiring the Board of Governors to report on the intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity at each state university; creating the "Campus Free Expression Act"; revising Bright Futures Scholarship eligibility requirements for students enrolled in the student enrollment pilot program, etc.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS: BILL #: PCS for HB 909 Higher Education
The bill creates the "Campus Free Expression Act" (Act) and defines commercial speech, free speech zone,
outdoor areas of campus, public institutions of higher education, and material and substantial disruption. The
bill clarifies that an individual's expressive rights may not be infringed upon, and that an institution is prohibited
from restricting expressive activities to a particular area of campus and prohibited from designating free speech
zones. Protected activities include speeches and writings that an individual uses to communicate ideas to
others.

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