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University of California System: Recommendations for "Hate Speech" Policy

In July 2012, the University of California’s (UC’s) Advisory Council on Campus Climate, Culture and Inclusion issued formal recommendations to UC System President Mark Yudof for making UC’s 10 campuses “more inclusive and welcoming for Jewish students as well as all community members.” In pursuit of this goal, the report recommended that UC “push its current harassment and nondiscrimination provisions further” and “seek opportunities to prohibit hate speech on campus.” The report also recommended that UC “accept the challenge” of First Amendment litigation resulting from the adoption of such policies. FIRE wrote to President Yudof on August 8, 2012, warning him that any campus ban on “hate speech” would restrict a wide swath of student speech protected under the First Amendment. In response, and in the face of public pressure, Yudof wrote to FIRE on August 17, stating that First Amendment principles would be fully considered in UC’s review of the report. FIRE will continue to monitor this situation at the UC System.

Case Materials

• "University of California System President Mark Yudof Response to FIRE, August 17, 2012," August 30, 2012
• "University of California System President Mark Yudof Response, August 8, 2012," August 9, 2012
• "FIRE Warns U. of California President: Reject Recommendation, Don’t Pick Fight with First Amendment," August 8, 2012: In a letter sent today, FIRE warns University of California System (UC) President Mark Yudof against enacting unconstitutional "hate speech" policies on UC's campuses. FIRE’s letter responds to a recent recommendation from members of an official advisory body that, in response to alleged anti-Semitism on campus, UC “accept the challenge” of First Amendment litigation. FIRE urges President Yudof to reject the recommendation, reminding him that decades of legal precedent make clear that broad, content-based bans on student speech violate the First Amendment. UPDATE, 8/9/12: President Yudof’s office has responded to FIRE’s press release and letter.
• "FIRE Letter to University of California System President Mark G. Yudof, August 8th, 2012," August 8, 2012
• "University of California Jewish Student Campus Climate Fact-Finding Team Report & Recommendations ," July 9, 2012

Blog Entries

• "Will Creeley on Hate Speech Rules in UC-San Diego Student Newspaper ," by Andrew Kloster, October 2, 2012
• "‘LA Times’ Quotes FIRE’s Will Creeley on UC ‘Hate Speech’ Issue," by Azhar Majeed, September 19, 2012
• ""The Best Campus Climates are Those That Make People Think"," by Nico Perrino, September 6, 2012
• "Citing First Amendment, University of California Rejects State Legislature Resolution," by William Creeley, August 31, 2012
• "FIRE’s Creeley on ReasonTV: Why Banning ‘Hate Speech’ Doesn’t Work," by Gina Luttrell, August 27, 2012: Earlier this summer, University of California System President Mark Yudof received a recommendation to implement policies that fundamentally violate students' expressive rights—including an outright ban on "hate speech." FIRE has asked President Yudof to reject that recommendation, and we're cautiously optimistic about his response. To make our point even clearer, FIRE Director of Legal and Public Advocacy Will Creeley recently appeared on ReasonTV.
• "Volokh on the University of California's Proposed 'Hate Speech' Code," by Andrew Kloster, August 14, 2012
• "UC President Yudof’s Office Responds to FIRE’s Letter," by William Creeley, August 9, 2012
• "FIRE Warns U. of California President: Reject Recommendation, Don’t Pick Fight with First Amendment," August 8, 2012
• "University of California Advisory Panel to First Amendment: Bring It On," by Andrew Kloster, August 3, 2012

Media Coverage

• "Study of anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim bias on UC campuses stirs debate,"
  by Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times, September 18, 2012
• "California Higher Education's Hollow Core,"
  by Peter Berkowitz, RealClearPolitics, August 29, 2012
• "Free Speech Fight: Campus Anti-Zionism May Result in Hate Speech Ban,"
  by Tracy Oppenheimer, Reason Online, August 24, 2012
• "Campus speech codes don’t fix hate speech, they stifle true debate,"
  by Naomi Schaefer Riley, Philanthropy Daily, August 13, 2012
• "Will UC ban "hate speech"?,"
  by Ken White, Salon, August 3, 2012