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University Of California Delays Proposal That Restricts Political Speech On School Websites
Protesters unfurl a large Palestinian flag at a protest in Detroit.
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Don Gonyea
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NPR
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Regents for the University of California on Wednesday weighed a plan to restrict academic departments, labs, institutes and other bodies from where on their websites they can post political language.
Supporters say the rule is needed after the ongoing Israel-Hamas war led to heated language, activism, and actions on campus. They say posting political speech isn’t essential for the running of academic departments and other units.
At the committee meeting on Wednesday, UC President Michael Drake acknowledged the protests, demonstrations, and rallies — mostly peaceful, but “a handful have been violent and disruptive in ways that violate our values and principles of community, property has been damaged.” He noted incidents of “hateful assaults, including incidents of antisemitism.”
“It’s a very difficult time for campus leaders, including our chancellors,” he said.
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The proposal said the main pages of the websites of these academic groups should be used to conduct official business of that group, not individuals or collective opinions:
"When individual or group viewpoints or opinions on matters not directly related to the official business of the Unit are posted on the Unit’s landing (main) page, it creates the potential that the statements and opinions will be mistaken as the position of the institution itself."
The policy would allow school departments to post statements on other parts of their sites, and to distribute through social media. But they'd have to be accompanied by a disclaimer that those statements don't represent the university, and that units adopt rules that protect their members from feeling compelled to speak.
“I think it’s fine to have opinions but I think it’s also very important that they’re placed as opinions, not on the beginning of a website where you’re trying to welcome students,” said UC Regents Chair Richard Lieb.
What's next
The regents ultimately delayed a vote on the policy until their next meeting in May.
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Other members raised questions about how the proposal would be implemented and enforced, while others said UC’s Academic Senate had not been given a chance to scrutinize the plan and give its opinion.
Others said a systemwide plan isn’t needed.
“I think each campus should be free to decide on what policies they’re going to be doing, what guidelines they’re going to set around this issue,” said student regent and UCLA graduate student Merhawi Tesfa.
Have thoughts?
How To Make A Public Comment At University Of California Regent Meetings
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Members of the public can address UC regents either by phone or in-person during open sessions of their meetings. There are guidelines (such as: you get up to three minutes). Sign-ups for public comment open 10 days before a board meeting.
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You can also email the regents once an agenda is posted, at regentsoffice@ucop.edu. Emails received at least two days before a board meeting starts are distributed to the regents for review.
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