The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) announced in September 2019 that it would be establishing new regulations in line with a state law, which began as Senate Bill 18 (SB18), that requires public universities to adopt stricter, more uniform Free Speech policies.
J.B. Bird is the spokesperson for the UT Austin. He clarified that, prior to SB18, university spaces were reserved for university-sanctioned organizations and invited guests. After SB18 was enacted in July 2019, Bird said there would be new common spaces on campus open to organizations wishing to speak, rally, or otherwise demonstrate publicly, according to The Daily Texan. Nonetheless, the university still reserves the right to restrict actions that affect the learning environment on campus.
SB18 was lauded by Republicans who felt that the voices of their conservative constituents were being silenced on college campuses throughout the state. SB18 also asks that universities create or update existing disciplinary measures taken against students, staff, and/or faculty who infringe upon the Free Speech rights of others. The bill mandated that universities put new rules into effect by August 2020; it went into effect on September 1, 2019.
SB18 traces back to December 2016, when Richard Spencer, an open white supremacist whom many regard as a neo-Nazi, was invited by a Texas A&M University alumnus to speak at the school. Spencer had made his infamous “Hail Trump” speech in Washington, D.C., a month earlier. Tensions at the university event were so high that police had to break up clashes between sign-wielding supporters and protesters. Later,, the university mandated that only university-sanctioned visitors could speak on campus from then on.
SB18 challenged this policy, although the issue was not as one-sided as some Republicans contend. In March 2019, former congressman Beto O’Rourke’s (D-Texas) presidential campaign reached out to UT Austin, requesting permission to pass out flyers to raise awareness for a rally taking place downtown. The university denied the campaign’s request, citing the school’s speech and assembly policies that restrict non-university-affiliated or -approved speakers and organizations.
Under SB18, universities cannot decide whether to schedule a speaker based on anticipated controversy. Furthermore, Free Speech may not be limited to certain areas on campus. Instead, all common areas will be open to the public to exercise their First Amendment rights. But universities reserve the right to review and act on security needs, if necessary.
Nicholas Ciggelakis, who chairs the Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) group at Texas A&M, feels that the legislation “could’ve been stronger,” according to Houston Public Media. Ciggelakis sees SB18 as a continuation of the status quo. Lillian Bonin, of the UT Austin YCT chapter, shares Ciggelakis’ views. Joe Cascino, president of UT Austin University Democrats, is also unimpressed by SB18, expressing to The Daily Texan his belief that universities should reserve the right to filter who is allowed to demonstrate on campus.
Texas is neither the first nor the only state to see similar attempts to address Free Speech rules on college campuses. In July 2015, then-Gov. Jay Nixon of Missouri, a Democrat, signed into law a bill banning Free Speech zones on college campuses. Gov. John Bel Edwards of Louisiana, also a Democrat, vetoed a campus Free Speech bill in June 2017, calling it “a solution in search of a problem.”
In September 2019, UT Austin President Gregory L. Fenves delivered a State of the University Address. In it, he discussed the reasoning behind, and implications of, SB18.
“As I announced last month, we have modified UT’s rules to be consistent with state law and are making sure that open discourse — which is central to the university’s work — is carried out according to the law and safely.”
After bringing up the importance of ethical conduct in the university’s decision to adopt the policy, Fenves said that UT Austin had created a new initiative, Honor Texas, to help promote the principle throughout the university system.
“And my hope is that every unit on campus — whether at a faculty or staff meeting, as part of a small work group, or at various events within the colleges and departments — has meaningful discussions about ethical conduct and expectations. There is only one way to make progress in this area. It begins with dialogue and a commitment to improve.”