Resources
Additional Information
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Incident Nature:
Other
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Incident Political Orientation:
Not Clear -
Incident Responses:
University administration invoked formal speech code in response
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Incident Status:
No litigation
- Was Speech Code incident
Summary
On February 20, 2026, the Indiana University Board of Trustees voted to adopt the Chicago Principles on Freedom of Expression as the university’s official free speech statement. The principles, originally articulated by a University of Chicago committee in 2015, affirm that universities should support open inquiry, guarantee the broadest possible latitude to speak and listen, and not suppress debate simply because ideas are offensive or unpopular, while noting that expression must comply with laws and rules against threats and harassment. The adoption followed a faculty council review and included plans for a task force to educate the university community about the principles.
In late November 2025, President Pamela Whitten asked the University Faculty Council to review the Chicago Principles and recommend whether Indiana University should adopt them. She framed the review as an opportunity to consider the university’s commitments to freedom of thought and expression. Faculty governance bodies, including the Bloomington Faculty Council and the University Faculty Council, discussed the principles and the question of endorsement.
Public commentary in the fall of 2025 included criticism from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), which placed billboards in Bloomington calling out the university for alleged censorship and warning that more signs would appear if IU did not address free speech concerns. FIRE and other observers noted that adoption of the Chicago Principles would only be meaningful if the university applied them consistently, because the principles are a statement of values rather than a detailed enforceable policy.
Concerns about censorship at IU stemmed from past controversies in which expressive activity was restricted or handled in ways critics described as inconsistent with free speech protections. These included disciplinary actions and legal challenges related to a 2024 expressive activity policy that restricted overnight demonstrations, the cancellation or postponement of speaker events and exhibitions citing security or protest concerns, and disputes over student press independence, including the termination of the faculty adviser for the Indiana Daily Student.
These events contributed to calls from faculty and external groups for clearer commitments to free expression and for the Chicago Principles to guide interpretation and enforcement of existing university policies, with faculty discussions continuing into early March 2026.
