Identity of Speakers
-
UC Board of Regents
Faculty/Staff
OtherGoverning Board of UC System
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Michael V. Drake
Faculty/Staff
OtherPresident of the University of California
Additional Information
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Incident Nature:
Rally or protest
Other
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Incident Political Orientation:
Not Clear -
Incident Responses:
University administration invoked formal speech code in response
University administration changed university policy as a consequence
-
Incident Status:
No litigation
- Was Speech Code incident
Summary
In July 2024, the University of California Board of Regents adopted a policy prohibiting political statements on department homepage websites. This policy was introduced after several UC departments displayed pro-Palestinian messages related to the Israel-Hamas conflict, which the Regents believed could be interpreted as official university endorsements. The new rule allows political opinions to be expressed on secondary webpages only if they include a disclaimer stating that these views do not represent the university system’s official position.
In August 2024, UC President Michael V. Drake issued an executive order directing campus administrators to enforce strict rules against protest encampments, the obstruction of pathways, and the use of masks that conceal individuals’ identities. This directive was in response to a wave of pro-Gaza protests that took place across several UC campuses in the spring, during which some demonstrators set up encampments and wore masks. The order called for zero tolerance on these actions to maintain campus safety and ensure that university operations were not disrupted.
