UNT’s Recent History with the First Amendment

January 2017: UNT students in early 2017 found flyers posted around campus that promoted the white supremacist hate group American Vanguard. After that, a political science student named Isaac Davis handed the flyers over to campus police. The university’s law enforcement arm responded by noting that while the flyers weren’t illegal, they did run afoul of campus policy, according to radio station WBAP.

UNT policies associated: Free speech and public assembly on campus grounds policy

April 2019: UNT’s SGA held a “Block Out Hate” rally in 2019 as a way to distract students from a group of street preachers protesting in the campus’ “free speech zones.” Since those areas are considered public property, the university cannot remove speakers from them. Newsweek reported that the students held their counter-protest next to the preachers, and each demonstration proceeded without university involvement.

UNT policies associated: Free speech and public assembly on campus grounds policy

June 2019: After the president of UNT’s Student Government Association tweeted photos of herself covering up the American flag, she received extensive criticism. Yolian Ogbu had placed a Black Lives Matter flag over the United States flag, a move that prompted rightwing sites such as Campus Reform to cover the ordeal. In response, UNT wrote that it wasn’t Ogbu’s intention to “disrespect” the flag. However, this type of expression is covered by the First Amendment as a form of symbolic speech, and schools cannot punish students who don’t follow the Flag Code, according to FIRE.

UNT policies associated: Free speech and public assembly on campus grounds policy

November 2019: When attempting to raise awareness about protected free speech during a 2019 panel called “When Hate Comes to Campus,” Assistant General Counsel Caitlin Sewell used the N-word as an example of hate speech in an attempt to prove her point. As a response to the incident, UNT’s SGA, NAACP, and Black Student Union held a silent sit-in protest during a Board of Regents meeting. The students had a list of demands that included mandatory cultural competency courses, plus racial awareness and inclusion curriculum for faculty, staff, and administration.

UNT policies associated: Academic freedom and responsibility policy

April 2020: In 2019, the University of North Texas fired a math professor who challenged the concept of “microaggressions.” When someone placed flyers about microaggressions in the faculty lounge, Professor Nathaniel Hiers drew an arrow on a chalkboard pointing to the literature, along with the message: “Please don’t leave garbage lying around.” Hiers was ultimately let go over his written message, which he claimed to have made in jest. Then in April 2020, he filed a lawsuit against the school, alleging the administration had trampled on his constitutional rights to free speech and due process, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom.

UNT policies associated: Academic freedom and responsibility policy

August 2020: In 2020, UNT’s North Texas Daily reported on the push to dissolve a conservative student organization, according to FIRE. After that, the nonprofit group Empower Texans made an open records request to force the newspaper to hand over its notes, a request the university rejected. From there, UNT asked the state’s attorney general to affirm that the records are confidential. FIRE and the Student Press Law Center also filed a public comment with the Office of the Attorney General of Texas, stating that if the nonprofit’s request had been granted, it would infringe on the rights of the student newspaper.

UNT policies associated: The university does not have any specific policies pertaining to student media.

January 2021: Another UNT professor, Dr. Timothy Jackson, also sued the school in January 2021 over alleged First Amendment violations. Jackson is a music theory professor who, in his own academic journal, made controversial assertions about African Americans’ contributions to classical music. Following publication of the issue in question, many called for Jackson’s firing and for the journal’s dissolution. UNT launched an investigation into the publication and attempted to oust the professor as its head. In his lawsuit, Jackson accuses the school of having violated his constitutional rights under the First and 14th amendments; he also asks the court to prevent UNT from taking disciplinary action against him, according to the Denton Record-Chronicle.