The University of North Alabama Shared Governance Executive Committee approved a revised Free Speech and Assembly Policy on Jan. 21 to be sent to the UNA Board of Trustees for final revision and approval. The Board meeting will be held on March 7.
The current interim policy, including all of the revisions of the old policy, has been in effect since it was approved by the Academic and Student Affairs Committee in September of 2024, and has now gone through every level of Shared Governance at UNA. The policy is due for review every four years, with the most recent review year, 2024, coinciding with a substantial update in First Amendment case law.
“There was a change in the Alabama law that actually came as a result of a suit that was at [The University of Alabama in Huntsville],” said Dr. K.C. White, UNA Vice President for Student Affairs. She said that UNA strives to uphold both the state laws and the United States Constitution.
White said that one of the primary topics in the lawsuit was the mention of designated “free speech zones,” which prompted UNA to review its own free speech and assembly policy.
“We made sure there is no reference to any ‘free speech zones,’ because we don’t have them,” said White. “The University of North Alabama is absolutely committed to freedom of expression and exchange of ideas.”
Michelle Eubanks, UNA Director of Media and Public Relations, advocated this commitment, stating that the policy depends on the Constitution, not only for its own sake, but also to provide an undergirding for how the Constitution is taught in Business Law courses at UNA.
SGA has documented changes made to the previous policy that show the addition of language specifying several university commitments to neutrality, and the explicit prohibition of the creation of “free speech zones.” The added language includes commitments to neutrality on controversial issues, so long as the issues do not pertain to administrative decisions related to the daily operations of the university, and to be open to any speaker invited by a registered student organization or faculty.
