Challenge Leads to University Changing Bias Reporting System

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee revised its bias reporting system to make clear that it will not punish students for constitutionally protected speech, according to a Monday press release by the Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF), the Daily Caller reported.

"Hate or bias incidents do not necessarily violate the law or university policy," UWM's bias reporting system website now states. "As a public university, UWM is bound by the First Amendment and will not sanction or punish a member of the university community for exercising their right to freedom of speech and expression."

Students and faculty can report hate or biased incidents through UWM's bias reporting system.

According to the SLF website, the change was made by UWM after the legal nonprofit foundation sent 12 legal demand letters last October to universities nationwide that had policies that allegedly violated students' speech rights.

SLF wrote in the letter that the school's reporting system was "unconstitutionally vague and overbroad" and posed a chilling effect on student speech. It demanded the school get rid of the system or, at least, "clarify that speech is protected and cannot be subject to any investigation or punishment."

While UWM declared it will no longer punish First Amendment-allowed speech, it stated it will continue to provide "care and support to those impacted by hateful and offensive speech and expression through the hate/bias reporting process," the Daily Caller reported.

SLF called UWM's revisions a victory, stating: "We are proud that our demand letter was a catalyst for student activism at UWM, where conservative students took the initiative to meet with administrators and demand changes to the bias reporting system."

Cece O'Leary, SLF's director of the 1A Project, told the Daily Caller News Foundation: "Thanks to our united efforts, UWM took our demands seriously and recognized that it has a duty to protect the speech of every student on campus."

A Daily Caller News Foundation analysis previously revealed that bias reporting systems are often used by universities across the U.S. to monitor speech that could be deemed offensive on campus, such as offensive jokes, pronoun misuse and remarks considered as racist, sexist, or homophobic.

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