The changes to the Student Code of Conduct were initially on the agenda of the Student Affairs Committee, which Trustee Zack Smith chairs. However, the committee was canceled the day before the August 14 meeting. Read 2025.08.14—STU-Agenda (1)
Why?
From the agenda: “To address ambiguities in UWF REG 3.010, Student Code of Conduct, related to free speech, UWF requested guidance from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) to
obtain recommended language that ensures the Code aligns with and upholds students’ constitutional rights to free speech.”
Background: The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is a nonprofit organization formed in 1999 as the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which originally focused on defending freedom of expression and due process on college campuses.
- Dig Deeper: UWF Trustee Adam Kissel joined FIRE in 2007 as the Director of the Individual Rights Defense Program. Kissel was rejected by the Florida Senate committee, chaired by Sen. Don Gaetz, and subsequently reappointed by Gov. DeSantis. Kissel will have to be confirmed next year to remain on the Board of Trustees.
Is Harassment Free Speech?
The changes regarding the definition of sexual harassment before the committee didn’t go as far as the amendment currently being proposed:…