Part I--University of Texas at Austin; Tracking Social Media Policies in U.S. Universties and Its General Implications

(Pix (c) Larry Catá Backer 2014)

I have been following the development and roll out of the social media policy imposed by the Kansas Regents on its university system. The unfortunate history of the Kansas social media policy has led to to consider the issue of social media policy in other universities in the United States. To consider the implications and scope of the issues raised nationally, I am undertaking a series of posts that examine the social media policies of U.S. universities. 

These posts highlight the social media policies of United States universities.  The object is simple: (1) to catalog; (2) make policies more accessible, and (3) provide a  basis for comparison and discussion.  There will be little initial attempt at  analysis, though I will point out some unique or significant features.  The principal objective is data harvesting, comparison and increasingly analysis of the broader implications of these policies layered on atop the other to produce a dense mille-feuille of policy with substantial broader implications.


The nature of that effort was described in the Series Introduction.

This post considers the social media policy of the University of Texas--Austin.


The University of Texas at Austin provides two public sites for information about its social media policies: (1) a "Welcome to the Social Media Directory" and (2) a " Social Media Guidelines" page. These are produced and maintained by "Know", is a publication of University Communications.

Know has been created to give you

a more immediate connection to how the university’s missions of teaching, research and service respond to and affect local, national and global concerns;
a new way to experience and interact with relevant and timely content about the university’s faculty, staff, students and alumni;
access to feature stories, opinion pieces, campus events and rich media, such as videos, photo slideshows and more;
and a directory of social media efforts from across campus.

The framework for Know reflects the perspectives of people across the university. Know was created as a collaborative effort among the colleges, schools and units of The University of Texas at Austin. This multidisciplinary partnership has helped build Know based on the interests of our students, faculty, staff and alumni.

Know signals the next step in the university’s evolution to nimble Web communications dedicated to conversation and education. Know will continue to grow and change as your needs change and as the Internet continues to expand. (Know About Us).

There may be other sources of university policy and rules.  I do not have access to these, including the HR guidelines and policies, and the rules of departments and other units that may be applied to discipline faculty but are not part of university wide governance frameworks.

The "Welcome to the Social Media Directory" page is a portal and principles page.  It sets the initial tone for social media--one that appears positive and encouraging. It provides links to university social media sites, including those maintained by employees and students. It encourages linking of employee and student social media to the university communications universe.  It set out a simple and straightforward multi-category set of principles: (1) respect and accuracy, (2) accuracy and honesty, (3) value and interest, (4) personality, and (5) transparency and disclosure .  It also reminds that the social media policies are tied to the University of Texas' code of ethics, and through that to the disciplinary mechanisms at the university.

The "Social Media Guidelines" (SMG) apply only to university related social media communications (Policy II.1.a. states "This document doesn’t address publishing or regulating personal content on privately maintained social media platforms.")  But the Texas code of ethics may have a broader reach.  And in any case the "Welcome to the Social Media Directory" reminds individuals thinking of communicating publicly for any reason and in any venue, that an individual ought to "Keep in mind that there is no such thing as a “private” social media Web site. What you write from your home computer may follow you to school or work."  How one combines these two statements is unclear. Less clear is the disciplinary consequences of this last statement (does it apply to non university social media communication that might violate the Texas Ethics rules, or other rules for example?; do the expertise guidance rules of the "Welcome" limit the scope of expression only to those areas for which one is an accredited investigator?  How is this accreditation achieved?  etc.).  These are the problems that are made explicit by the Kansas Regents policy but lie dormant here, awaiting a scandal for (mis?)use and then debate. 

In addition the SMG. They incorporate by reference the (1) UT institutional rules on speech and expression in the General Information catalog, (2) UT's Web publishing guidelines, (3) the Acceptable Use Policy for information technology, and (4) UT's Web Privacy Policy. The Guidelines appear to give supervisors the authority to interpret these rules for their employees but it does not appear to insulate employees where they followed supervisor interpretation that proved to be incorrect (II.1.b). Instead the opposite appears to be true--supervisors have the authority to interpret but the employ remains entirely liable for errors (II.1.c).

The rules rational to disclosures for "work related topics" are similarly opaque. The SMG quite properly suggests identification of the person communicating and the nature of their affiliation with the university with respect to university related communication, as well as disclosure relating to whether they are speaking on behalf of the university or in their personal capacity.  These are sensible rules.  Yet these rules become less sensible when one considers their scope. SME II.1.d. applies "when posting on behalf of the university about work-related matters or other issues related to the university" with the exception that "Posts that don’t mention work-related topics won’t need to reference your university relationship." There are at least two obvious issue here.  The first is that there is an undefined space between posting on work related topics (presumably the work related topic is a conscious element of the posting) and "posts that don't mention work related topics".  There may be a number of instances in which one may not be posting on a work related project in behalf of the university but also not clearly mentioning work related topics.  Second, it is not clear what "don't mention work related topics means--a mention?; an off hand mention?  An implied mention? A reference that might be inferred from the aggregate of postings?  More importantly, who has the discretion to decide whether this infraction occurs, and what sort of disciplinary consequences for this "mention" without "disclosure"? And, of course, it is not clear what a work related topic may be.  I suppose this post is itself one that mentions something that is work related (it treated social media policy) yet it is not related to MY work (either as a faculty member or as an employee of the university of Texas since I am not writing this in connection with the work for which I receive compensation, nor using university resources or networks or websites to create this communication. But it may wind up  transmitted on university networks, does that change the character of the post, post facto? Or does it depend on how the university wishes to treat it for its own purposes?  If the later then there is an interesting transfer of power over individual will and expression that might require some rethinking of the nature of human dignity and autonomy in the American Republic.  Or perhaps that has already occurred and is evidenced by the unspoken premises of these guidelines.  Policies II.1.e-i are fairly well established expressions of social norms and would eb expected in virtually any policy.  Policy II.1.j. is notable for its ambiguity: "Be aware of your association with The University of Texas at Austin in online social networks. Your profile and content should be consistent in the manner you wish to present yourself to colleagues, students, parents, alumni and others."  It might be read to express little more than common sense, but it is not clear what the message is. On the one hand this might suggest that within the narrowly defined parameters of the Guidelines, where one is communicating for or through the university, that relationship ought to be given primacy in determining communication.  On the other, to the extent that this seems to extend the reach of the university to all communication, by virtue of the fact that in return for some money and other benefits the individual has hired a specific set of services to the university (but not all of her human autonomy, it is not clear that one can now hire out the entirety of one's human dignity interests under the normative legal or social norms of the United States) then it obliterates the divisions describes in Policy II..1.a. and suggests that all communication is somehow brought into the umbrella of the Guidelines.  That cannot be what it means in form, but it appears to have that meaning in effect. 

The policy appears to have some interesting ambiguities and traps.  Here are some initial thoughts on several that appeared to pop out:

1.  There is no clear line between employee and private communication.  There is a lot of language about the recognition fo the existence of both spheres, but then there is language that clouds the distinction--in favor of employer regulatory power(that is to extract consequences and discipline employees for social media communication outside the reach of the media guidelines).

2.  The extent of "non consequence discretion is troubling.  Supervisors must be consulted but they bear no responsibility for their advice and indeed, like the servants of the IRS, may affirmatively abandon the interpretations on which an employee might have relied. .

3.  There are issues of definition of key terms.

4.  As we will see below, looming large over all of these issues is that of complexity and traps for thçe unwary, traps that might chill expression.  These traps are founded in the organization and dispersion of social media rules themselves.  For the Accessible social media policy rules described above are themselves premised on the disciplinary rules of the University of Texas system.  These are touched on next.

These are, to a certain extent, clarified under the rules, that appear as Appendix C to the Academic Policies and procedures (Chapter 13. Speech, Expression, and Assembly, reprinted below), supplemented by a number of Texas Regents Rules and Regulations. Sec. 13–102 declares its intent to reach into the entirety of the lives of the individuals it hires, the consideration for which are their wages and benefits. "This chapter protects and regulates speech, expression, and assembly of students, faculty members, and staff members that is not part of the teaching, research, or other official functions of the University, not otherwise sponsored by the University or any academic or administrative unit, and not submitted for academic credit." Though this is later narrowed, and the focus of the chapter touches on expressive activity on campus and related to the university's "space", and beyond the presumption of taking for itself a power to "protect," the university still from the outset seeks to reserve for itself a power to  control individuals far beyond their direct remunerated activities for the university.   But note that Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Rule 31004, Number 2, Sections 1 and 2, are more modest in their scope and reflect the traditional approach developed in relation to AAUP standards. Subchapter 13-200 define prohibited expression, all of which include those forms of communication that have been found generally to be worthy of less protection under law or norms. (with the usual difficulties of defining and applying "harassment" norms). However, it is likely that it is most likely that the limits of social media expression would be tested within the somewhat ambiguous though broadly ambiguous references in the harassment policies. but even this is ambiguous.  For example, Section 13-204(a) provides: "No person will make, distribute, or display on the campus any statement that constitutes verbal harassment of any other person. This section applies to all speech on the campus, including speech that is part of teaching, research, or other official functions of the University." It is not clear what "on the campus" meansniversity related speech that would, by operaiton of its connection to "campus" constitute not only a possible violation fo law but also a disciplinary incident.  This is a problem that is not unique to the University of Texas, but the effort to be protective of fundamental dignity interests that may conflict makes this the likely site of conflict through which rules are used to discipline one or another side in the course of a larger debate.  

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Welcome to the Social Media Directory

Be a Part of the Online Conversation

The University of Texas at Austin is all about people making meaningful connections in the world. And through the amazing power of social technologies on the Web, the research, teaching and service taking place at the university are made even more accessible.
We invite you to browse the university’s social media directory and engage with our faculty, students, staff and alumni. Use the “Sort By” navigation in this section of the Know Web site to browse by “media type,” where you’ll find Longhorns on Twitter, YouTube, blogs, Flickr and more. You can also browse the social media directory by the university’s colleges, schools, administrative offices, and libraries and museums.

We Want to Hear from You

We need your help to make the university’s social media directory as comprehensive as possible. If you’re a member of The University of Texas at Austin community and don’t see your social media effort listed here, let us know and we’ll add your social media site to the ever-growing list of the university’s participation on the social Web. Visit the “Send Us Your Content” page here on the Know Web site, and submit your social media site.
Did we list your social media site incorrectly? Please use the “Send Us Your Content” page to let us know.

Social Media Guidelines

We believe it is important for all University of Texas at Austin units, faculty, staff and students to be aware of social media and how social technologies can help you create and nurture relationships, share information, advance knowledge, raise awareness, build support, participate in important conversations and collaborate on new ideas.
Visit the Social Media Guidelines here on the Know Web site for more information on how to appropriately and effectively engage with social media.
Whether you’re a faculty member using social media as a part of the classroom experience or a staff member who’s been charged with the exciting task of growing a social media presence for an administrative unit, you’ll find these guidelines helpful in navigating the quickly evolving world of social technologies.

More Guiding Principles for Engaging with Social Media

University Communications at The University of Texas at Austin wants to help all university staff, faculty, students, as well as our Web visitors, engage in social media, blogs, social networks and the online community. University Communications offers these additional best practices for engaging in social media.
Respect and Ethics
At The University of Texas at Austin we encourage different viewpoints and opinions, and as a participant in social media, you should, too. Be respectful of others’ viewpoints. If you disagree and would like to engage in a conversation, do so cordially, logically and ethically. As always, the university’s code of ethics applies, even in the realm of social media and online networks. Keep in mind that there is no such thing as a “private” social media Web site. What you write from your home computer may follow you to school or work.
Accuracy and Honesty
Write about your areas of expertise, research or study at The University of Texas at Austin. If you are writing about a topic related to the university, or research conducted at the university, but you are not the in-house expert on the topic, make this clear to your readers and check the facts before you post. If there is a Web site you used to gather facts, provide the link for your readers to show accountability. Also, always write in the first person. Your unique voice contributes to the overall message of the university. If you make a mistake, admit it. Your followers will be more willing to forgive and forget if you are up front and quick with your correction. Maintain a high level of quality that exhibits superior grammar, punctuation and spelling.
Value and Interest
When posting to your blog, Twitter or Facebook, ask yourself if your content adds value and interest to the discussion. Make sure your comment, post or tweet is a valued piece of information. If your insight helps people improve knowledge or skills, discover something interesting, solve problems, or better understand The University of Texas at Austin, more than likely you are adding value. There are millions of people, companies and universities on the Web. If you want to stand above the clutter, make sure you provide content that is exciting, engaging and stimulating.
Personality
In the social media realm, you are encouraged to use your own voice and bring your personality to the forefront. The Web is a venue that is relaxed, open and diverse–embrace it. A voice that is over-institutionalized and rehearsed can repel your audience. Make sure your site is not a place for self-promotion. Some social media sites, such as Twitter, close down such sites.
Transparency and Disclosure
When communicating using social media or blogs–Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, Blogger, WordPress, or others–on behalf of The University of Texas at Austin, or in your role as a university staff or faculty member, make sure you clearly identify yourself and your affiliation with the university. Being open about your ties to the university will illustrate credibility and transparency. Make sure you have a formal disclosure that identifies your comments as your unique viewpoints. For instance: “The posts on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent The University of Texas at Austin’s academic goals or opinions.” When writing for personal blogs or social networking sites, make sure you disclose your affiliation with the university if you discuss university-related topics. This will enhance credibility with your readers.
Have we missed a guiding principle for engaging with social media that should be listed here? Or do you have an experience about engaging with UT social media sites that you’d like to share?
Let us know by sending an email to the University Communications Digital Content Group.

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Social Media Guidelines

Whether you’re a faculty member using social media as a part of the classroom experience or a staff member who’s been charged with the exciting task of growing a social media presence for an administrative unit, you’ll find these guidelines helpful in navigating the quickly evolving world of social technologies.
We also invite you to browse the university’s Social Media Directory here on the Know website and engage with our faculty, students, staff and alumni.

1. Introduction

1. The people of The University of Texas at Austin make meaningful connections all over the world. Social technologies on the Web make the excellent research, teaching and public service taking place at the university even more accessible. We believe it is important for all university units, faculty, staff and students to be aware of social media and how social technologies can help you create and nurture relationships, share information, advance knowledge, raise awareness, build support, participate in important conversations and collaborate on new ideas.
   If we incorporate engaging with social media as a part of our overall communications about the university, we can even more effectively tell the wonderful stories about our people, places and programs, and support the university’s mission to improve the quality of life for the people of Texas, the nation and the world.
   We think social media simply provide fun and creative ways to interact with people you might not otherwise hear from with more traditional tools.
2. Each college, school and unit –- and individual faculty and staff members –- at the university should evaluate what, if any, social media technologies are appropriate for their communication needs.
3. These guidelines are to ensure appropriate and effective use of social media. The guidelines will evolve as social media evolve.

2. Guidelines

1. For Faculty and Staff

1. These social media guidelines pertain to your professional interests as a faculty or staff member of The University of Texas at Austin and how you represent the university and your college, school or unit. This document doesn’t address publishing or regulating personal content on privately maintained social media platforms.
2. Know and follow the institutional rules on speech and expression in the General Information catalog, the university’s Web publishing guidelines, the Acceptable Use Policy for information technology and the Web Privacy Policy. Talk with your supervisor if you have questions about how these social media guidelines fit with your unit’s communications plan, or if you have questions about the university-wide policies referenced here.
3. You are personally responsible for the content you post on university-managed social media properties – from blogs and microblogs to social networks, forums and other social media platforms.
4. It’s important to be transparent to your audience when posting on behalf of the university about work-related matters or other issues related to the university. Be sure to identify yourself with your name and affiliation to the university when contributing your personal comments and statements on a university-managed social media property.
   Examples of disclosure methods could include @usernames that contain UT Austin and/or your unit name, a link to a bio or “about me” page or a statement in the post itself, such as “I work for The University of Texas at Austin, and this is my personal opinion.”
   Posts that don’t mention work-related topics won’t need to reference your university relationship.
5. Follow copyright and fair use laws to the letter.
6. Be aware of and follow FERPA and students’ privacy, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 protecting students’ personally identifiable information in educational records.
7. Protect confidential or personal information from The University of Texas at Austin and of students, faculty or staff members. If you have any questions about what constitutes classified data, consult the Extended List of Category-I Data provided on the Information Technology Services website.
8. Assume conversations about The University of Texas at Austin are internal and private. Ask permission prior to sharing these conversations via social media properties.
9. Always show respect. Don’t publish content containing slurs, personal insults or attacks, profanity or obscenity, and don’t engage in any conduct on a social media site that would not be acceptable in University of Texas at Austin workplaces or classrooms. When maintaining or contributing to university-managed social media properties, we should follow the same standards of nondiscrimination and social conduct as outlined by Equal Opportunity Services at the university. We should also expect the same of our visitors to the university’s social media outlets.
   For more best practices about engaging with social media, consult the Guiding Principles for Engaging with Social Media on the university’s Know Social Media Directory.
10. Be aware of your association with The University of Texas at Austin in online social networks. Your profile and content should be consistent in the manner you wish to present yourself to colleagues, students, parents, alumni and others.

2. For Social Media Property/Community Managers

1. Follow the guidelines for Faculty and Staff found in Section II, Part 1 of this document.
2. Before debuting a social media initiative, you are encouraged to develop a social media strategy that should be a part of your unit’s overall communications plan. This strategy should be approved by your unit leader before releasing the social media property to the public. A social media strategy first involves an assessment of your 1) communication goals and objectives, 2) audience needs and interests, and 3) maintenance and content creation resources, and whether a given social media technology is even an appropriate channel to meet those three essential needs.
   Based on that evaluation, if your unit decides to pursue using a social media platform, the strategy you create should reflect five key areas:
   
   1. Listening: Find and monitor the conversations already taking place in the social media sphere about the university, your unit and your subject of interest.
   2. Influencing: Identify and follow key influencers in your target subject of interest and learn what they find valuable in the social media realm.
   3. Engaging: Develop creative ways to provide value to your audiences through exclusive content, offers, advice, multimedia and more on your social media sites.
   4. Converting: Persuade your audiences to act on behalf of the university and your unit, whether it’s for information sharing or relationship building or through their influence, time or money.
   5. Measuring: Ensure your social media effort is on the road to success by returning regularly to your pre-defined measurable goals and objectives.
   If your unit does not have an overall communications plan with which you can align your social media strategy, or if you need help conducting an assessment or developing your social media strategy, contact and work with your unit’s media representative.
   
3. Provide your official University of Texas at Austin social media site URLs to the University Communications Digital Content Group to be included in the university’s Know Social Media Directory. Doing so encourages cross-site collaboration with all university-managed social media properties and creates a one-stop directory for the university community and the university’s Web audiences to connect with our social media platforms.
4. Social media sites at the university should be marked “official” in some way, where appropriate (for example, in a Twitter bio or in the Facebook “about” section) and follow the university’s What Starts Here Changes the World brand and visual guidelines.
5. Official University of Texas at Austin social media properties should provide contact names and email addresses, or correct website URLs that point back to the university’s Web properties.
6. Where appropriate, guidelines should be posted on University of Texas at Austin social media sites that make clear expectations of community members – as well as of its site managers. (Visit the About section of The Ideas of Texas website for an example of guidelines that help Ideas of Texas site contributors be responsible members of that Web community.)
7. All University of Texas at Austin social media sites should be monitored (and moderated, where appropriate) to ensure the community is following the unit-developed site and comments guidelines.
8. If a team of managers and content contributors is posting content on a University of Texas at Austin social media site, each post should be “signed” by the person who posted it (for example, “Posted by J. Smith, University Communications,” or “^JS” on Twitter).
9. It’s encouraged to link to University of Texas at Austin websites, online giving pages, etc., from university-managed social media sites. However, don’t link to password-protected UT Direct services from third-party social media properties. If you wish to direct someone to a UT Direct service, link to a university-owned Web page that then directs visitors to the password-protected site. For example, “To access this service, visit [department home page] and log in to UT Direct.”
10. All University of Texas at Austin social media sites are encouraged to use the approved, standard “Contribute Now” button – available from the Office of Development – on social media platforms, where it’s possible to do so. No other “Contribute Now” buttons should be used.
11. University of Texas at Austin-managed social media sites can’t host advertising. On third-party social media platforms, if ads can be turned off on university pages, they should be.
    On sites such as Facebook where ads can’t be eliminated without significant investment, the units should make sure the benefit of being on Facebook outweighs the risks of advertising being hosted on the page.
12. All University of Texas at Austin-managed social media sites should meet the university’s Information Security Office standards. We emphasize the importance of controlling the administration of organizational social media accounts; that is, keeping the number of administrative publishers to a minimum and having rules in place for managing login credentials. Don’t share your social media passwords around the workplace or classroom.
13. All University of Texas at Austin-managed social media sites should meet the university’s Web Accessibility Policy. University pages on third-party social media sites should make the best effort to follow Web accessibility guidelines. University-managed social media sites can be hosted by third parties as long as they meet Web accessibility and Information Security Office guidelines.
14. Agencies working on behalf of The University of Texas at Austin must also follow these guidelines, including disclosing their business affiliation.

3. Policies and Resources

• Acceptable Use Policy
• Copyright and Fair Use
• Equal Opportunity Services
• Extended List of Category-I Data
• FERPA and Students’ Privacy
• Guiding Principles for Engaging with Social Media
• Information Security Office
• Institutional Rules on Speech and Expression
• Social Media Collaborative @UT Mailing List
• Social Media Collaborative @UT Wiki
• Social Media Directory on Know
• Visual Guidelines
• Web Accessibility Policy
• Web Privacy Policy
• Web Publishing Guidelines
• What Starts Here Changes the World Brand

4. Need Help?

1. If you have questions about this social media guidelines document, contact University Communications at utopa@www.utexas.edu.
2. If you discover inappropriate behavior on a University of Texas at Austin-managed social media property, contact University Communications at utopa@www.utexas.edu.
3. If you want to exchange ideas with University of Texas at Austin colleagues who are engaging with social media, subscribe to the Social Media Collaborative @UT mailing list, and let the discovery and collaboration begin.

5. About the Social Media Guidelines

1. Document Authors: This social media guidelines document was authored by a group of the university’s Social Media Collaborative @UT, a consortium of staff, faculty and students devoted to using social media technologies to further the mission of The University of Texas at Austin.
2. Review Process: This document will be annually reviewed (and revised, if necessary) by the Social Media Collaborative @UT.

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Chapter 13. Speech, Expression, and Assembly

Subchapter 13–100. Governing Principles

Sec. 13–101. Freedom of Speech, Expression, and Assembly

1. The freedoms of speech, expression, and assembly are fundamental rights of all persons and are central to the mission of the University. Students, faculty members, and staff members have the right to assemble, to speak, and to attempt to attract the attention of others, and corresponding rights to hear the speech of others when they choose to listen, and to ignore the speech of others when they choose not to listen.
2. Students, faculty members, and staff members are free to express their views, individually or in organized groups, orally or in writing or by other symbols, on any topic, in all parts of the campus, subject only to rules necessary to preserve the equal rights of others and the other functions of the University. Teaching, research, and other official functions of the University will have priority in allocating the use of space on campus.
3. Except as expressly authorized by subchapter 13–200, the University will not discriminate on the basis of the political, religious, philosophical, ideological, or academic viewpoint expressed by any person, either in the enforcement and administration of these rules or otherwise.

Sec. 13–102. Scope of This Chapter and Related Provisions

1. This chapter protects and regulates speech, expression, and assembly of students, faculty members, and staff members that is not part of the teaching, research, or other official functions of the University, not otherwise sponsored by the University or any academic or administrative unit, and not submitted for academic credit.
2. This chapter also regulates certain speech that is part of the teaching, research, or other official functions of the University:
   1. Section 13–204 on harassment applies to all speech on campus.
   2. This entire chapter applies to speech by academic and administrative units, and speech that is submitted for academic credit, in outdoor locations on the campus. The dean of students administers and schedules outdoor signs, tables, exhibits, public assemblies, and amplified sound, even for faculty members, staff members, and administrative and academic units, because scheduling through a single office is necessary to avoid conflicts.
3. Any program or event sponsored by an academic or administrative unit of the University will have priority in the use of space and facilities over any speech, expression, and assembly that is not sponsored by an academic or administrative unit, except that programs or events sponsored by an academic or administrative unit will not have priority in the use of weekday amplified sound areas defined in section 13–802. This chapter does not limit other existing authority of University officials to authorize programs and events sponsored by an academic or administrative unit and not provided for in this chapter.
4. Additional rules concerning free speech and academic freedom of faculty members are found in the Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Rule 31004, Number 2, Sections 1 and 2.
5. Underlying rules concerning free speech of students are found in the Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Rule 40501, Rule 80101, Rule 80103, and Rule 80104. Chapter 13 of the Institutional Rules implements those provisions and applies them to the Austin campus.
6. Rules restricting access to the campus and restricting speech on the campus by persons who are not students, faculty members, or staff members are found in the Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Rule 40501.
7. Rules protecting and regulating speech on University computer networks are promulgated by Information Technology Services (ITS), and are currently found in ITS Policies, Acceptable Use Policy, http://www.utexas.edu/cio/policies/aup/.
8. Rules requiring University employees to make clear that controversial statements are made in their personal capacity are found in the Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Rule 10403, Number 2, Section 10. Rules restricting use of University equipment, supplies, services, and working hours for political activities are found in the Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Rule 30103, Number 2.

Sec 13–103. General Definitions—Categories of Speakers and Users

In this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning, the following definitions apply.

1. “Academic or administrative unit” means any office or department of the University.
2. “Event” means something that occurs in a certain place during a particular interval of time; events include but are not limited to guest speakers, exhibits, tables, distribution of literature, signs, and public assemblies.
3. “Faculty member and staff member” includes any person who is employed by the University.
4. “Off-campus person or organization” means any person, organization, or business that is not an academic or administrative unit, a registered student, faculty, or staff organization, or a student, faculty member, or staff member.
5. “Registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organization” includes a registered student organization or a sponsored student organization under subchapter 6–200 of the Institutional Rules, or a faculty or staff organization under the Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Rule 40201.
6. “Student” means a person who is currently enrolled at the University, or who is accepted for admission or readmission to the University, or who has been enrolled at the University in a prior semester or summer session and is eligible to continue enrollment in the semester or summer session that immediately follows, or who is attending an educational program sponsored by the University while that person is on campus.
7. “University person or organization” includes academic and administrative units, registered student, sponsored student, faculty, and staff organizations, and individual students, faculty members, and staff members; this phrase describes the most inclusive category of potential speakers on campus; every person and organization of any kind is either an “off-campus person or organization” or a “University person or organization.”

Sec. 13–104. Other General Definitions

In this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning, the following definitions apply.

1. “Amplified sound” means sound whose volume is increased by any electric, electronic, mechanical, or motor-powered means. Shouting, group chanting, and acoustic musical instruments are exempt from this definition and are not subject to the special rules on amplified sound, but are subject to general rules on disruption.
2. “Day” means calendar day, except University holidays and days on which regularly scheduled classes are suspended due to emergent situations; “weekday” means Monday through Friday, except University holidays and days on which regularly scheduled classes are suspended due to emergent situations; “University holiday” means a staff holiday identified in the holiday schedule published by the Office of Human Resource Services. If a deadline defined in this chapter falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or University holiday, the deadline will be moved to the next weekday; Saturdays and Sundays that are contiguous with University holidays are not counted as “days” as defined here.
3. “Dean of students” means the dean of students of the University of Texas at Austin or any delegate or representative of the dean of students;
4. “Main Mall” means the area bounded by the south wall of the Main Building, the west walls of Garrison Hall, the north edge of Inner Campus Drive, the south wall of the Dorothy L. Gebauer Building and the east wall of Battle Hall. The Main Mall includes the south steps and south porches of the Main Building.
5. “Room or space” includes any room or space, indoors or outdoors, owned or controlled by the University.
6. “University” means the University of Texas at Austin.
7. “University holiday”—see “day” above.
8. “Vice president” means the vice president for student affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.
9. “Weekday”—see “day” above.

Subchapter 13–200. Prohibited Expression

Sec. 13–201. Obscenity

No person or organization will distribute or display on the campus any writing or visual image, or engage in any public performance, that is obscene. A writing, image, or performance is “obscene” if it is obscene as defined in Texas Penal Code, Section 43.21 or successor provisions, and is within the constitutional definition of obscenity as set forth in decisions of the United States Supreme Court.

Sec. 13–202. Defamation

1. No person will make, distribute, or display on the campus any statement that unlawfully defames any other person.
2. A statement unlawfully defames another person if it is false, if the false portion of the statement injures the reputation of the other person, and if the speaker has the constitutionally required state of mind as set forth in decisions of the United States Supreme Court.

Sec. 13–203. Incitement to Imminent Violations of Law

No person will make, distribute, or display on the campus any statements directed to inciting or producing imminent violations of law under circumstances such that the statements are likely to actually and imminently incite or produce violations of law.

Sec. 13–204. Harassment

1. No person will make, distribute, or display on the campus any statement that constitutes verbal harassment of any other person. This section applies to all speech on the campus, including speech that is part of teaching, research, or other official functions of the University.
2. 1. “Verbal harassment” means hostile or offensive speech, oral, written, or symbolic, that
      
      1. personally describes or is personally directed to one or more specific individuals; and
      2. is sufficiently severe, pervasive, or persistent to create an objectively hostile environment that interferes with or diminishes the victim’s ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by the University; and
      3. is not necessary to the expression of any idea described in subsection 13–204(b)(2).
   2. To make an argument for or against the substance of any political, religious, philosophical, ideological, or academic idea is not verbal harassment, even if some listeners are offended by the argument or idea. The categories of sexually harassing speech set forth in Policy 4.B.2 of the Revised Handbook of Operating Procedures are rarely, if ever, necessary to argue for or against the substance of any political, religious, philosophical, ideological, or academic idea.
   3. Verbal harassment may consist of threats, insults, epithets, ridicule, personal attacks, or the categories of harassing sexual speech set forth in Policy 4.B.2 of the Revised Handbook of Operating Procedures. Verbal harassment is often based on the victim’s appearance, personal characteristics, or group membership, including but not limited to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, disability, citizenship, veteran status, sexual orientation, ideology, political views, or political affiliation.
3. Harassment can also consist of nonverbal conduct, such as hazing, practical jokes, damage to property, and physical assault. In the case of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct, sexual conduct is often central to the offense. These forms of harassment are prohibited by subsection 11–404(a)(12) of the Institutional Rules, by Policy 4.A.3 and Policy 4.B.2 of the Revised Handbook of Operating Procedures, and by the Regents’ Rules and Regulations, 30105. Some forms of harassment violate the Prohibition of Campus Violence, Policy 2.A.3 in the Revised Handbook of Operating Procedures. For enhanced sanctions for disciplinary offenses motivated by the race, color, or national origin of a student harmed by the offense, see subsection 11–701(b) of the Institutional Rules. To the extent of any conflict in the definition of verbal harassment, the more detailed definition in this section controls.
4. The harassment that this section prohibits does not exhaust the category of speech that is unnecessary and inappropriate to vigorous debate in a diverse community of educated people. An essential part of higher education is to learn to separate substantive argument from personal offense, and to express even the deepest disagreements within standards of civility that reflect mutual respect, understanding, and sensitivity among the diverse population within the University and in the larger society. These are community norms, even though they cannot be enforced by disciplinary rules.
5. Verbal harassment has been interpreted very narrowly by the federal courts. Policies on verbal harassment or hate speech at many universities have been held unconstitutional, either because they prohibited harassment only when it was based on race, sex, and similar categories, or because they failed to protect the expression of potentially offensive ideas. This policy should be interpreted as narrowly as need be to preserve its constitutionality.
6. 1. A student who believes he or she has been harassed should report the alleged violation to the dean of students.
   2. A faculty member or staff member who believes he or she has been harassed should report the alleged violation to the Office of Institutional Equity.
   3. Alternatively, any person who believes he or she has been harassed may report the alleged violation to the Office of Institutional Equity or to any University official, administrator, or supervisor. A faculty member is not an “official, administrator, or supervisor” for this purpose unless that faculty member holds an administrative position.
   4. Any University official, administrator, or supervisor who receives a report of alleged harassment will promptly refer that report and the complainant to the Office of Institutional Equity, or to the dean of students, as appropriate. A complainant whose report is not forwarded to the Office of Institutional Equity, or to the dean of students, has not initiated proceedings for providing a remedy to the complainant or for imposing discipline on the alleged harasser.
   5. Investigation of the information provided, and any remedial or disciplinary proceedings, will proceed under the procedures set out in the harassment policies cross-referenced in subsection 13–204(c).

Sec. 13–205. Solicitation

1. 1. No person or registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organization will make, distribute, or display on the campus any statement that offers or advertises any product or service for sale or lease that includes commercial identifiers, such as for-profit logos, trademarks, and service marks, or that requests any gift or contribution, except as authorized by subsection 13–205(b), by section 13–403, or by the Regents’ Rules and Regulations.
   2. Words or symbols on personal apparel, or on decals or bumper stickers affixed to a vehicle by an owner of that vehicle, are not solicitation within this definition.
   3. Unadorned acknowledgments or thanks to donors are not solicitation within this definition.
2. 1. A registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organization may advertise or sell merchandise, publications, food, or nonalcoholic beverages, or request contributions: for the benefit of the registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organization; for the benefit of another registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organization; or, for the benefit of an organization that is tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. No organization may sell items obtained on consignment. No organization may request contributions for an off-campus tax-exempt organization for more than fourteen days in any fiscal year.
   2. Registered student, sponsored student, faculty, and staff organizations, and academic and administrative units, may sell, distribute, or display literature that contains advertising, subject to the limits in section 13–403. Individual students, faculty members, and staff members may distribute or display such literature, but may not sell it.
   3. Individual students, faculty members, and staff members may post advertisements for roommates, subleases, and sales of used goods that the seller has personally owned and used, but only on a bulletin board designated for that purpose by an academic or administrative unit in space that the unit occupies or controls. Any unit that designates a bulletin board for this purpose may regulate that bulletin board under the procedures set forth in section 13–506.
   4. A resident of a University residence hall or apartment building may occasionally invite one or more salespersons to come to the resident’s room or apartment, and in that room or apartment, the salesperson may offer products or services for sale to other residents of that residence hall or apartment building.
   5. A registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organization may collect admission fees for programs scheduled in advance in accordance with subchapter 10–200 of the Institutional Rules.
   6. A registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organization may collect membership fees or dues at meetings of the registered student, faculty, or staff organization scheduled in advance under subchapter 10–200 of the Institutional Rules.
   7. A registered student organization that is a qualified organization as that term is defined in the Texas Charitable Raffle Enabling Act, Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 2002, or successor provisions, may sell charitable raffle tickets pursuant to that act. 
   8. A registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organization may host a public performance of a film scheduled in advance in accordance with subchapter 10–200 of the Institutional Rules. In accordance with the Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Rule 80103, admission fees may be collected. All registered student, sponsored student, faculty or staff organizations that exhibit films on campus must obtain a Public Performance License for the individual film(s) from a licensing agent. This license is required even if the exhibition of the film is offered to the public for free and is educational in nature. Registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organizations will be required to follow the process proscribed by the film distributor to obtain approval to exhibit the film. Federal Copyright Laws protect all films viewed in public areas regardless of format. There are a few exceptions. Registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organizations may exhibit a film publicly if
      
      1. the film is in the Public Domain;
         
      2. the registered student, sponsored student, faculty or staff organization has written permission from the film’s producer or other holder of the right to grant such permission; or
         
      3. the film is obtained from a company that provides a Public Performance License with the purchase or rental of the film.
         
3. More detailed regulation of solicitation appears in the Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Rule 80103.

Subchapter 13–300. General Rules on Means of Expression

Sec. 13–301. Disruption

1. Except as expressly authorized in section 13–802, or by an authorized University official responsible for a program or event sponsored by an academic or administrative unit, no speech, expression, or assembly may be conducted in a way that disrupts or interferes with any
   1. teaching, research, administration, or other authorized activities on the campus;
   2. free and unimpeded flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic on the campus; or
   3. signs, tables, exhibits, public assemblies, distribution of literature, guest speakers, or use of amplified sound by another person or organization acting under the rules in this chapter.
2. 1. The term “disruption” and its variants, as used in this rule, are distinct from and broader than the phrase “disruption of activities,” as used in the Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Rule 30103, Number 2, Section 2, and the phrase “disruptive activities,” as used in the Regents’ Rules and Regulations, Rule 40502. This rule is concerned not only with deliberate disruption, but also with scheduling and coordination of events to manage or minimize the inevitable conflicts between legitimate events conducted in close proximity.
   2. Except in the most extreme cases, interference and disruption are unavoidably contextual. Intentional physical interference with other persons is nearly always disruptive in any context. Interfering with traffic depends on the relation between the volume of traffic and the size of the passageway left open. Disruptive noise is the most contextual of all, because it depends on the activity disrupted. Any distracting sound may disrupt a memorial service. Any sound sufficiently loud or persistent to make concentration difficult may disrupt a class or library. Occasional heckling in the speaker’s pauses may not disrupt a political speech, but persistent heckling that prevents listeners from hearing the speaker does disrupt a political speech. These illustrations may be helpful, but none of them includes enough context to be taken as a rule. We cannot escape relying on the judgment and fairness of University authorities in particular cases. In this context where difficult enforcement judgments are unavoidable, it is especially important to remind administrators and law enforcement officials that their judgments should not be influenced by the viewpoint of those claiming disruption or of those allegedly disrupting.
3. Potentially disruptive events can often proceed without disruption if participants, administrators, and law enforcement officials cooperate to avoid disruption without stopping the event. In cases of marginal or unintentional disruption, administrators and law enforcement officials should clearly state what they consider disruptive and seek voluntary compliance before stopping the event or resorting to disciplinary charges or arrest.

Sec. 13–302. Damage to Property

1. No speech, expression, or assembly may be conducted in a way that damages, defaces, marks, discolors, or alters in any way property of the University or of any person who has not authorized the speaker to damage or deface his or her property.
2. No person may damage, deface, mark, discolor, alter, or interfere with any sign, table, or exhibit posted or displayed by another person or organization acting under the rules in this chapter.

Sec. 13–303. Coercing Attention

1. No person may attempt to coerce, intimidate, or badger any other person into viewing, listening to, or accepting a copy of any communication.
2. No person may persist in requesting or demanding the attention of any other person after that other person has attempted to walk away or has clearly refused to attend to the speaker’s communication.

Sec. 13–304. Cosponsorship

1. Neither registered student, faculty, or staff organizations, nor individual students, faculty members, or staff members, may cosponsor any event on campus with an off-campus person or organization. Only academic or administrative units with authority delegated from the president of the University may cosponsor events with an off-campus person or organization. Sponsored student organizations are an extension of the sponsoring academic or administrative unit under the authority of subsection 6-101(10).
2. An event is a prohibited cosponsorship if an individual or a registered student, faculty, or staff organization
   1. depends on an off-campus person or organization for planning, staffing, or management of the event; or
   2. advertises the event as cosponsored by an off-campus person or organization; or
   3. operates the event as agent of, or for the benefit of, an off-campus person or organization, except for solicitation of charitable contributions under the authority of subsection 13–205(b)(1); or
   4. distributes any proceeds of the event to an off-campus person or organization, except for
      
      1. the proceeds of charitable contributions solicited under the authority of subsection 13–205(b)(1); or
      2. payment of a fair market price for goods or services provided to the University person or organization; or
   5. reserves a room or space for the use of an off-campus person or organization; or
   6. engages in any other behavior that persuades the dean of students that an off-campus person or organization is in fact responsible for the event, in full or in substantial part.
3. The following facts do not, in and of themselves, indicate a prohibited cosponsorship:
   1. that a University person or organization endorses an off-campus person or organization or its message;
   2. that a University person or organization sells, distributes, or displays literature prepared by an off-campus person or organization or containing contact information for an off-campus person or organization (subject to the rules in section 13–205);
   3. that a University person or organization has purchased goods or services from an off-campus provider;
   4. that a registered student, faculty, or staff organization has invited a guest speaker under subchapter 13–1000;
   5. that a registered student, faculty, or staff organization has received financial contributions to support the event from an off-campus donor.
4. The purpose of this rule is to preserve the limited space on campus for the use of students, faculty members, and staff members, and the rule will be interpreted to serve that purpose.

Sec. 13–305. Other Rules with Incidental Effects on Speech

1. Other generally applicable or narrowly localized rules, written and unwritten, incidentally limit the time, place, and manner of speech, but are too numerous to compile or cross-reference here. For example, libraries typically have highly restrictive rules concerning noise; laboratories and rooms containing the electrical and mechanical infrastructure of the University typically have safety rules and rules excluding persons without specific business there; fire and safety codes prohibit the obstruction of exits and limit the constriction of hallways. Speech within classrooms is generally confined to the subject matter of the class; the right to attend a class at all is subject to registration and payment of tuition; individual professors may have rules of decorum in their classrooms. These kinds of rules limit the right of students, faculty members, and staff members to enter and speak in the places to which these rules apply.
2. Reasonable and nondiscriminatory rules of this kind generally control over the rights of free speech guaranteed in this chapter. But even these kinds of rules are subject to the constitutional right of free speech. Such rules must be viewpoint neutral. Such rules cannot regulate speech more restrictively than they regulate other activities that cause the problems to be avoided by the rule. Such rules should not restrict speech more than is reasonably necessary to serve their purpose. Such rules cannot ban unobtrusive forms of communication with no potential for disruption even in the specialized environment subject to the localized rule. Thus, for example, means of silent expression or protest confined to the speaker’s immediate person, such as armbands, buttons, and T-shirts, are nearly always protected because they are rarely disruptive in any environment.

Subchapter 13–400. Distribution of Literature

Sec. 13–401. General Rule on Distribution of Literature

1. Registered student, sponsored student, faculty, and staff organizations and academic and administrative units may sell, distribute, or display literature on campus, subject to the rules in this subchapter and to the general rules in subchapter 13–200 and subchapter 13–300. Individual students, faculty members, and staff members may distribute or display literature, subject to the rules in this subchapter and to the general rules in subchapter 13–200 and subchapter 13–300, but may not sell it. In either case, no advance permission is required.
2. “Literature” means any printed material, including any newspaper, magazine, or other publication, and any leaflet, flyer, or other informal matter, that is produced in multiple copies for distribution to potential readers.
3. Literature may be distributed only by University persons or organizations.

Sec. 13–402. Not-for-Profit Literature Only

1. Except as expressly authorized by the Regents’ Rules and Regulations or by contract with the University, no person or organization may sell, distribute, or display on campus any publication operated for profit. A registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organization may sell publications operated for profit as part of a fund-raiser authorized by, and subject to the limits of, subsection 13–205(b)(1).
2. A publication is operated for profit if any part of the net earnings of the publication, or of its distribution, inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.

Sec. 13–403. Limits on Advertising

Literature distributed on campus may contain the following advertising:

1. advertising for a registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organization, or an academic or administrative unit;
2. advertising for an organization that is tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code;
3. paid advertising in a publication primarily devoted to promoting the views of a not-for-profit organization or to other bona fide editorial content distinct from the paid advertising; and
4. other advertising expressly authorized by the Regents’ Rules and Regulations or by contract with the University.

All other advertising in literature distributed on campus is prohibited.

Sec. 13–404. Clean Up of Abandoned Literature

Any person or organization distributing literature on campus will pick up all copies dropped on the ground in the area where the literature was distributed.

Sec. 13–405. Registered Student Organization Literature Disclaimer

Literature distributed by registered student organizations on campus must contain a disclaimer that indicates that registered student organization literature is not official University literature and does not represent the views of the University or its officers.

Subchapter 13–500. Signs, Banners, and A-Frames

Sec. 13–501. General Rule on Signs

1. “Sign” means any method of displaying a visual message to others, except that transferring possession of a copy of the message is distribution of literature and not a sign.
2. Subject to the rules in this subchapter and to the general rules in subchapter 13–200 and subchapter 13–300, a University person or organization may display a sign by holding or carrying it, by displaying it at a table (see subchapter 13–600), or by posting it on a kiosk, bulletin board, or other designated location. Signs may not be posted in any other location. Subject to viewpoint-neutral size requirements, the Division of Housing and Food Service has designated the window and door of a residence hall room as locations where the resident(s) of that room may post signs. Section 13–506 lists other designated locations.

Sec. 13–502. Hand-Held Signs

1. Students, faculty members, and staff members may display a sign on campus by holding or carrying it by hand or otherwise attaching it to their person. No advance permission is required.
2. Any person holding or carrying a sign will exercise due care to avoid bumping, hitting, or injuring any other person.
3. Any person holding or carrying a sign at a speech, performance, or other event will exercise due care to avoid blocking the view of any other person observing the speech, performance, or event. Depending on the venue, this may mean that signs may be displayed only around the perimeter of a room or an audience.
4. A law enforcement officer or the dean of students, or an usher or other University employee if authorized by officials responsible for managing the venue, may warn any person that his or her sign is being handled in violation of subsection 13–502(b) or subsection 13–502(c). If the violation persists after a clear warning, the law enforcement officer, dean of students, authorized usher, or other authorized employee may confiscate the sign.

Sec. 13–503. Signs on Kiosks

1. A kiosk is an outdoor structure, attached to the ground in a fixed location, designed for the posting of signs.
2. Academic and administrative units and registered student, sponsored student, faculty, and staff organizations may post signs on kiosks. No advance permission is required. Individuals may not post on kiosks.
3. No sign posted on a kiosk may be larger than 11 inches by 17 inches.
4. Each sign posted on a kiosk must identify the academic or administrative unit or registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organization that posted the sign, and must state the date the sign was posted or the date of the event being advertised. No sign advertising an event may be posted on a kiosk more than fourteen days before the date of the event.
5. An academic or administrative unit or a registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organization that posts a sign on a kiosk must remove that sign not later than fourteen days after it was posted, or twenty-four hours after the event it advertised, whichever is earlier.
6. No sign may be posted on a kiosk on top of another properly posted sign.
7. Academic and administrative units and registered student, sponsored student, faculty, and staff organizations may post no more than two signs on the same kiosk at the same time.
8. No sign may be posted on a kiosk using tacks or staples. Signs must be attached to the kiosks using the provided bungee cords.
9. The dean of students may remove any sign that violates any of the rules in this section.

Sec. 13–504. Banners

1. “Banner” means a sign hung from a structure, or between two buildings, structures, or poles.
2. 1. The dean of students will designate places where banners may be hung in outdoor locations not occupied or controlled by any other academic or administrative unit.
   2. Other academic and administrative units may designate one or more places where banners may be hung in indoor or outdoor locations that the unit occupies or controls.
3. 1. Academic and administrative units and registered student, sponsored student, faculty, and staff organizations may hang banners in locations designated under subsection 13–504(b). Individuals may not hang banners.
   2. Advance permission is required from the unit administering the location; usually, advance reservations are required. Academic and administrative units advertising official University events or programs may be given priority. In locations administered by academic or administrative units other than the dean of students, organizations affiliated with the unit administering the location may be given priority.
4. 1. In locations administered by the dean of students, each banner may be hung for one week. The banner may be renewed from week to week if space is available.
   2. Other units administering a location for banners may limit the time each banner may hang. Any such time limit will be applied without discrimination to all organizations, except that academic and administrative units may be given preference.
5. The dean of students will maintain, on a Web site or on a flyer or pamphlet available at the dean of students’ office,
   1. a list of outdoor locations where banners may be hung;
   2. the academic or administrative unit that administers banners at each outdoor location; and
   3. a current description of the rules and procedures for reserving the right to hang a banner in locations administered by the dean of students.
6. The unit administering a banner location may require that the physical work of hanging the banners be performed only by Department of Facilities Services employees or other appropriate University personnel.

Sec. 13–505. A-Frames

1. “A-frame” means a movable and self-supporting sign board designed to stand on the ground. A-frames may not exceed five feet in height or width. Structures that do not meet this criteria will be considered exhibits and will be subject to the rules in subchapter 13–700.
2. The dean of students will designate outdoor locations where A-frames may be placed. If an academic or administrative unit or a registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organization wishes to place an A-frame in a different location, then the structure will be considered an exhibit and will be subject to the rules in subchapter 13–700.
3. Academic and administrative units and registered student, sponsored student, faculty, and staff organizations may place A-frames in locations designated under subsection 13–505(b). Individuals may not place A-frames.
4. Each A-frame may be placed for fourteen days. The A-frame may be renewed for an additional fourteen days if space is available. If the A-frame is left on campus for longer than the reservation, the A-frame may be removed by the Department of Facilities Services, at the expense of the academic or administrative unit or registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organization.
5. The dean of students will maintain, on a Web site or on a flyer or pamphlet available at the dean of students’ office, a current description of the rules and procedures for reserving the right to place an A-frame on campus.
6. Any registered student, faculty, or staff organization sponsoring an A-frame assumes full responsibility for the A-frame, including all injuries or hazards that may arise from the A-frame. The University will not be liable for any damage that may occur to the A-frame, and any registered student, faculty, or staff organization sponsoring the A-frame will indemnify the University for any claims arising from the A-frame’s presence on campus.

Sec. 13–506. Signs in Other Designated Locations (Including Departmental Bulletin Boards)

1. Each academic or administrative unit may authorize the posting of signs in spaces that unit occupies and controls. Such authorization may be granted by general rule, by stamping or initialing individual signs, or by long-standing tradition.
2. Signs in spaces occupied by academic or administrative units may be
   1. confined to bulletin boards or other designated locations;
   2. subjected to viewpoint-neutral rules limiting the size of signs, limiting how long they may be posted, requiring each sign to show the date it was posted and the name of the person or organization who posted it, and similar rules designed to facilitate fair and equal opportunities to post signs;
   3. confined to official statements or business of the unit, or to certain subject matters of interest within the unit, or to signs posted by persons or organizations affiliated with the unit.
3. Each academic or administrative unit will post on or near each bulletin board or other designated location that it administers
   1. either the rules applicable to that bulletin board or location, or a particular office or Web site where the rules applicable to that bulletin board or location may be found; and
   2. if a stamp or initials are required on signs before they are posted on that bulletin board or location, the name and office location of the person whose stamp or initials are required.
   3. This notice will be posted in the upper left corner of each bulletin board or other designated location for posting signs, or conspicuously in another nearby location. If no such notice is posted, then the only applicable rules are those contained in subchapter 13–200 and sections 13–301 to 13–304.
4. Within the scope of the subject matters permitted on a particular bulletin board or other designated location, no academic or administrative unit will discriminate on the basis of the political, religious, philosophical, ideological, or academic viewpoint expressed on a sign.
5. This section does not apply to any enclosed bulletin board or display case that is accessible only to authorized personnel for official University business.

Subchapter 13–600. Tables

Sec. 13–601. General Rule on Tables

University persons and organizations may set up tables from which to display literature, disseminate information and opinions, and raise funds, subject to the rules in this subchapter and to the general rules in subchapter 13–200, subchapter 13–300, and subchapter 13–1000. No advance permission is required.

Sec. 13–602. Locations

1. Subject to the restrictions in subsection 13–602(b) and subject to the rules on disruption of other functions and interference with vehicular and pedestrian traffic (see section 13–301), University persons and organizations may set up tables in any outdoor location on the campus and in any large, open, indoor location.
2. 1. Tables may not be set up on the Main Mall between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm on weekdays.
   2. Tables may not be set up inside any library, classroom, laboratory, performance hall, stadium, or office, or in any hallway less than ten feet wide, without permission from the academic or administrative unit that controls the space, or from the faculty member or staff member who controls the space at a particular time.
   3. An academic or administrative unit may further specify these rules by restricting tables to reasonable locations in spaces occupied by that unit. Academic and administrative units are encouraged to state any such rules clearly in writing and to publish those rules on a Web site or on a flyer or pamphlet available at the chief administrative office of the unit.
3. If any table is set up in a prohibited or disruptive location, any University employee pointing out the violation will also point out other locations, as nearby as is reasonably possible, where the table is permitted.

Sec. 13–603. Identification

Each table must have a sign or literature that identifies the University person or organization sponsoring the table.

Sec. 13–604. Clean Up around Tables

University persons and organizations sponsoring a table will remove litter from the area around the table before vacating the space.

Sec. 13–605. Sources of Tables

University persons and organizations may supply their own tables. In addition, the dean of students maintains a supply of tables for registered student and sponsored student organizations that may be reserved and checked out for use on campus in designated areas. The dean of students will maintain, on a Web site or on a flyer or pamphlet available at the dean of students’ office, a current description of the rules and procedures for reserving and checking out tables.

Subchapter 13–700. Exhibits

Sec. 13–701. General Rule on Exhibits

1. “Exhibit” means an object or collection of related objects, designed to stand on the ground or on a raised surface, which is not a table, is designed for temporary display, and is not permanently attached to the ground.
2. Academic or administrative units and registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organizations may erect exhibits, subject to the rules in this subchapter and to the general rules in subchapter 13–200, subchapter 13–300, and subchapter 13–1000. Advance permission is required from the dean of students, except that an academic unit may authorize indoor exhibits in a space that it occupies and controls. Outdoor exhibits may not be erected on the Main Mall between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm on weekdays.

Sec. 13–702. Application Process

An academic or administrative unit or a registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organization desiring to display an outdoor exhibit will apply on a form prescribed by the dean of students.

Sec. 13–703. Approval Process

1. The dean of students will authorize an exhibit described in a completed application under section 13–702 unless the dean of students finds that use of the proposed space for the proposed exhibit must be disapproved under the criteria in section 10–203 of the Institutional Rules. The dean of students will advise the applicant how to correct, if possible, any conditions that preclude approval of the application.
2. The dean of students will consider the totality of the circumstances, including safety concerns, as part of the approval process.

Sec. 13–704. Time Limits

1. In locations administered by the dean of students, each exhibit may be displayed for fourteen days. The exhibit may be renewed for an additional fourteen days if space is available.
2. The exhibit may be displayed no earlier than 8:00 am and must be removed by 10:00 pm each day and may be re-erected each morning. Overnight exhibits will be considered on a case-by-case basis and subject to 13-701(b).

Sec. 13–705. Clean Up around Exhibits

Any academic or administrative unit or registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organization sponsoring an exhibit will remove litter from the area around the exhibit before vacating the space.

Sec. 13–706. Liability

Any registered student, faculty, or staff organization sponsoring an exhibit assumes full responsibility for the exhibit, including all injuries or hazards that may arise from the exhibit. The University will not be liable for any damage that may occur to the exhibit, and any registered student, faculty, or staff organization sponsoring the exhibit will indemnify the University for any claims arising from the exhibit’s presence on campus.

Subchapter 13–800. Amplified Sound

Sec. 13–801. General Rule on Amplified Sound

University academic or administrative units and registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organizations may use amplified sound on campus at designated times and locations, subject to the rules in this subchapter and to the general rules in subchapter 13–200 and subchapter 13–300. Advance permission is required. This subchapter creates limited exceptions to the general rule on disruption in section 13–301.

Sec. 13–802. Location and Times of Weekday Amplified Sound Areas

1. 
   
   1. The West Mall Amplified Sound Area is the extreme east end of the West Mall, adjacent to the west steps of the Main Building.
   2. Registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organizations and academic or administrative units may use amplified sound in this area from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm on weekdays.
   3. All academic and administrative units and registered student, sponsored student, faculty, and staff organizations must use sound equipment owned or controlled by the dean of students’ office.
2. 1. The Union Patio Amplified Sound Area is the flagstone area between the Texas Union and the Flawn Academic Center.
   2. Registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organizations and academic or administrative units may use amplified sound in this area from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm on weekdays.
3. 1. The East Bus Circle Amplified Sound Area is the grassy area south of the East Mall Fountain, west of Waller Creek, and east of the College of Liberal Arts Building.
   2. Registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organizations and academic or administrative units may use amplified sound in this area from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm on weekdays.
4. 1. The Battle Oaks Amplified Sound Area is the area bounded by the north wall of Hogg Auditorium, by an extension drawn northward from the east wall of the Texas Union, by the south edge of the sidewalk on the south side of 24th Street, and by the west edge of the sidewalk on the west side of Inner Campus Drive.
   2. Registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organizations and academic or administrative units may use amplified sound in this area from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm on weekdays.
5. 1. The Mustangs Amplified Sound Area is the area bounded by the sidewalk on the east side of San Jacinto Boulevard, by the west wall of the Texas Memorial Museum, and by the outer edge of the two stairways on either side of the lawn.
   2. Registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organizations and academic or administrative units may use amplified sound in this area from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm on weekdays.
6. 1. The San Jacinto Amplified Sound Area is the area bounded by the south wall of the Art Building, by the east edge of the sidewalk on the east side of San Jacinto Boulevard, by the north edge of the sidewalk on the north side of 23rd Street, and by the west edge of the sidewalk on the west side of Trinity Avenue.
   2. Registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organizations and academic or administrative units may use amplified sound in this area from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm on weekdays.
7. 1. The LBJ Fountain Amplified Sound Area is the area bounded by the east edge of Robert Dedman Drive, by the first sidewalk north of the LBJ Fountain, by a line drawn tangent to the west side of the LBJ Fountain and parallel to Robert Dedman Drive, and by the base of the hill on the south side of the LBJ Fountain.
   2. Registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organizations and academic or administrative units may use amplified sound in this area from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm on weekdays.
8. The vice president may designate additional areas for weekday use of amplified sound.

Sec. 13–803. Regulation and Scheduling of Weekday Amplified Sound

1. The dean of students may prescribe rules concerning scheduling, sound levels, the location of speakers and the direction in which they are pointed, and other rules to facilitate the use of weekday amplified sound areas, to mediate any conflict with University functions and other nearby activities, and to manage environmental impact. All such rules will be reasonable and nondiscriminatory.
2. 1. Registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organizations or academic or administrative units wishing to use a weekday amplified sound area must reserve a particular area at a particular time. Reservations must be made with the dean of students on a form prescribed by the dean of students. The dean of students will approve a properly completed application to reserve an amplified sound area, unless the application must be disapproved under the criteria in section 10–203 of the Institutional Rules or under rules promulgated by the dean of students under the authority of this section.
   2. The dean of students may limit the number or frequency of reservations for each registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organization or academic or administrative unit to ensure reasonable access for all persons and organizations desiring to use amplified sound on weekdays.
3. Amplified sound in the West Mall and Union Patio Amplified Sound Areas is in fact disruptive of teaching, administration, and research in the Main Building, in the Flawn Academic Center, in Parlin Hall, in the West Mall Office Building, and in Battle Hall. The disruption inherent in this use of amplified sound is expressly authorized, but no other disruption is authorized. Disruption is permitted to this extent because otherwise, it would be necessary to ban all use of amplified sound in and near the center of campus during working hours.
4. University persons and organizations using amplified sound are responsible for maintaining a passageway for pedestrians that is adequate to the volume of pedestrian traffic passing through the area.
5. The dean of students will maintain a list on a Web site, flyer, or pamphlet of the designated amplified sound locations. Any designations of additional areas, any additional rules regulating the designated areas, and the rules and procedures for reserving the right to use a designated area, will be clearly stated on a Web site, flyer, or pamphlet available at the dean of students’ office.

Sec. 13–804. Amplified Sound on Evenings and Weekends

1. With advance permission, University organizations may use amplified sound in any outdoor location on campus, including the weekday amplified sound areas designated in section 13–802, after 5:00 pm on weekdays, and after 8:00 am on weekends, except for the early morning hours excluded in subsection 13–804(b).
2. If amplified sound is authorized for an event on a Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday evening, the sound must be turned off by midnight on the following day. If amplified sound is authorized for an event on a Friday or Saturday evening, the sound must be turned off by 1:00 am on the following day.
3. The dean of students may prescribe reasonable and nondiscriminatory rules concerning scheduling, sound levels, the location of speakers and the direction in which they are pointed, and other rules to facilitate the use of amplified sound on evenings and weekends, to mediate any conflict with University functions and other nearby activities, and to manage environmental impact.
4. Use of amplified sound on evenings and weekends requires advance permission from the dean of students. Registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organizations and academic or administrative units will apply through a process prescribed by the dean of students. The dean of students will authorize amplified sound as described in a completed application unless the dean of students finds that the application must be disapproved under the criteria in section 10–203 of the Institutional Rules or under rules promulgated by the dean of students under the authority of this section. The dean of students will advise each applicant how to correct, if possible, any conditions that preclude approval of its application.

Sec. 13–805. Amplified Sound Indoors

Amplified sound sufficient to be heard throughout the room may be used in any room in any building, but the dean of students may limit or prohibit sound that would be disruptive outside the room. Reservations may be required. Rules concerning use of University buildings are contained in chapter 10 of the Institutional Rules.

Subchapter 13–900. Public Assemblies without Amplified Sound

Sec. 13–901. General Rule on Public Assemblies

1. “Publicly assemble” and “public assembly” include any gathering of persons, including discussions, rallies, and demonstrations. The rules in subchapter 13–800 apply to any use of amplified sound at a public assembly.
2. University persons and organizations may publicly assemble on campus in any place where, at the time of the assembly, the persons assembling are permitted to be. This right to assemble is subject to the rules in this subchapter, to the general rules in subchapter 13–200 and subchapter 13–300, and to the rules on use of University property in chapter 10 of the Institutional Rules. No advance permission is required.

Sec. 13–902. Reservation of Space

1. Registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organizations and academic or administrative units who wish to publicly assemble in a particular room or space at a particular time may reserve the room or space under the provisions in subchapter 10–200 of the Institutional Rules.
2. A registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organization or academic or administrative unit with a reservation has the right to the reserved room or space for the time covered by the reservation. Any person or organization using or occupying the room or space without a reservation must yield control of the room or space in time to permit any student, faculty, or staff organization or academic or administrative unit with a reservation to begin using the room or space promptly at the beginning of its reserved time.
3. Reservations are not required but are strongly encouraged. An academic or administrative unit or registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organization planning to use a room or space without a reservation may find the facility locked or in use by another person or organization. A large group without a reservation is likely to attract the courteous but inquiring attention of the University of Texas Police Department.

Sec. 13–903. Notice and Consultation

Registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organizations that are planning a public assembly with more than fifty participants are strongly encouraged to notify and consult with the dean of students as soon as practicable after the point at which the planners anticipate or plan for more than fifty participants. Registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organizations planning smaller assemblies are encouraged to consult the dean of students if there is uncertainty about applicable University rules, the appropriateness of the planned location, or possible conflict with other events. The dean of students can help the planners avoid unintended disruption or other violations that may result in subsequent discipline or subsequent interference with the assembly by campus authorities.

Subchapter 13–1000. Guest Speakers

Sec. 13–1001. Definitions

“Guest speaker” means a speaker or performer who is not a student, faculty member, or staff member.

Sec. 13–1002. Who May Present

Registered student, sponsored student, faculty, and staff organizations and academic and administrative units may present guest speakers on University property. In the case of registered student organizations, advance permission from the dean of students is required. Sponsored student organizations are an extension of the sponsoring academic or administrative unit under the authority of subsection 6-1-1(10) and are encouraged to consult with the dean of students when presenting a guest speaker. Individuals may not present a guest speaker.

Sec. 13–1003. Location and Form of Presentation

1. A guest speaker may present a speech or performance, or lead a discussion of specified duration, at a time announced in advance, in a fixed indoor location or in a fixed outdoor location approved by the dean of students. A guest speaker may distribute literature only immediately before, during, and immediately after the normal course of his or her speech, presentation, or performance, and only to persons in attendance. Only literature that complies with subchapter 13–400 may be distributed.
2. A guest speaker may not
   1. accost potential listeners who have not chosen to attend the speech, performance, or discussion; or
   2. distribute literature to persons who have not chosen to attend the speech, performance, or discussion; or
   3. help staff a table or exhibit set up under subchapter 13–600 or subchapter 13–700.
3. A registered student, faculty, or staff organization may not present a guest speaker in violation of the prohibitions against solicitation in section 13–205 or cosponsorship in section 13–304.

Sec. 13–1004. Application

1. A registered student organization that wishes to present a guest speaker will apply to the dean of students, through a process prescribed by the dean of students, at least forty-eight hours before the scheduled event or any planned advertising for the event, whichever is earlier. The application will be combined with an application under section 10–202 of the Institutional Rules to reserve the use of a University room or space for the event.
2. The dean of students will approve an application properly made under subsection 13–1004(a) unless it must be disapproved under the criteria in section 10–203 of the Institutional Rules.

Sec. 13–1005. Obligations of Presenting Organization

A registered student, faculty, or staff organization that presents a guest speaker must make clear that

1. the organization, and not the University, invited the speaker; and
2. the views expressed by the speaker are his or her own and do not necessarily represent the views of the University, The University of Texas System, or any component institution.

Subchapter 13–1100. Responding to Speech, Expression, and Assembly

Sec. 13–1101. General Rule on Responding

University persons and organizations may respond to the speech, expression, or assembly of others, subject to all the rules in this chapter.

Sec. 13–1102. Applications of Section

1. Responders may not damage or deface signs or exhibits, disrupt public assemblies, block the view of participants, or prevent speakers from being heard.
2. Means of response that are permitted in many locations and without advance permission or reservation, such as signs, tables, distribution of literature, and public assembly without amplified sound, may be used immediately and in any location authorized in this policy.
3. Means of response that require advance permission or reservation, such as banners, A-frames, exhibits, and amplified sound, may be used as soon as the needed permission or reservation may be arranged. Banner space and some amplified sound areas may be unavailable on short notice because of earlier reservations, but the dean of students will expedite approval of A-frames, exhibits, and available banner space and amplified sound areas where necessary to permit appropriate response to other speech, assembly, or expression.
4. Means of response that are confined to authorized locations, such as banners and amplified sound, may be used only in those locations. It is not possible to respond to amplified sound with amplified sound in the same location; similarly, if an exhibit or public assembly is in a location where amplified sound is not permitted, it is not possible to respond with amplified sound in that location. In either case, it is possible to respond with amplified sound in another location and to use signs or distribution of literature to advertise the response at the other location.

Subchapter 13–1200. Enforcement and Appeals

Sec. 13–1201. Police Protection

1. It is the responsibility of the University to protect the safety of all persons on campus and to provide police protection for speakers, public assemblies, persons staffing or viewing exhibits, and other events. The normal patrolling of officers during regular duty areas in the area of such events will be at the cost of the University. When the magnitude, timing, or nature of an event requires overtime hours from police officers (including contract hours for officers hired from other departments or private security agencies), the University will, to the extent specified in subsection 13–1201(b) and subsection 13–1201(c), charge the cost of overtime or contract officers to the person or organization sponsoring the event or exhibit that requires overtime police protection. The purpose of subsection 13–1201(b) and subsection 13–1201(c) is to charge for police overtime where reasonably possible, but not to charge for police overtime made necessary by the content of speech at the event or by the controversy associated with any event.
2. Persons or organizations planning such events should budget for the cost of police protection. A reasonable and nondiscriminatory fee for overtime police work will be charged to the registered student, sponsored student, faculty, or staff organization for events that require overtime police protection, and
   1. charge a price for admission; or
   2. have a paid speaker, band, or other off-campus person or organization for services at the event.
3. The University will have the sole power to decide, after reasonable consultation with the person or organization planning the event, whether and to what extent overtime police protection is required. No fee will be charged for officers assigned because of political, religious, philosophical, ideological, or academic controversy anticipated or actually experienced at the event. All fees will be based on the number of officers required for an uncontroversial event of the same size and kind, in the same place and at the same time of day, handling the same amount of cash.
4. Nothing in this section applies to any interdepartmental charge or transfer among units or accounts funded by the University.

Sec. 13–1202. Response to Violations

1. A student who violates a prohibition in this chapter may be disciplined under the procedures in chapter 11 of the Institutional Rules. A registered student or sponsored student organization that violates a prohibition in this chapter may be disciplined under the procedures in chapter 6 of the Institutional Rules.
2. A faculty member who violates a prohibition in this chapter may be disciplined under applicable procedures provided by other rules. If no such procedures exist, violations by faculty members will be referred to the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost.
3. A staff member who violates a prohibition in this chapter may be disciplined under applicable procedures provided by other rules. If no such procedures exist, violations by staff members will be referred to Human Resource Services.
4. Authorized University personnel may prevent imminently threatened violations, or end ongoing violations, of a prohibition in this chapter, by explanation and persuasion, by reasonable physical intervention, by arrest of violators, or by any other lawful measures. Alternatively or additionally, they may initiate disciplinary proceedings under subsection 13–1202(a), subsection 13–1202(b), or subsection 13–1202(c). Discretion regarding the means and necessity of enforcement will be vested in the chief of police, or in University personnel designated by the president, as appropriate, but such discretion will be exercised without regard to the viewpoint of any speaker.
5. Persons and organizations on the campus will comply with instructions from University administrators and law enforcement officials at the scene. A person or organization that complies with an on-the-scene order limiting speech, expression, or assembly may test the propriety of that order in an appeal under section 13–1203.
6. Off-campus person(s) or organization(s) on the campus who violate a prohibition in this chapter may be subject to criminal trespass charges, arrest, or other lawful measures.

Sec. 13–1203. Appeals

1. A University person or organization that is denied permission for an activity requiring advance permission under this chapter may appeal the denial of permission.
2. A University person or organization that complies with an on-the-scene order limiting speech, expression, or assembly may, on or before the fifth weekday after complying with the order, file an appeal to determine the propriety of the order limiting the speech, expression, or assembly. The question on appeal will be whether, under the circumstances as they reasonably appeared at the time of the order, the appellant’s speech, expression, or assembly should have been permitted to continue. Such an appeal may be useful to clarify the meaning of a rule, or to resolve a factual dispute that may recur if the appellant desires to resume the speech, expression, or assembly that was limited by the order.
3. An appeal authorized by this section will be heard under the procedures set out in subchapter 10–400 of the Institutional Rules.

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