Institutional Responses to the First Amendment: Inclusivity and the Protection of Free Speech Rights on Campus

This collective case study explores institutional responses to First Amendment events to determine how institutional policies impact a sense of inclusivity and the protection of free speech rights on public college and university campuses. This study identifies the practices of a sample of public, university campuses that have experienced a free speech incident to determine how the experience shaped their policies on free speech, how administrators describe their experiences following the incident, and how institutional leaders rate the outcome of their efforts in relation to balancing inclusivity in the campus environment. Due to the complex nature of public university campuses, this study utilized a combination methodology to answer the research questions through a collective case study approach utilizing the following: content analysis of speech policies, leader statements, and statements on diversity, equity, and/or inclusion in addition to semi-structured interviews with campus administrators. The goal of this research study is to better understand the rationale for administrative responses to free speech incidents and to explore institutional responses to First Amendment issues and how they impact a sense of inclusivity. This is with the ultimate goal of identifying how the practices of a campus shape their policies on free speech and expression and how these efforts are balanced with maintaining inclusivity in the campus environment.