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Revised: July 2012

Freedom of Association

1. Students shall be free to organize and join associations to promote their common interests and shall be free to determine their own membership, policies, and actions.
2. Affiliation with an extramural organization shall not in itself affect recognition of a student organization.
3. Campus organizations which include students, including those affiliated with an extramural organization, shall be open to all students in compliance with Federal and State laws.  They shall not be required to submit a membership list as a condition of institutional recognition.

Freedom of Inquiry and Expression

1. Students and student organizations shall be free to examine and discuss all questions of interest to them and to express opinions publicly and privately.  They shall be free to support causes by legal and orderly means which do not interfere with the operation of the University or of its educational objectives.
2. Freedom to speak and to hear will be maintained for students, faculty, and staff.  University policies and procedures may not be used to stifle speech but may be used to provide a full and frank exchange of ideas.  Efforts should be made to allow a balanced program of speakers and ideas. For more information please see the University Public Forum Policy: http://www.unr.edu/administrative-manual/5000-5999-general-university-services/scheduling-university-facilities/5303-public-forum
3. An invitation to speak at the University does not imply that the University endorses the speaker or the philosophy or ideas presented by the speaker.

Student Participation in University Government

As constituents of the academic community, students shall be free, individually and collectively, to express their views on issues of university policy and on matters of general interest to the student body.  The student body shall have clearly defined means to participate in the formulation and application of university policy affecting academic and student affairs. 

Student Publications

Student publications and the student press are valuable aids in establishing and maintaining an atmosphere of free and responsible discussion and of intellectual exploration on the campus.  They are a means of bringing student concerns to the attention of the faculty and the administration and of formulating student opinion on various issues on the campus and in the world at large.

In the delegation of editorial responsibility to students, the University shall provide sufficient editorial freedom and financial autonomy for the student publications to maintain their integrity or purpose as vehicles for free inquiry and free expression in the academic community.

As safeguards for the editorial freedom of student publications, the following provisions are necessary:

1. The student press shall be free of censorship and advance approval of copy, and its editors and managers shall be free to develop their own editorial policies and news coverage.
2. Editors and managers of student publications shall be protected from arbitrary suspension and removal because of student, faculty, administrative, or public disapproval of editorial policy or content (Board of Regents, 7/76).
3. All student publications shall explicitly state that the opinions expressed therein are not necessarily those of the University or student body.

The editorial freedom of students, editors, and managers shall entail corollary responsibilities to be governed by the canons of responsible journalism, as prescribed by the Student Publications Board and approved by the Board of Regents, and offer reasonable opportunities for rejoinder to the same audience.