BOULDER, Colo. — A University of Colorado Regent wants to update the free speech policies that dictate what students and faculty can say.
He wants this guidance from the CU Boulder Chancellor to be policy. The guidance states, in part, that if a department publishes a statement, it must make clear the view does not represent the university.
"We want to do better for our community," University of Colorado Regent Mark VanDriel told 9NEWS.
The discussion of these policies are a result of a now-deleted statement about the Israel-Hamas conflict, which the CU Boulder Ethnic Studies department published in October.
On Oct. 7, Hamas invaded Israel, killing about 1,000 people and taking about 250 people hostage - more than 100 remain captive in Gaza.
The region already has a long, complicated history. Israel responded to the attack with the war that continues today. On Oct. 22, the ethnic studies department published a statement, which, among other things, calls for "decolonization." In this context, the Anti-Defamation League considers the term to be anti-Semitic.
The department published the statement on its university website without any signatures from the authors. That's another change VanDriel wants.
"We should be willing to associate our names with our ideas. We should have contact information. That's not particular to any standard, that's just core to what a university can be about," VanDriel said.
A 9NEWS investigation revealed the ethnic studies department chair was worried about the authors' names being disclosed because not all of them had tenure.
VanDriel and retiring CU Boulder Chancellor Phil DiStefano both called the department's statement anti-Semitic.
"Absolutely, it was anti-Semitic," VanDriel said.
"My personal opinion is, was, that it was anti-Semitic," DiStefano told 9NEWS in December.
DiStefano also said that's okay, a department can use the public university's website to publish what he called anti-Semitism.
"Yes, I believe that, you know, through academic freedom they're able to make that statement," he said.
A CU Boulder review also found the statement to be protected speech.
VanDriel disagrees. He says the university's free speech policies protect people's speech, not departments and anonymous statements. He also says even if you put your name on statements, you cannot use the university's website to publish anything you want.
"It's not my belief that you can use university resources, the university website, to disseminate hate," he said.
"Using university resources to promote antisemitism is wrong. If the current policy allows that, the policy is wrong and needs to be changed. If the policy does not allow it and is violated, there need to be consequences," Regent Ilana Dubin-Spiegel told 9NEWS in an emailed statement.
The CU Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance currently enforces these polices when it gets complaints. If an employee violates the policies, a spokesperson says discipline can range from training to termination.
"We have a lock of clarity over what happens when people break our policy, but it doesn't rise to the level of something that we've previously said is a certain level of offense," VanDriel said.
He wants the consequences to be clearer. He also wants regents to be transparent about the type of inclusive environment they want.
“I think our faculty would appreciate that. I think our students would appreciate that, and I think Colorado deserves that," VanDriel said.
The Regents Governance Committee will discuss these policies in late March.
“There’s a lot of complication to it. I think it’s gonna take time. I’m not sure there’s going to be the will to get it done from some people, because they’re too afraid of some of the conflict it could raise, and that’s unfortunate, but I want us to," he said.
9NEWS asked every Regent for an on-camera interview. VanDriel was the only one that agreed.
Board of Regents Chair Callie Rennison emailed a statement, which she said was on behalf of the CU Board of Regents. It read:
"Antisemitic language or discriminatory speech is contrary to expected norms of behavior. Such behavior is not OK. When this language and speech violates our nondiscrimination policy it will be addressed by the responsible campus or system authority. When it is constitutionally protected speech and doesn’t violate our formal policy but is still harmful to an individual or part of our community we can intervene by engaging with the speaker to talk about the impact of their words and our behavioral expectations.
We simultaneously support our constitutional obligation to protect freedom of speech for faculty, students, and staff, while we also continuously monitor and address comments that could be viewed as discriminatory and take appropriate action."
CU Boulder Ethnic Studies faculty have not responded to questions from 9NEWS.
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