In May 2017, the Campus Free Speech Protection Act was signed into law by the Tennessee State Legislature.
The state law says “it is not the proper role of an institution to attempt to shield individuals from free speech, including ideas and opinions they find offensive, unwise, immoral, indecent, disagreeable, conservative, liberal, traditional, radical, or wrong-headed.”
Further, the law states that although members of the campus community are free to state their own views and contest what others are saying, “they may not substantially obstruct or otherwise substantially interfere with the freedom of others to express views they reject or even loathe.”
As a result of the Campus Free Speech Protection Act, the UT Board of Trustees adopted the Policy Affirming Principles of Free Speech for Students and Faculty