FILE - Students walk past Sather Gate on the University of California, Berkeley campus in Berkeley, Calif., April 21, 2017. The University of California Board of Regents voted Thursday, July 18, 2024, to ban employees from posting political statements on the homepages of university websites, saying such comments could be interpreted as the university system's official view. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The University of California Board of Regents voted Thursday to ban employees from posting political statements on the homepages of university websites, saying such comments could be interpreted as the university system's official view.

Political statements and personal opinions will be allowed on secondary pages and must include a disclaimer saying they don’t represent UC’s official views under the new policy. University employees can also post political opinions on their personal university webpages or social media accounts.

Faculty members, students and members of the community have criticized the policy, saying it restricts free speech. The free speech movement started in the 1960s at the University of California, Berkeley before it spread to college campuses across the nation.

Recently, political opinions have mainly been posted on the homepages of ethnic studies departments and carried pro-Palestinian messages.

A message on the homepage of the UC Santa Barbara’s Department of Feminist Studies that remained online Thursday expresses support for Palestinians and criticizes the University of California for its “numerous attacks on free speech.”

“The faculty in the Department of Feminist Studies are unflinching lovers of freedom and proud members of the collectives at UCSB fighting for Palestinian liberation and an end to the genocide in Gaza,” the message says.

Under the new policy, the homepage of websites for each campus department or academic unit should be only used to post events and news related to courses, faculty research and other academic information.

“The University affirms the right of academic freedom while also fostering an inclusive environment,” the policy reads. “However, individual or group statements on political or controversial issues that are posted on Units’ websites and are unrelated to the Unit’s day-to-day operations are likely to be interpreted by the public and the community as the University’s institutional views.”

Ronald Cruz, organizer of the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, and Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary, or BAMN, called the policy an “attack on freedom of speech” during public comment Wednesday, the Daily Bruin, the University of California, Los Angeles student newspaper, reported.

Richard Leib, who co-authored it with Regent Jay Sures, said the policy is “content-neutral," the newspaper reported.

“If the economics department put MAGA stuff on its website, it’s the same deal,” he said. “It’s a content-neutral situation.”

News from © The Associated Press, 2024