UW professor wins First Amendment victory in land acknowledgment dispute
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The University of Washington violated a professor’s free speech by investigating and retaliating after he mocked the school’s land approval, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.
In his complaint against the university, Stuart Reges, a non-tenured teaching professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Washington, says that in September 2020, university officials encouraged professors to include the university’s land acknowledgment statement in their class curriculums. Land declarations are phrases commonly used by universities and public institutions to recognize Native American tribes as the original inhabitants of the land where campuses currently sit.
Reges parodied the university’s land approval in the Computer Programming II course syllabus in January 2022. Instead of using the university’s land acknowledgment, he wrote: “I acknowledge that under labor title theory the Coast Salish people cannot claim historic title to virtually any of the lands currently occupied by the University of Washington.”
His comment was a reference to philosopher John Locke’s labor theory of property, which posited that property resulted from the improvement of land.
Professor Reges filed a First Amendment lawsuit in July 2022 challenging the university’s actions. (Twinkle Wink)
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Reges sued the university in July 2022, alleging that UW officials ordered him to remove the statement, condemned it as offensive, and encouraged students to file complaints. Administrators also created a rival “shadow” course section so students could stay away from their class and launched a disciplinary hearing, raising the possibility of further discipline or dismissal.
In the decision made on Friday, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the district court’s decision and remanded the case for determination of appropriate relief.
The court held that the lower court erred in granting summary judgment to UW on Reges’ retaliation claim; said the curriculum statement protected academic speech on a matter of public concern and that the university unlawfully retaliated against Reges with threats of investigation, reprimand and discipline for the views he expressed.
“Students’ discomfort with a professor’s views can lead to controversy and disapproval,” Justice Daniel Bress wrote for the majority. “But this discomfort cannot be a reason for the university to retaliate against the professor.”
University of Washington campus in Seattle, Washington. (Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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Reges was represented by lawyers at the hearing Individual Rights and Freedom of Expressionthose celebrating the decision.
“Today’s opinion is a major victory for Professor Stuart Reges and the First Amendment rights of his community college faculty,” said FIRE attorney Gabe Walters. “The Ninth Circuit agreed with what FIRE has said all along: Universities cannot force professors to echo an institution’s preferred political views for fear of retribution.”
A lower court had previously ruled in favor of the university, granting officials’ motion to dismiss Reges’ vague and excessive objections to its non-discrimination policy and granting Reges’ motion for summary judgment on its retaliation and viewpoint discrimination claims. According to FIRE.
Reges responded to the legal win in a comment to Fox News Digital:
“Land acceptances are performance-based acts of accommodation. The Ninth Circuit confirmed that parody is a reasonable way to engage in the discussion of this important issue,” he said.
“Throughout my 39 years of teaching, I have always fought for free speech, even though it nearly cost me my dream job. I hope my victory inspires others to push back against those who seek to limit free speech on college campuses.”
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the University of Washington for comment. A spokesperson made the following statement:
“We are considering the appellate court’s 2-1 decision and considering our next steps. We maintain that we had a responsibility to protect our students and that the UW acted appropriately. Prof. Reges retained his faculty position and continued to teach throughout this process.”
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