As many know by now, today at UCI we took a number of safety precautions including cordoning off the area around Aldrich Hall and the flag poles. We did so based on credible law enforcement information about suspicious activity originating from off campus and relating to the announced visit of Terry Jones, a Florida pastor. Several days ago, Jones had announced he would speak in the area of the flag poles from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm on Thursday, Dec. 1. Since then, intelligence received by UCI police indicated suspicious activity that raised concern about the safety of the planned event. The suspicious activity involved outside individuals not associated or affiliated with the university. As a precaution, we secured the area for several hours and canceled nearby events. Otherwise, the campus was open and operating normally. Jones had said he intended to come to campus even though he did not complete an application to use amplified sound or to reserve space to speak at the flagpoles, where another event was scheduled for the same time. No permit is required for a member of the public to visit the campus or to espouse a point of view while on campus. Our campus policies treat all speakers equally. We regulate only the time place and manner of speech on a "content-neutral" basis, as required by state and federal law and university policy. This is true no matter how strongly we may disagree with the speaker or how antithetical the speaker's message may be to campus values and principles. Our policy on non-affiliates can be found at: http://today.uci.edu/pdf/non-affiliates_conduct_policy.pdf. Our policies on free speech and civility can be found at: http://www.vcsa.uci.edu/FreeSpeech/policies.php. I wish to extend my appreciation to the UC Irvine Police Department and Irvine Police Department for their efforts today to help ensure our safety. I also want to thank all of you for your cooperation and patience today. Chancellor Michael V. Drake, M.D.
Here’s what ACTUALLY happened. None of that “UCI is against Freedom of Speech” garbage. Idk if the bomb threat was what the “suspicious activity” was, but I wouldn’t throw it to the winds just yet. LOL see what I did there? see what I did there? And even I didn’t realize it until 5 minutes later :P
