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University of Chicago Goes “Analog” for Specific Courses
The Social Sciences Core classes at the University of Chicago, a series of three required courses for all undergraudates, will be “analog.” The student paper at UChicago, the Maroon, broke the news. The policy was described as one that “generally prohibit the use of technology in class and ban the use of artificial intelligence tools by students and instructors beginning this fall.” The memo announcing the guidelines does have a little more punch to its condemnation of AI. The Sosc core, as its known, is apparently “best understood as a pedagogical setting without AI.”
What makes this anti-AI stance slightly awkward, as noted in the article in the Maroon, is that the University has recently entered into an agreement with Anthropic. All Faculty, Staff, and Students will receive free access to Claude AI tools for Education this school year. Clearly, the school’s administration overall is encouraging AI in classrooms.
This kind of tension is not unique to the University of Chicago or even academia. Leaders are probably more excited about the use of AI than others in the different parts of the organization. UChicago’s Law School also has put in rules about AI and technology use.
Federal Judge Rules Florida International University Violated Students’ Free-Speech Rights
Last March, students at Florida International University stood up during a campus event featuring University President Jeanette Nuñez to reveal t-shirts protesting the presence of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers on campus. The group, calling themselves ICEBreakers, did not speak or physically interact with anyone. They still interrupted the event and were removed by campus security. The punishment for the protesters was to require a “video reflection” from each one by September, and if they did not they would have an “academic conduct hold.”
The students sued, and this week Federal Judge Jacqueline Becerra ruled that FIU violated the plaintiffs First Amendment Free Speech Rights. As with all lawsuits, the specifics matter a great deal. The Chronicle of Higher Education ties this protest to on-campus protests about Israel’s war in Gaza that also created lawsuits. In reality, those were largely about encampments in outdoor spaces, while this is about a one-time protest over a specific action. Also, as Judge Becerra notes, the event was briefly interrupted and then continued with no further issues.
Largely, though, Becerra focuses on the precedent of student First Amendment protections in schools. Becerra particularly cites the 1969 Supreme Court ruling in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District. That is the case that established students do not lose their right to free speech or protest simply by entering school grounds. Additionally, the issue in Tinker was over students wearing black armbands—a fundamentally non-disruptive act on campus. Becerra seems to be insulating the ruling from being overruled on appeal. And this is exactly the kind of case that will be appealed.
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