BUZZ
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has retracted its announced investigation into satirical student speech amid pressure and criticism from a free speech group.
“Update: Carolina is committed to upholding the First Amendment rights of our students and student groups to engage in free expression,” the university said in a statement Friday.
“For the record, the University is not investigating any student or student group for the articles that appeared in the April 1, 2026 edition of The Daily Tar Heel or for the recent Hill After Hours video.”
“That statement was in no way intended to chill free speech on our campus, and we retract those portions of our message that may have suggested our students and student groups were engaged in unlawful conduct or conduct that could subject them to discipline,” the university stated.
The retraction came after the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression denounced the probe and called on campus leaders to respect students’ free expression.
At issue was a video put out by a campus comedy troupe Hill After Hours that attempted to mock a white female’s ignorance as she traveled a part of campus purportedly favored by students of color.
A second point of contention is the Daily Tar Heel’s April Fools’ edition that featured a series of satirical articles addressing political and campus issues. One was titled “Trump orders Alcohol Law Enforcement in Chapel Hill to be replaced with ICE agents.” Another was headlined “UNC brings back DEI — for whites.”
In an April 9 memo to the university, FIRE had explained why it believed the probe is unconstitutional.
“The Supreme Court has repeatedly, consistently, and clearly held that expression may not be restricted on the basis that others find it to be offensive,” the memo stated.
“In holding that a student newspaper’s political cartoon depicting the Statute of Liberty and Goddess of Justice being raped by police officers was protected speech, the Supreme Court explained that ‘the mere dissemination of ideas’ on campus, however ‘offensive’ that expression may be to others, ‘may not be shut off in the name alone of ‘conventions of decency.’”
“The Court has also been clear that First Amendment protection extends to satire and parody, even of a very offensive nature.”
FIRE Student Press Counsel Marie McMullan praised UNC for its decision.
“UNC deserves credit for addressing FIRE’s concerns and acknowledging that its initial response to the April 1 Daily Tar Heel edition and ‘Hill After Hours’ video chilled speech on campus,” McMullan said in a statement. “The university’s follow-up begins to reverse that damage by making clear that UNC takes its duty to protect even unpopular or provocative speech seriously.”
“FIRE applauds UNC’s decision to uphold the First Amendment.”
MORE: UNC to host campus conversation for students to express ‘harm’ they felt from comedic satire
