The University of Washington (UW) has agreed to a $600,000 settlement with a professor it punished for parodying a land acknowledgment in a class syllabus, concluding a legal dispute over free speech rights and university policies.
In January 2022, Stuart Reges, a non-tenured teaching professor of computer science and engineering, included a satirical version of UW’s land acknowledgment in his Computer Programming II syllabus. Instead of the university’s standard statement recognizing Native American tribes, Reges wrote: “I acknowledge that by the labor theory of property the Coast Salish people can claim historical ownership of almost none of the land currently occupied by the University of Washington.”
The settlement, announced by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), follows a December 2023 ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that sided with Reges. Under the agreement, UW is prohibited from taking further action against him regarding the parody statement. Reges stated in a FIRE press release that he was “deeply grateful” for the legal victory, emphasizing that public universities must uphold the First Amendment.
University Response and Disciplinary Actions
UW officials had encouraged but not required faculty to include the university’s land acknowledgment in syllabi since September 2020. After Reges’ parody appeared, the university censored the statement from his syllabus and created an alternative computer science course, allowing students to avoid his class. Additionally, UW initiated a nearly year-long investigation under its anti-harassment policy, which FIRE argued amounted to retaliation for protected speech.
Legal and Academic Context
Land acknowledgments are statements used by institutions to recognize Indigenous peoples as the original inhabitants of the land where campuses are located. Reges’ parody drew on the labor theory of property, a philosophical concept critiquing historical land claims. The case raises questions about academic freedom, institutional policies on satire, and the boundaries of permissible speech in educational settings.
FIRE, which represented Reges, contended that UW’s actions violated his constitutional rights, while the university has not publicly detailed its justification for the disciplinary measures. The settlement does not include an admission of wrongdoing by UW.