The University of California, Berkeley suspended electrical engineering and computer science lecturer Peyrin Kao without pay for the spring semester after he made pro‑Palestinian political comments and publicized a hunger strike during class, the administration said, citing misuse of instructional time for advocacy. Kao denied wrongdoing and plans to appeal; civil-rights groups condemned the suspension and raised concerns about academic freedom and selective enforcement. In Utah, Weber State University drew criticism after distributing a list of prohibited words to guest speakers under a state anti‑DEI law and later said it would adopt a more 'nuanced' approach to compliance. The episode highlights the growing operational complexity universities face implementing state-level restrictions while preserving free discussion and academic programming. Both cases underscore how campus speech disputes are escalating into formal personnel actions and policy reviews, forcing administrations to clarify classroom conduct rules, guest‑speaker protocols and the boundaries between pedagogy and political advocacy.