Case Overview

In 2009, Boston College earned FIRE’s worst, “red light” rating despite promising that all of its students have the right “to learn, which includes the right of access to ideas, the right of access to facts and opinions, the right to express ideas, and the right to discuss those ideas with others.” BC undercut those promises with other restrictive policies, and it took several actions to interfere with these rights. Thus, BC misled students who counted on its promises of fundamental intellectual rights, restricting speech that would be protected on a public campus. Although BC is a private college with no legal obligation to protect free speech, misleading students in this way is a serious problem.

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