Speech Code of the Month: Georgia Southern University
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for January 2015: Georgia Southern University (GSU).
As we begin a new year, we want to keep the focus squarely on the incursions on free speech by the federal government—specifically, by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR).
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Category: Speech Code of the Month Schools: Georgia Southern University
Speech Codes of the Year: 2014
Each month, FIRE singles out a particularly reprehensible campus speech code for our Speech Code of the Month designation. While all of 2014’s Speech Codes of the Month flagrantly violated students’ or faculty members’ right to free expression, two of them were so egregious that they deserve special mention as 2014’s Speech Codes of the Year.
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Category: Speech Code of the Month Schools: University of Richmond Pennsylvania State University – University Park
Speech Code of the Month: Pennsylvania State University
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for December 2014: Pennsylvania State University (Penn State).
At Penn State, “Sexual Harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is unwanted, inappropriate, or unconsented to.” This is a staggeringly broad definition that includes a tremendous amount of protected speech. According to the plain language of this policy, a single off-color joke or comment is sufficient to constitute sexual harassment if someone subjectively finds it inappropriate, or merely doesn’t consent to hearing it. This is a clear violation of students’ First Amendment rights, which Penn State—as a public university—is legally bound to uphold.
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Category: Speech Code of the Month Schools: Pennsylvania State University – University Park University of Montana
Speech Code of the Month: University of Central Missouri
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for November 2014: the University of Central Missouri.
While restrictive speech codes are on the decline nationwide, the University of Central Missouri (UCM) adopted several new, unconstitutional speech codes last year—a move that earned UCM FIRE’s worst, “red light,” rating for severely restricting students’ free speech rights.
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Category: Speech Code of the Month Schools: University of Central Missouri
Speech Code of the Month: University of New Mexico
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for October 2014: the University of New Mexico.
The University of New Mexico’s (UNM’s) Sexual Harassment Policy (PDF) states that “[e]xamples of sexual harassment which shall not be tolerated” include “suggestive” letters, notes, or invitations. The policy also prohibits “displaying sexually suggestive or derogatory objects, pictures, cartoons, or posters,” albeit with the vague disclaimer that such displays will be “evaluated for appropriateness such as art displayed in museums … .”
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Category: Speech Code of the Month Schools: University of New Mexico
Speech Code of the Month: Boise State University
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for September 2014: Boise State University.
Boise State’s Information Technology Resource Use policy (PDF) prohibits the use of university IT resources for “displaying, transmitting, retrieving, or storing inappropriate or offensive material,” unless “identified and pre-approved in writing by the [Vice President for] Academic Affairs and Provost as part of legitimate research, teaching, or academic pursuits.”
According to the plain language of this policy, faculty whose courses include discussions of sensitive topics must obtain advance administrative approval before they send any potentially “offensive” course-related material to a class listserv or [...] » Read More
Category: Speech Code of the Month Schools: Boise State University
Speech Code of the Month: Arkansas State University
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for August 2014: Arkansas State University.
Arkansas State’s Standards of Student Conduct (PDF) include a set of “principles [that] are part of the collective expectation of the members of this community relative to personal conduct.” One of those principles is “civility,” which Arkansas State defines as follows:
Members of a learning community interact with others in a courteous and polite manner. Members of the community are expected to respect the values, opinions or feelings of others.
Lest there be any question as to whether these “principles” are aspirational or mandatory, [...] » Read More
Category: Speech Code of the Month Schools: Arkansas State University San Francisco State University
Speech Code of the Month: Armstrong State University
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for July 2014: Armstrong State University, a public university in the University System of Georgia.
Armstrong’s list of student conduct offenses (PDF) includes, among other things:
Sexual harassment (i.e., unwelcome sexual advances or conduct, creation of a hostile environment as perceived by the complainant, or the demand for sexual favors in return for some benefit.)
This prohibition is so broad that a wide range of constitutionally protected speech—including controversial speech on political or social issues—may be punished by the university as sexual harassment.
One of the critical elements of sexual harassment [...] » Read More
Category: Speech Code of the Month Schools: Armstrong State University
Speech Code of the Month: Bates College
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for June 2014: Bates College.
Bates, which is located in Lewiston, Maine, prohibits “bias incidents,” which it defines as follows:
A bias incident is any event of intolerance or prejudice, not involving violence or other criminal conduct, intended to threaten, offend or intimidate another because of the other’s race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age or physical or mental disability. Examples of bias incidents include hate speech, gay bashing, racist epithets, religious slurs, sexist jokes or cartoons, hate mail, offensive graffiti, or disparaging remarks on social media [...] » Read More
Category: Speech Code of the Month Schools: Bates College
Speech Code of the Month: Wake Forest University
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for May 2014: Wake Forest University.
Wake Forest’s policy on “Campus Posting” (PDF) explicitly restricts student postings on the basis of their viewpoint and has the potential to significantly impact political speech on campus. Specifically, the policy provides:
All signs/posters/flyers displayed on campus must be in good taste, consistent with University policies, and must not contain sexist, racist, profane or derogatory remarks, or nudity.
Moreover, while most university posting policies simply allow for the removal of prohibited posters, Wake Forest’s goes much further, providing that “[v]iolators may be subject to [...] » Read More
Category: Speech Code of the Month Schools: Lone Star College-Tomball Saginaw Valley State University Wake Forest University Colorado College
