School Spotlight
Alcorn State University
Speech Code Rating
Title IX: Title IX and Sexual Misconduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: July 21, 2021By definition, sexual harassment is: unwelcome, gender-based verbal or physical conduct that is, sufficiently severe, persistent or pervasive that it, unreasonably interferes with, denies or limits someone’s ability to participate in or benefit from the university’s educational program and/or activities … Mo... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Code of Conduct- Sexual Harassment
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: July 21, 2021Regardless of sexual gender, personal affiliation, and/or affiliation with the University, sexual harassment is defined as conduct that is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that the individual is effectively denied equal access to institutional resources and opportunities (See Student Conduct definitio... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Code of Conduct- Cyber-Bullying and Social Media Abuse
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Bullying Policies
Last updated: July 21, 2021Cyberbullying is the use of cell phone or other devices to send or post emails, text messages or images that constitute harassment (See Student Conduct definition of Harassment). Read MoreFree Speech and Assembly Policy
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: July 21, 2021Reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions will be enforced. However, the enforcement will not depend, in any way, on the subject matter involved in an expressive activity. Alcorn State University provides forums for the expression of ideas and opinions, such as the following: 1) Traditional public forums inclu... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Code of Conduct- Assault
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: July 21, 2021Assault is the intentional harassment, threat or intimidation of another in an attempt to commit a battery or the intentional placing of another in reasonable apprehension of receiving a battery. Read MoreStudent Handbook: Code of Conduct- Harassment (Physical or Verbal)
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: July 21, 2021Harassment: (physical, verbal, graphic, written or electronic) that is (1) unwelcome; (2) discriminatory on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, or veteran status; (3) directed at an individual; and (4) so severe, pervasive, and objectivel... Read More
Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning: Tenure Review Considers “Effectiveness in Communications,” “Collegiality”
April 27, 2022
On April 21, 2022, the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees, which oversees eight Mississippi public universities, amended its tenure review process to grant university presidents the authority to award tenure and to include “effectiveness … and integrity in communications” and “collegiality” as mandatory criteria for consideration. On April 27, FIRE and PEN America… Read more
FIRE, PEN America, condemn new rule forcing some Mississippi universities to consider ‘collegiality’ in tenure review
April 27, 2022
FIRE and PEN America wrote the board of the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning today to object to a new rule that forces presidents at eight of the state’s public universities to consider vague standards like “collegiality” when granting faculty tenure. The rule, quietly adopted last Thursday, says college presidents at IHL universities “shall take… Read more
Alcorn State reforms speech codes, earns highest free speech rating
August 19, 2019
LORMAN, Miss., Aug. 19, 2019 — Alcorn State University eliminated or revised all of its speech policies that conflict with the First Amendment, becoming the fifth institution in Mississippi to earn the highest, “green light” rating from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a national free speech organization. Mississippi is now home to more… Read more
In Mississippi, ‘The Clarion-Ledger’ Reports on Dangers of State Colleges’ Speech Codes
August 16, 2010
In today’s edition of The Clarion-Ledger, the Jackson, Mississippi newspaper reports on speech codes maintained at public colleges statewide. Spurred by FIRE’s recent victory at nearby Hinds Community College, reporter Elizabeth Crisp writes: Students at Mississippi universities may have to watch what they say more than those in other states because of policies that free-speech… Read more