School Spotlight
Arizona State University
Speech Code Rating
This school has adopted the chicago statement for free speech.
Student Organization Handbook: Freedom of Expression
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: April 15, 2021ASU recognizes and supports the rights of students to engage in lawful free speech activity including: peaceful demonstrations and circulation of petitions that do not disrupt the normal educational and administrative function of the University, or interfere with the legitimate rights of others. Read MorePolicy 5-308: Student Code of Conduct
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: April 15, 2021Sexual harassment – unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that is sufficiently severe or pervasive as to create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment; … Endangering, threatening, or causing physical harm to any member of the university community or to oneself, causing reasonable apprehension ... Read MoreACD 401: Prohibition Against Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation- Title IX Sexual Harassment
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: April 15, 2021Title IX Sexual Harassment Conduct, based on sex, that constitutes one or more of the following: Unwelcome conduct, occurring in the United States, that a reasonable person would find so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to ASU’s education programs or acti... Read MoreCommittee for Campus Inclusion: Policies and Procedures- Harassment
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: April 15, 2021Actions constitute harassment, if they substantially interfere with another’s educational or employment opportunities, peaceful enjoyment of residence, physical security, and they are taken with a general intent to engage in the actions and with the knowledge that the actions are likely to s... Read MoreStudent Organization Handbook: Advertising and Posting Policy
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Posting and Distribution Policies
Last updated: April 15, 2021Decisions regarding the permissibility of posting or distribution will not be made on the basis of content, with the exception that of materials that contain illegal content or that violate university or Board of Regents’ policies. Examples of impermissible content include materials that are obscene, that convey an ... Read MoreACD 125: Computer, Internet, and Electronic Communications Information Management Policy
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: April 15, 2021Unlawful communications, including threats of violence, obscenity, child pornography, and harassing communications, are prohibited. Read More
Arizona State University: Petition Website Blocked From University Network
February 3, 2012
In December 2011, shortly after students created a petition to lower tuition at Arizona State University (ASU) on the petition website Change.org, ASU blocked access to the website on its network. When the censorship of the site gained widespread attention, ASU explained its actions by citing concerns about “spamming” emails from the site related to… Read more
Arizona State University: Racial Restrictions on Class Enrollment (2005)
October 5, 2005
After FIRE was notified of advertised racial restrictions on enrollment in a course on Navajo history, Arizona State University declared that two English classes listed on its website as “for Native Americans only” would be open to all students. While the university insisted that this declaration reflected a “long-standing practice” of enrolling students in the… Read more
Arizona State University: Racial Restrictions on Class Enrollment (2002)
April 1, 2002
After FIRE was notified of advertised racial restrictions on enrollment in a course on Navajo history, Arizona State University declared that two English classes listed on its website as "for Native Americans only" would be open to all students. While the university insisted that this declaration reflected a "long-standing practice" of enrolling students in the… Read more
Arizona State University endorses principles from United Nations report on academic freedom
March 15, 2021
Last week, “green light” institution Arizona State University updated its website to reflect ASU’s alignment with the principles expressed in a 2020 report on academic freedom released by the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression. Other universities should consider following ASU’s lead. The… Read more
One million students now attend colleges with FIRE’s highest free speech rating
February 26, 2019
Northern Arizona University revises policies to become 48th institution nationwide to earn FIRE’s highest speech rating Arizona becomes only state where all rated colleges earn FIRE’s best rating for free speech FLAGSTAFF, Ariz., Feb. 26, 2019 — Today, Northern Arizona University earned the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s highest rating for free speech, bringing… Read more
The problem with porn filters
January 16, 2019
A mistake at Arizona State University Early last week, students at Arizona State University discovered that a web filter has been implemented to block access to “adult” websites. Rachel Leingang, a local journalist, reached out to ASU about the filter, and ASU immediately pulled it, saying through a spokesperson: The WiFi is back on tonight… Read more
‘Green light’ school Arizona State University embraces Chicago Statement
September 7, 2018
Arizona State University, a longtime “green light” school, has become the 45th institution at which the administration or a faculty body has endorsed the “Report of the Committee on Freedom of Expression” at the University of Chicago (the “Chicago Statement”). The university, which earned a green light rating in 2011 for its speech-related policies, is… Read more
Arizona’s anti-BDS statute lands Arizona State University in federal court
March 12, 2018
Earlier this month, the Council on American-Islamic Relations filed a lawsuit against Arizona State University on behalf of Hatem Bazian, a Berkeley lecturer and chair of American Muslims for Palestine who was invited to speak at ASU by the university’s Muslim Students Association. The agreement provided to him by ASU contained a provision — required… Read more
More Campuses Using Special Victims Units to Investigate Sexual Assaults
September 23, 2015
Working to address concerns about both sexual assault and due process on campus, more colleges and universities are asking specially trained police units to investigate sexual assault allegations. Earlier this month, The Arizona Republic reported that Arizona State University (ASU) police formed a special victims unit (SVU) to handle sexual assault allegations at ASU. “The… Read more
Arizona State Student Government Impeaches Senator, Citing Two Problematic Justifications
December 10, 2014
In October, Arizona State University (ASU) Undergraduate Student Government (USG) senator Isabelle Murray was impeached after her peers charged her with speaking to the student newspaper The State Press without notifying USG leadership in advance. A press release from USG enumerates the grounds for impeachment, which also included her allegedly releasing the details of a… Read more
Arizona State Turns to Censorship in Wake of Controversial Party
January 24, 2014
By now, it seems that virtually everyone in America has heard about the theme party held on Martin Luther King Day by members of the Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) fraternity at Arizona State University. The situation almost seems as though it was scientifically engineered to garner outrage and go viral. Students dressed in sports attire… Read more
Students at Arizona State Trade Liberty for a Free Lunch
May 1, 2013
A passion for promoting free speech and First Amendment rights is alive and well at Arizona State University’s Downtown Phoenix campus. Kim Olson, writing for ASU Downtown’s campus news site, Downtown Devil, reports that student members of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) ASU Chapter hosted a First Amendment Free Food Festival, "Eat Free or… Read more
‘Heroic Censor’ Epidemic Reaches Arizona State University
February 19, 2013
A recent article in The State Press, the student newspaper at Arizona State University, carries the dispiriting news of another sighting of the “heroic censor”—a term we use to refer to students who suppress the free speech of their fellow students not only because they think it is their right, but because they see it… Read more
Arizona State Restores Access to Change.org after National Outcry
February 6, 2012
Arizona State University (ASU) has restored access to the petition website Change.org after blocking it due to dubious concerns about "spam" emails coming from the site related to a petition advocating lower tuition costs at the university. On Friday, FIRE wrote ASU asking that it immediately restore access to Change.org and assure its students that… Read more
Arizona State Blocks Access to Change.org
February 3, 2012
Arizona State University has reportedly blocked access to the petition website Change.org, citing concerns with "spam" emails coming from the site in the wake of a petition posted on the site that advocated lower tuition costs at the university. Today, FIRE wrote a letter to the university asking that Arizona State immediately restore access to… Read more
Arizona State University responds to concerns about change.org
February 3, 2012
Arizona State University blocked access to the website change.org after it was used to spam thousands of university email accounts in early December 2011. Since spam emails are frequently used to distribute viruses and other malware that is installed on client machines without the recipient’s notice, the university routinely blocks both inbound and outbound access… Read more
Arizona State University Paper Touts ASU’s Place on ‘Best 7’ Free Speech List
June 7, 2011
Two weeks ago, The Huffington Post ran Greg’s article commending the seven best colleges and universities for free speech in the country. On Sunday, Katherine Torres and the editorial board of The State Press, Arizona State University’s (ASU’s) student newspaper, were just the latest to comment on the article, and more specifically to note ASU’s inclusion in… Read more
FIRE Names Seven Best Schools for Free Speech on ‘Huffington Post’
May 24, 2011
PHILADELPHIA, May 24, 2011—Today the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) commends the nation’s seven best colleges and universities for freedom of speech in an article by FIRE President Greg Lukianoff on The Huffington Post. The colleges listed are Arizona State University, Dartmouth College, The College of William & Mary, the University of Pennsylvania,… Read more
‘Arizona State Law Journal’ Blog Features Piece by FIRE Jackson Fellow
March 1, 2011
The blog of the highly regarded Arizona State Law Journal features a post by FIRE’s Justice Robert H. Jackson Legal Fellow Erica Goldberg. The piece discusses Arizona State University’s recent alteration of its advertising policy applicable to student organizations, which allowed Arizona State to proudly become a green-light institution. Using the transformation of Arizona State’s… Read more
Will Arizona State University Be Lucky Number 13?
September 15, 2010
Of the more than 400 colleges and universities in FIRE’s Spotlight database, only 12 can claim to be green-light institutions, schools where FIRE is unaware of any policies that threaten students’ free speech rights. These colleges and universities, miraculously afloat in a sea of red and yellow lights, deserve special mention. They are the University… Read more
Role-Playing Exercise Angers RA at ASU, Illustrates Potential Problems with Mandatory Sensitivity Training
January 30, 2007
A student at Arizona State University (ASU) has raised objections to a role-playing exercise he participated in as part of the diversity training required of incoming residence assistants, reports the East Valley Tribune (AZ). In the exercise, Ryan Visconti, a senior at ASU, was required to portray a gay Hispanic male and told to… Read more
Hey, Derek Zoolander: Stay away from Flagstaff!
November 16, 2005
Remember Derek Zoolander? Many college students do. He is Ben Stiller’s character in the 2001 comedy “Zoolander.” And it’s a good thing he didn’t attend Northern Arizona University. At one point in the movie, Derek says, “Rufus, Brint, and Meekus were like brothers to me. And when I say brother, I don’t mean, like, an… Read more
A Herd of Academic Minds
November 1, 2005
If there’s one word any college student knows, it’s “diversity.” Every university, it seems, is “committed” to diversity — or at least says it is. For example, Arizona State says on its Web site that it “champions diversity.” But the reality is sometimes a bit different. At the start of the year, ASU offered two… Read more
Arizona State Disavows Racial Segregation in English Classes
October 10, 2005
TEMPE, Ariz., October 10, 2005—In response to pressure from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), Arizona State University (ASU) has declared that two English classes listed on its website as “for Native Americans only” are open to all students. While ASU insists that this reflects a “long-standing practice” of enrolling students in the… Read more
FIRE Denounces Arizona State’s Reintroduction of Segregated Classes
October 7, 2005
For the second time in less than four years, Arizona State University is limiting certain classes to “Native American” students only. However, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) is accusing the university of racial segregation and has written a letter to the school, demanding that the classes be opened to all students. Enrollment… Read more
Arizona State Claims Segregation Never Happened—But Evidence Says Differently
October 6, 2005
Yesterday, FIRE publicly exposed a racially segregated freshman composition class for “Native Americans only” at Arizona State University (ASU). The “Rainbow Sections” of English 101 and 102, taught by Professor G. Lynn Nelson, were listed in at least two places on ASU’s website as “for Native Americans only.” FIRE pointed out that these mentions of… Read more
Arizona State: ‘A New American University’?
October 5, 2005
Arizona State University (ASU) President Michael M. Crow brags on his website that his is to be “a new American university.” He adds, “We are committed to building a new kind of university, one whose fate is tied to our collective fate, and one committed to the collective good.” Unfortunately, Crow’s conception of what is… Read more
Racial Segregation Lives On at Arizona State University
October 5, 2005
TEMPE, Ariz., October 5, 2005—State-sponsored racial segregation has found a home at Arizona State University (ASU). ASU’s ironically named “Rainbow Sections” of English 101 and 102 have been advertised on flyers and on the university’s website as being open to “Native Americans only.” The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has written to the… Read more
FIRE Letter to Arizona State University President Michael Crow, September 23, 2005
September 23, 2005
September 23, 2005 President Michael M. Crow Office of the President Arizona State University PO Box 877705 Tempe, Arizona 85287-7705 Sent by U.S. Mail and Facsimile (480-965-0865) Dear President Crow: As you can see from the list of our Directors and Board of Advisors, FIRE unites leaders in the fields of civil rights and civil… Read more
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