School Spotlight
Auburn University
Speech Code Rating
Appropriate Use of Information Technology Policy
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: September 17, 2020While it is not possible to specify a rule for every possible use or misuse of IT resources, persons to whom this policy applies are expected to act in accordance with the following examples: … Special care to avoid activity that is or could be perceived as intimidating, harassing or threatening. Read MoreCode of Student Conduct
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 17, 2020The following conduct is prohibited: 1. Physical abuse, threats, intimidation, harassment, stalking, coercion, and/or other behavior which threatens or endangers the health and/or safety of any person. Read MoreBERT – Bias Education and Response Team
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: September 17, 2020Auburn University values freedom of expression and the open exchange of ideas. While openness protects the expression of controversial ideas, there are times when actions or can negatively affect individuals or groups. A bias incident involves actions committed against or directed toward a person or property that ar... Read MoreExpression and Demonstration Policy
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: September 17, 2020To facilitate robust debate and the free exchange of ideas, the university has established a high visibility area on campus as an “Open Air Forum.” This area may be used by any person, including non-students and other campus guests. This use may be without prior permission from the university so long as: The area h... Read More
Auburn University: Administration ‘Considering Options’ Over Lecturer’s Anti-Police Social Media Posts
August 3, 2020
In July 2020, Auburn University lecturer Jesse Goldberg tweeted in response to a video of plainclothes police officers detaining a protester using an unmarked van: “This is kidnapping. Fuck every single cop.” Goldberg’s social media commentary regarding the abolition of police drew criticism from Donald Trump, Jr., and calls for Goldberg’s termination by Alabama state… Read more
Auburn University: Ban on Ron Paul Window Hanging Exposes Double Standard
November 2, 2011
In November 2011, Auburn University student Eric Philips was required to remove a banner supporting Ron Paul’s presidential campaign from the inside of his dormitory window. Despite Auburn’s policy prohibiting all window decorations in its residence halls, Philips documented numerous examples of the policy not being enforced against other students. Following a letter from FIRE… Read more
Auburn University says that it will not punish lecturer over anti-police comments
August 6, 2020
UPDATE 8/11/20: Goldberg’s position at Auburn has been converted to a research-only fellowship in which he will not teach. Goldberg tells the Chronicle of Higher Education that he agreed to the change in role because he feels “much safer with this option” after receiving threats of violence. For more, check out Keith Whittington’s analysis. Last week, Auburn University said it was… Read more
Lecturer’s anti-police tweet leads to legislative pressure on Auburn University, which says it is exploring ‘options’
August 3, 2020
At Auburn University, an incoming lecturer’s tweets criticizing police officers has sparked calls for his termination, including from a state legislator. Today, in light of the university’s statements that its “officials” were reviewing “options” for responding to the lecturer’s “[h]ate speech,” FIRE wrote to Auburn University explaining that the First Amendment, Alabama state law, and… Read more
Auburn University earns FIRE’s highest rating for free speech
January 30, 2018
AUBURN, Ala., Jan. 30, 2018 — Auburn University has earned the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education’s highest rating for free speech, becoming the first university in Alabama to earn this distinction. In cooperation with FIRE, Auburn revised a number of speech codes to join an elite group of only 38 universities nationwide that have… Read more
Speech Code of the Month: Auburn University
December 15, 2015
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for December 2015: Auburn University. Student protests have been all over the news this fall. While some of the protesters’ demands—such as demands for restrictions on student and faculty speech—have been troubling, the right of students to engage in protest and other expressive activities is critically important,… Read more
What Ezra Klein Gets Wrong about the ‘Yes Means Yes’ Law in California
October 17, 2014
On Monday, Vox co-founder Ezra Klein penned an op-ed about how he firmly supported the affirmative consent bill recently passed in California despite his candid acknowledgment that the bill was in fact “terrible.” The general tenor of his column, which I discussed in The Daily Caller yesterday, was that you can’t make an omelet without… Read more
Over 1,000 Newspapers Stolen at Auburn University
September 2, 2014
The Student Press Law Center reports that on August 28, more than 1,000 copies of The Auburn Plainsman were stolen, costing Auburn University’s student newspaper nearly $800. The newspapers disappeared from seven locations throughout Auburn’s campus. So far no one has claimed responsibility for the theft, but the paper’s editors believe that one of its stories may have been the cause.
Due Process in the News: ‘Washington Post’ Highlights Accused Students’ Concerns
August 21, 2014
Yesterday’s issue of The Washington Post included a comprehensive and even-handed article about the due process concerns being raised by an increasing number of students accused of sexual assault within university judicial systems.
‘Wall Street Journal’ Highlights Inadequate Due Process Protections at Auburn University
December 9, 2013
Over the weekend, Wall Street Journal editorial board member James Taranto penned a piece about one Auburn University student’s treatment by the campus judiciary following another student’s allegation that he committed sexual assault. Joshua Strange faced two separate systems. In the criminal court system, a grand jury failed even to find probable cause to prosecute him, despite the fact… Read more
Greg Lukianoff in ‘Daily Caller’: Students Have Gotten Used to Censorship
September 21, 2012
When Auburn University student Eric Philips hung a Ron Paul poster in his dormitory window, he was ordered to take it down just three hours later. The university cited a school-wide ban on window hangings as the reason for the censorship, saying that it was instituted for "safety" reasons. Auburn must not care very much… Read more
On Graduation Day, Remedial Lessons on Free Speech Needed at Auburn
May 7, 2012
Auburn University senior Eric Philips is one of the more than 3,300 Auburn students being awarded their degrees today at the university’s commencement ceremonies. He has also been working with FIRE for months now to reform Auburn’s restrictive policy banning window decorations—which seems to include the Ron Paul banner he was told to remove from… Read more
Greg’s Appearance on ‘Stossel’ Now Online
April 24, 2012
FIRE President Greg Lukianoff’s appearance on Stossel last week is now available online. The episode highlights two current FIRE cases: Auburn University’s selective banning of student window hangings and the University of Cincinnati’s threats to arrest students who wanted to gather signatures outside of the school’s free speech zone. Greg also told the Florida State University audience that FSU’s speech… Read more
‘Safety’ Defense Only Makes Auburn Look Foolish
April 23, 2012
For months now, as shown last week on Stossel, FIRE has been fighting alongside Auburn University student Eric Philips for the reform of an unnecessarily restrictive policy on window decorations at Auburn. As we’ve argued, the policy needlessly curtails a traditional form of student expression. What’s more, as FIRE and Philips have repeatedly shown, the… Read more
March Student Spotlight: Allen Mendenhall of Auburn University
March 16, 2012
Each month, the CFN Student Spotlight features a student member who is working to promote individual rights on his or her campus. For March, I am pleased to announce that our featured student is Allen Mendenhall of Auburn University. As a Ph.D. candidate and teacher at Auburn, Allen has helped establish an environment open to… Read more
Censored Auburn Student Shares Story with ‘Plainsman’
January 24, 2012
For weeks now, FIRE has been fighting for free speech at Auburn University, which continues to maintain an unwise and illiberal ban on window hangings in its dorms despite ample evidence pointing to its uneven enforcement of the policy. Now student Eric Philips—who came to FIRE after being forced to remove a banner supporting Ron Paul’s presidential… Read more
Double Standard at Auburn: Ron Paul Banner Banned from Dorm Room Window While ‘Total Ban’ Goes Unenforced
January 16, 2012
Auburn University has discriminated against a student by ordering him to remove a Ron Paul banner from his dormitory window. Although the university has nominally instituted a "total ban" on window decorations, a dozen or more other window decorations have been permitted. Moreover, the university has failed to provide any evidence that such a total… Read more
Auburn Student Blasts University’s Window Policy
January 13, 2012
Auburn University doctoral student Allen Mendenhall has written an op-ed for today’s Montgomery Advertiser criticizing Auburn’s decision to censor a Ron Paul banner in the dormitory window of student Eric Philips. Allen, a FIRE Campus Freedom Network member, explains that Philips’ case is of particular concern to him because of his extensive family connections to Auburn and his love of the school—he describes… Read more
Still Looking for Answers from Phi Beta Kappa
December 14, 2005
FIRE recently wrote a letter to John Churchill, secretary of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, in which we ask the organization to stand behind its stated commitment to freedom of expression by addressing the issue of repressive speech codes at its member institutions. In a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription required),… Read more
Practical Advice for Fraternities Caught in the Battle for Free Speech on Campus
September 16, 2004
I. Introduction While there is no shortage of free speech battles on college campuses, fraternities have the dubious honor of being at the center of many of the least sympathetic controversies. From Halloween parties where brothers show up dressed as Ku Klux Klan members to fraternity newsletters that graphically relate a brother’s sexual exploits with… Read more
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