School Spotlight
Bard College
Location:
Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
Type:
Private
Speech Code Rating
Bard College has been given the speech code rating Yellow. Yellow light colleges and universities are those institutions with at least one ambiguous policy that too easily encourages administrative abuse and arbitrary application.
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Gender-Based Misconduct Policy: Definitions of Gender-Based Misconduct- College Category Violations
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 14, 2021Sexual Harassment: Unwelcome, offensive conduct that occurs on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, self-identified sex, gender, gender expression, gender identity, gender stereotyping or transgender status, but that does not constitute sexual harassment as a Title IX Category Violations as defined above. Sexual ha... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Harassment, Discrimination and Stalking Policy
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 14, 2021Harassment Unwelcome, hostile, or inappropriate conduct directed toward an individual because of their protected status. Such conduct violates College policy if it (1) has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working, living, or learning environment for the affected individual, or... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Campus Computing
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: September 14, 2021Inappropriate use includes: Sending messages in such a way that makes them appear as though they originated from a different person or that deliberately misrepresent yourself or your authority Sending messages that are severely abusive or threaten an individual’s safety or for sexual, ethnic, religious, minority, o... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Sign Posting Policy
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Posting and Distribution Policies
Last updated: September 14, 2021All posters are expected to be taken down within 7 days of the end of an event; if there is no date on the posting, the sponsor should indicate when the poster may be removed. Some bulletin boards are designated for specific use and may require special permission and/or appropriateness of sponsor or topic. If a boar... Read MoreGender-Based Misconduct Policy: Definitions of Gender-Based Misconduct- Title IX Category Violations
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 14, 2021Sexual Harassment: Conduct on the basis of sex (including sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and transgender status) that satisfies one or more of the following: … Unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Bias Incidents
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: September 14, 2021While Bard College is committed to the free and open exchange of ideas and to the view that the expression of controversial ideas and differing views is a vital part of campus discourse, it does not condone harassment or expressions of bias or hate aimed at individuals or groups. Speech or expression that is not pro... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Events Registration
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: September 14, 2021Bard College strongly affirms the right of free speech for each member of the Bard community. Read MoreStudent Handbook: Free Speech Policy
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 14, 2021Speech or expressive conduct that employs force or the threat of force is prohibited, as is speech or expressive conduct that constitutes harassment, coercion, incitement to imminent violence, defamation of individuals, invasions of protected rights to privacy or confidentiality, the destruction of property or docum... Read More
FIRE surveyed roughly 37,000 students at 154 colleges and universities about the climate for free speech at their institutions. In 2021, FIRE released rankings of those schools, based on a number of factors, including openness, tolerance, self-expression, administrative support for free speech, and campus policies, scoring overall speech climate on a scale from 0-100. See the full report on FIRE’s 2021 College Free Speech Rankings for more information.
Rankings / out of 154 colleges surveyed |
|
| Overall Ranking | 28 |
| Ideological Diversity | 152 |
Overall / out of a top score of 100 |
|
| Overall Score | 62.58 |
| Openness | 11.52 |
| Tolerance (Liberals) | 12 |
| Tolerance (Conservatives) | 6.5 |
| Administrative Support | 6.36 |
| Comfort | 16.67 |
| Disruptive Conduct | 9.53 |
| Speech Code | YELLOW |
Bard College labeled ‘undesirable foreign organization’ in Russia, the newest troubling development in international higher education
June 24, 2021
The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office announced this week that New York liberal arts institution Bard College was deemed an “undesirable foreign organization” and that the office “determined that the NGO’s activity threatens the constitutional order and security of Russia.” Association with the college — a figure in liberal arts education in Russia for decades due… Read more
Bard College students cleared of charges after protesting anti-Semitism panel
March 23, 2020
Editor’s note: FIRE has completed further investigation into this incident. We have concluded that the disruption of the panel appears to have been more material and substantial than we understood, and the college appears to have been justified in investigating the students who disrupted the panel. While peaceful protest is generally protected, materially and substantially disrupting another’s expressive activity… Read more
Bard College Steps Up for Free Speech
October 4, 2011
It always feels great to be able to share good news about free speech on campus. So I am very happy to report that Bard College in New York has taken the commendable step of clarifying its student conduct policies to affirm that the college is committed to students’ right to free speech and expression…. Read more
Sectarian Institutions and Free Speech
April 17, 2007
As mentioned in previous blog entries, George Mason University Professor Jon B. Gould’s call for the dissolution of FIRE (subscribers only, unfortunately) in The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Review section is riddled with mischaracterizations and inaccuracies. Having disproved his example of FIRE’s “exaggeration” of speech codes and pointed out his questionable understanding of how sexual… Read more