School Spotlight
Barnard College
Location:
New York, New York
Type:
Private
Speech Code Rating
Barnard 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.
Read more
Barnard College Student Code of Conduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: January 21, 2022Theft or other abuse of computer facilities and resources, including but not limited to: … Use of computing facilities and resources to send obscene or abusive messages. Read MoreBarnard College Student Code of Conduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
Last updated: January 21, 2022The following rights and expectations apply to all Barnard students: … [Y]ou are expected to exercise regard for the rights and sensitivities of others. … you are expected to engage in respectful discourse, accepting others’ rights to diverse opinions. … Students are required to engage in responsib... Read MoreNondiscrimination & Title IX: Barnard Policy Definitions
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: January 21, 2022Discriminatory harassment constitutes a form of discrimination that is prohibited by Barnard policy. Discriminatory harassment is defined as harassment by any member or group of the community on the basis of actual or perceived membership in a class protected by policy or law. A hostile environment is one type of di... Read MorePolicy Against Discrimination and Harassment
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: January 21, 2022Sexual Harassment: unwelcome conduct, determined by a reasonable person, to be so severe, and pervasive, and, objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the College’s education program or activity. Read MoreRules for Maintenance of Public Order
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression, Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: January 21, 2022In recognition of the rights of freedom of speech and assembly, peaceful protest or demonstration by any member of the Barnard community, in or on College property, is permitted. Read MoreStudent Code of Conduct: General Principles
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: January 21, 2022You have the right to freedom of inquiry, and you are expected to know and adhere to the Honor Code, the Student Code of Conduct, the Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment, and other College Policies. You have the right to freedom of expression … 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 | 133 |
| Ideological Diversity | 158 |
Overall / out of a top score of 100 |
|
| Overall Score | 54.97 |
| Openness | 11.41 |
| Tolerance (Liberals) | 12.55 |
| Tolerance (Conservatives) | 5.92 |
| Administrative Support | 6.09 |
| Comfort | 16.07 |
| Disruptive Conduct | 8.92 |
| Speech Code | YELLOW |
March 2021 Speech Code of the Month: Barnard College
March 1, 2021
Colleges usually earn a spot as FIRE’s Speech Code of the Month for maintaining a policy that is plainly restrictive of student expression on its face, but this month is a little different — we’re concerned about college policies we can’t even view. Barnard College password-protects several of its speech codes, hiding them from prospective… Read more
Columbia Student Urges ‘Free-Speech Renewal’ in 2015
December 31, 2014
Columbia University junior Bryan Schonfeld has seen firsthand the unhealthy climate for speech on college campuses, and he describes some bewildering examples of students’ and administrators’ aversion to free expression in an article for the New York Daily News this week. Torch readers may recall that Columbia Law School was among the institutions that agreed… Read more
Shibley in ‘Forbes’ on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and Campus Free Speech
March 18, 2014
A handful of recent incidents at American colleges and universities illustrate a troubling pattern of students being censored or punished for participating in the debate over Israeli-Palestinian relations. Today in ‘Forbes,’ FIRE’s Robert Shibley writes about how the longstanding conflict is part of a threat to free expression here in the United States.
New York City Council Considers Speech Ban
August 9, 2007
David Harsanyi reports on The Huffington Post that the New York City Council “may be on the verge of banning the slur ‘bitch’” as well as “the slang word ‘ho.’” (The Council would no doubt receive moral support from Barnard College, which bans any of George Carlin’s seven dirty words from appearing on any posted… Read more
Speech Codes of the Year: 2006
December 29, 2006
As Torch readers know, each month FIRE singles out a particularly egregious speech code for our Speech Code of the Month award. While all twelve Speech Codes of the Month for 2006 were both tragic and laughable, I would like to highlight a few that deserve special mention as our Speech Codes of the Year:… Read more
Speech Code of the Month: Barnard College
April 4, 2006
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for April 2006: Barnard College. This speech code deserves special recognition because it accomplishes the unique feat of violating itself. The Barnard College Posting Policy provides that “the following words cannot appear on any posted information at Barnard—shit, piss, suck, cunt, fuck, motherfucker, cocksucker and tits.” So… Read more