School Spotlight
Case Western Reserve University
Location:
Cleveland, Ohio
Type:
Private
Speech Code Rating
Case Western Reserve University has been given the speech code rating Red. A red light university has at least one policy that both clearly and substantially restricts freedom of speech.
Read more
This school has adopted the chicago statement for free speech.
University Policies: Campus and Resources- Posting Policy
Speech Code Rating: Red
Speech Code Category: Posting and Distribution Policies
Last updated: August 22, 2021Posting of any derogatory, obscene, or material that violates the University’s Freedom of Expression Policy either explicitly or implicitly, is strictly prohibited. Read MoreStudent Code of Conduct: Proscribed Conduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: August 22, 2021Inappropriate treatment of others, including but not limited to: a. Causing physical harm to others b. Verbal Abuse c. Behavior that is threatening d. Behavior that is intimidating e. Harassment f. Behavior that is coercive g. Behavior that endangers the health or safety of any person Read MoreUniversity Policies: Campus and Resources- Facility Use
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: August 22, 2021The university reserves the right to withhold from any individual or group the use of university facilities or service when, in the opinion of the university’s officers, such use is not in the best interest of the institution or may place the university in a position of legal liability, or when the individual ... Read MoreStudent Code of Conduct: Proscribed Conduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: August 22, 2021Theft 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 MoreDivision of Student Affairs: About the CCRS
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: August 22, 2021About the CCRS The goal of the Community Concerns Reporting System (CCRS) is to help educate and promote an inclusive community by supporting students through a clear and streamlined process for reporting incidents of perceived mistreatment, cultural/ethnic insensitivity, and bias. The CCRS allows CWRU comm... Read MoreCase Western Reserve University Statement of Ethics
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: August 22, 2021Universities seek to preserve, disseminate, and advance knowledge. At CWRU, as elsewhere, we recognize that to fulfill these purposes requires … the right to hold and express opinions different from our own. Read MoreInterim Sexual Harassment Policy and Procedures for All Faculty, Students, Employees, and Third Parties
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: August 22, 2021Sexual Harassment: a) unwelcome conduct, b) determined by a reasonable person, c) to be so severe, and d) pervasive, and, e) objectively offensive, f) that it effectively denies a person equal access to the CWRU’s education program or activity. Read More
Policies are rated on their inclusion of 10 due process safeguards. Each policy may receive 2 points for fully including that safeguard, 1 point for partial inclusion, and 0 points for no meaningful inclusion. Most, but not all, institutions have separate policies for sexual misconduct and all other misconduct. See FIRE’s Spotlight on Due Process report for more information.
Grades
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 | 134 |
| Ideological Diversity | 135 |
Overall / out of a top score of 100 |
|
| Overall Score | 54.78 |
| Openness | 10.14 |
| Tolerance (Liberals) | 11.51 |
| Tolerance (Conservatives) | 7.1 |
| Administrative Support | 6.21 |
| Comfort | 16.11 |
| Disruptive Conduct | 9.71 |
| Speech Code | RED |
Case Western Reserve does the right thing and stands up for pro-life student group’s freedom of expression and association
September 14, 2021
Case Western Reserve University’s administration has made the necessary and commendable decision to stand by the expressive rights of a student group that has come under fire for its pro-life activism. Case for Life, a pro-life student group, faced a long and contentious journey to official recognition. During the spring of 2020, the student government… Read more
Fate of a Case Western pro-life group up to student vote by referendum
May 20, 2020
Vote of as few as 1 in 10 undergraduates could be enough to strip the group of official recognition On Apr. 25, the Undergraduate Student Government at Case Western Reserve University, a private university in Cleveland, voted to recognize a chapter of Students for Life as a student organization on campus. But that wasn’t the… Read more
FIRE alerts students to due process threats using campus newspapers
February 23, 2018
FIRE’s recent groundbreaking Spotlight on Due Process report found that the overwhelming majority of our nation’s top universities fail to provide students even the most basic elements of due process. Now, to make sure students know what they’re up against if they’re accused of serious misconduct, FIRE is running eye-catching ads in campus newspapers at… Read more
Speech Code of the Month: Case Western Reserve University
August 2, 2017
FIRE announces our Speech Code of the Month for August 2017: Case Western Reserve University. According to Case Western’s Posting Policy, “[p]osting of any derogatory, obscene, or offensive message, either explicitly or implicitly, is strictly prohibited.” If you haven’t been following FIRE’s work, you may wonder what is wrong with this. After all, no one… Read more
Judge Dismisses Student’s Title IX Claim Against Case Western Reserve University
September 16, 2015
In an opinion issued today, an Ohio federal judge dismissed a former Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) student’s Title IX lawsuit against the university. The student, who was expelled from CWRU’s medical school after the university found him responsible for sexual misconduct, alleged he was innocent and that bias against male students motivated the university’s… Read more
College Attempts to Censor Student Columnist: Q&A with Andrew Breland
June 8, 2015
Meet Andrew Breland, a student journalist at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and a 2014 FIRE Summer Intern. Andrew laments that while Case Western claims to support free speech, it often compromises freedom of expression for the sake of “civility” and other vague, subjective notions that are too often cited to justify censorship…. Read more
Introducing FIRE Summer Intern Andrew Breland
June 18, 2014
Andrew Breland is a rising senior at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), majoring in political science and English while simultaneously pursuing a master’s degree in political science. Andrew is the president of CWRU’s Pi Kappa Phi chapter and is a columnist for the The Observer, the university’s student newspaper. He has previously interned in the… Read more
Speech Code of the Month: Case Western Reserve University
December 1, 2010
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for December 2010: Case Western Reserve University. Case Western’s “Use of University Facilities” policy provides that University facilities and services may not be used for political fund-raising or to advocate a partisan position …. This restriction also applies to the use of campus mail services, university mailing lists… Read more