School Spotlight

Colby College
Speech Code Rating
Colby College Harassment and Sexual Harassment Policy and Complaint Procedures
Speech Code Rating: Red
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: August 26, 2020Harassment is defined as unwelcome hostile or intimidating remarks, spoken or written (including, for example, e-mail, text messages, postings on electronic message boards, voicemail messages), or physical gestures directed at a specific person based on that person’s race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender iden... Read MoreBias Incident Prevention and Response Team: What is a Bias Incident?
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: August 26, 2020As expressed in Colby’s Student Handbook, “Colby stands for diversity, for respect for various lifestyles and beliefs, and for the protection of every individual against discrimination. In the classroom and outside, there is freedom to study, to think, to speak, to work, to learn, and to thrive in an environment tha... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Student Conduct Expectations: Code of Student Conduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
Last updated: August 26, 2020In accepting membership in the Colby community, students agree to conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with the values of an academic community, including but not limited to honesty, integrity, civility, personal responsibility, respect for the rights of others, and openness in the pursuit of knowledge ... Read MoreCode of Ethics for Information Technology at Colby College
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: August 26, 2020Examples of misuse include, but are not limited to, the following: … Sending threatening messages or other material intended to harass; Read MoreStudent Handbook: Student Code of Conduct, Accountability and Responsibility- Gender-Based Harassment
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: August 26, 2020Gender-Based Harassment includes harassment based on a person’s actual or perceived gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or gender stereotypes which may include acts of aggression, intimidation, or hostility, whether verbal or non-verbal, graphic, physical, or otherwise, even if the acts d... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Chalking Policy
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Posting and Distribution Policies
Last updated: August 26, 2020On occasion, student organizations or individual(s) may seek to promote public awareness on issues and concerns by “chalking” various areas of the campus grounds. Chalking may be done on walkways or roads (not steps or buildings) provided the following guidelines are followed. … Messages that constitute harass... Read MoreStudent Handbook: General College Policies and Procedures- Free Expression
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: August 26, 2020The right of free expression—which does not include a right to harass, intimidate, injure, or silence others—is essential in an academic community and will be vigorously upheld. Infringing upon the expression of views, either by interfering with a speaker, or by defacing or removing properly posted or distributed no... Read MoreTitle IX Sexual Harassment Policy
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: August 26, 2020The Title IX regulations define Hostile Environment Sexual Harassment as unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature (as determined by a reasonable person) that is so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a student or employee equal access to the College’s education programs and activities. Read More
Colby College president: ‘My responsibility is to foster an environment on campus that supports free inquiry’
June 12, 2017
In an email to the college community this past Friday, Colby College President David Greene responded publicly to students who asked Greene why he did not sign a letter criticizing President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. In his message, Greene took a strong stand in favor of free speech at… Read more
Speech Code of the Month: Colby College
July 20, 2016
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for July 2016: Colby College in Maine. Colby’s Bias Incident Prevention and Response protocol encourages students to report on one another to the administration for a wide range of speech and expression. Not only that, but the college recently placed its previously-public “bias incident log” under password… Read more
The Retreat of the Public Intellectual
September 22, 2006
In the recent edition of the alumni magazine from my alma mater, Colby College, there’s an interesting article by government professor Paul Reisert about the cultural marginalization of academia. He writes, There was a time, not that long ago, when leading figures in higher education served as public intellectuals, addressing the vital issues of their… Read more
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