School Spotlight
Colorado College
Location:
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Type:
Private
Speech Code Rating
Colorado 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
Freedom of Expression
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: October 1, 2021Review Process by Student Life is required for: … Demonstrations and marches Read MoreInterim Nondiscrimination and Anti-harassment Policy and Procedures
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: October 1, 2021F. Harassment means verbal or physical conduct that is unwelcome and so severe or pervasive to create a work or educational environment under both an objective (e.g., a reasonable person’s view) and subjective (e.g., the subject of the alleged conduct’s view) standard that it has the purpose or effect of unreasonabl... Read MoreFreedom of Expression
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
Last updated: October 1, 2021The College’s commitment to freedom of expression does not countenance communications or conduct that demean, denigrate, humiliate, or express hatred to any particular person or class of persons. Some communications or conduct may so violate our community standards that formal College intervention may be necessary. ... Read MoreAcceptable Use of Information Technology Resources Policy
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: October 1, 2021Information technology resources may not be intentionally used to view, store, print, or send obscene materials or slanderous, harassing, or threatening messages. Read MoreAmended and Restated Bylaws of The Colorado College: Academic Freedom
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: October 1, 2021Academic institutions exist for the transmission of knowledge, the quest for truth, the development of students, and the general wellbeing of society. In the pursuit of these ends, all members of the College community have such basic rights as freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of peaceful assembly and ass... Read MoreInterim Title IX Sexual Harassment Grievance Procedures
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: October 1, 2021Title IX Sexual Harassment means conduct on the basis of sex that occurs in the United States within the educational program or activity of the College, which falls under the jurisdiction of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 because it satisfies one or more of the following: … Unwelcome conduct dete... 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 | 36 |
| Ideological Diversity | 153 |
Overall / out of a top score of 100 |
|
| Overall Score | 61.18 |
| Openness | 9.57 |
| Tolerance (Liberals) | 12.78 |
| Tolerance (Conservatives) | 7.56 |
| Administrative Support | 5.71 |
| Comfort | 15.7 |
| Disruptive Conduct | 9.86 |
| Speech Code | YELLOW |
Colorado College: Student Suspended for Two Years for Joke on Social Media
December 7, 2015
In November 2015, student Thaddeus Pryor sent an anonymous reply to the comment “#blackwomenmatter” on the social media application Yik Yak.
Colorado College: Students Found Guilty for Satirical Flyer
March 21, 2008
Two male students were found responsible for violating the school’s "violence" policy for posting a flyer that parodied a flyer from the Feminist and Gender Studies program. Colorado College’s "Feminist and Gender Studies Interns" had distributed a flyer called "The Monthly Rag," which included a reference to "male castration," an announcement about a lecture on… Read more
Mandatory reporting policies chill speech where it is most important
July 16, 2020
My sophomore year of college, I signed up to take a course on legal philosophy taught by my major advisor. At first glance, the course syllabus was standard if not somewhat dry — Ronald Dworkin, H. L. A. Hart, and John Finnis made up the majority of required readings. But one author, and his work,… Read more
FIRE Announces 10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech: 2016
February 17, 2016
PHILADELPHIA, February 17, 2016—Nearly half of America’s top colleges maintain speech codes that blatantly violate First Amendment standards. But every year the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) takes a closer look at the past year’s incidents of college censorship to determine the nation’s 10 worst abusers of student and faculty free speech rights…. Read more
As New Semester Begins, Colorado College Student Remains Banned from Campus for Six-Word Joke on Yik Yak
January 19, 2016
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., January 19, 2016—Yesterday, students at Colorado College arrived back on campus for the new semester. Sadly, one Colorado College student still isn’t able to join his classmates thanks to a six-word joke he posted in November on the social media application Yik Yak. The joke was an anonymous reply to the comment… Read more
Colorado College Suspends Student for Two Years for Six-Word Joke on Yik Yak
December 7, 2015
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., December 7, 2015—Colorado College has suspended and banned a student from campus for nearly two years in response to a comment intended as a joke on the anonymous social media application Yik Yak. In November 2015, Thaddeus Pryor sent an anonymous reply to the comment “#blackwomenmatter” on Yik Yak. Pryor’s response read,… Read more
Speech Code of the Month: Wake Forest University
May 5, 2014
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for May 2014: Wake Forest University. Wake Forest’s “Campus Posting” policy explicitly restricts student postings on the basis of their viewpoint. Not only does the policy ban any postings subjectively deemed “sexist,” “racist,” “derogatory,” or not in “good taste,” but it threatens violators with fines and disciplinary action. With this policy, Wake Forest places an impermissibly heavy burden on students wishing to express controversial political or social opinions on campus.
The Unique Free Speech Challenges Facing Student Satire and Humor
February 1, 2013
As we wrap up Free Press Week, we take a look today at the unique challenges that college students face when engaging in satire and humor on campus, from humor magazines and editorial cartoons to satirical flyers and blogs. Like newspaper theft and denial of newspaper funding (which we have already explored this week), this… Read more
Colorado College Remains in the ‘Red’
June 21, 2012
Colorado College (CC) has long been associated with one color here at FIRE: red, as in our Red Alert list, on which CC remains for violating the free speech rights of two students back in 2008. But recent actions have demonstrated that this association is warranted for another reason: CC’s continued maintenance of "red light"… Read more
The top 12 worst colleges for free speech
March 28, 2012
Who doesn’t love a good awards show? The gowns, the acceptance speeches, the brutal infringements of civil liberties … the excitement just never ends. Once again, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE, where I work), has sorted through the hundreds of colleges and universities across the nation that severely restrict the First Amendment rights of… Read more
FIRE’s 12 Worst Colleges for Free Speech in 2012
March 27, 2012
Here’s today’s press release: PHILADELPHIA, March 27, 2012—The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) released its 2012 list of the 12 Worst Colleges for Free Speech in The Huffington Post today. Harvard is new to the list this year, joining Yale, Syracuse, and the University of Cincinnati at the top of the list. "These colleges and universities… Read more
Speech Code of the Month: Colorado College
November 2, 2011
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for November 2011: Colorado College. Colorado College’s Student Code of Conduct contains a policy on “Respect” that prohibits “any act which endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student or group, or which destroys or removes public or private property, or which produces ridicule,… Read more
This Month in FIRE History: Controversy at Colorado College
March 18, 2011
Three years ago this month, FIRE began a battle for free speech and individual rights at Colorado College that continues to this day. FIRE first became involved at Colorado College when the school targeted two students for distributing a parody mocking a Feminist and Gender Studies program newsletter, “The Monthly Rag,” a publication that had included… Read more
FIRE in ‘The Huffington Post’ on America’s 12 Worst Schools for Free Speech
January 27, 2011
Today, The Huffington Post published FIRE’s list of America’s 12 Worst Schools for Free Speech. An expansion of FIRE’s Red Alert List of the “worst of the worst” schools for student and faculty rights, this “dirty dozen” slideshow includes the schools that come onto FIRE’s radar screen again and again for their repeated and egregious violations of fundamental rights, as… Read more
Time for Colorado College to get off FIRE’s Red Alert List
September 10, 2010
For the third consecutive year, Colorado College is called out for its shameful disregard of free speech in FIRE’s full-page U.S. News & World Report advertisement. As with its fellow Red Alert list members, we would dearly like to take it off the list, and for Colorado College to earn its way off would be… Read more
FIRE Launches New Video Series With Short Film on Censorship of Gun-Related Speech
June 30, 2010
PHILADELPHIA, June 30, 2010—Today, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) is proud to release a new short film, “Empty Holsters: Gun Speech on America’s Campuses,” highlighting widespread campus censorship of student speech about guns. The film is the first in a new FIRE series focusing on how colleges and universities across America are… Read more
Changes in Leadership Give Red Alert Schools Golden Opportunity to Restore Free Speech
May 19, 2010
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that Richard F. Celeste will step down as President of Colorado College at the end of the next academic year. This latest announcement means that four of the six schools on FIRE’s Red Alert list will undergo changes in leadership in the next year. Bucknell University President Brian C…. Read more
Still Looking for a New Year’s Resolution, Red Alert Schools?
January 14, 2010
Here’s an easy New Year’s resolution that Brandeis University, Bucknell University, Colorado College, Johns Hopkins University, Michigan State University, and Tufts University can make: get off of FIRE’s Red Alert list of America’s worst violators of campus liberty! This week, FIRE sent the presidents of each of the six Red Alert schools a letter reminding… Read more
How Can Colorado College Get Off FIRE’s Red Alert List?
August 31, 2009
FIRE’s full-page ad in the current issue of U.S. News & World Report, right next to the annual college rankings, exposes the colleges and universities that are the “worst of the worst” when it comes to individual rights. These are schools where policies and past practices are so bad that FIRE actively warns students and faculty… Read more
‘U.S. News’ Readers: FIRE’s Red Alert List Exposes the Worst Violators of Campus Rights
August 25, 2009
Why does FIRE’s ad in U.S. News & World Report show a book padlocked shut? One of FIRE’s most shocking cases was that of Keith John Sampson, a student-employee at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) who was found guilty of racial harassment for merely reading the book Notre Dame vs. the Klan: How the Fighting… Read more
FIRE’s Biggest Ad Campaign Ever Hits ‘U.S. News’
August 25, 2009
For the second year in a row, FIRE has run a full-page advertisement in U.S. News & World Report‘s America’s Best Colleges issue, released today, highlighting the colleges and universities that have earned FIRE’s Red Alert distinction for being the “worst of the worst” when it comes to liberty on campus. Brandeis University, Colorado College, Johns Hopkins University, Michigan State University, and Tufts University are listed in the print ad, while Bucknell University,… Read more
This Month in FIRE History: Students Found Guilty for Satirical Flyer at Colorado College
April 23, 2009
I hardly have to "look back" in order to find the most disturbing April case in our 10-year history. Just last year Colorado College gained its place on our Red Alert (worst of the worst) list through its treatment of the satirical flyer "The Monthly Bag" and the students responsible for it. In January 2008,… Read more
CCSU Professor on University’s Investigation of Gun-Related Speech
March 18, 2009
Jay Bergman, a history professor at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU), has written on a controversy engulfing CCSU, in which undergraduate student John Wahlberg was reported to university authorities by his professor and then subjected to a police interrogation following his classroom presentation in support of the right to carry concealed firearms on campus. In… Read more
Rights in the News: FIRE Issues Get the Lou Dobbs Treatment
March 13, 2009
As Will wrote earlier in the week, FIRE has seen far too many instances of students’ First Amendment rights being thrown out the window when used to support Second Amendment rights. FIRE has been all over the news concerning the most recent instance of this, in which a student at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU)… Read more
Too Often, First Amendment Protections Denied to Second Amendment Speech
March 10, 2009
The First Amendment protects core political speech—and, as should be obvious, that protection extends to speech regarding the Second Amendment. This means that students at public universities and private universities that promise the right to free expression on campus must be free to engage in unfettered discussion of the merits of federal, state and local… Read more
This Month in FIRE History: Florida College Bans ‘The Passion of the Christ’
January 29, 2009
In ten years, FIRE has seen astounding double standards at work on campuses across the country. However, even we were shocked by our case at Indian River Community College (IRCC) in January 2005, one of the worst cases of hypocrisy FIRE has ever seen. The case began when IRCC prevented the Christian Student Fellowship (CSF)… Read more
2008 Highlights: FIRE Places Full-Page Ad in ‘U.S. News & World Report’ Calling Out ‘Red Alert’ Schools
December 31, 2008
While FIRE works on cases from hundreds of schools in a given year, we have a special list for those schools that have shown unique intransigence in the face of criticism from FIRE for abusing student and faculty rights. We call that special list our Red Alert list, and right now five schools have earned… Read more
Exploitation of ‘Violence’ Charges Makes Colorado College One of 2008’s Worst Offenders
December 30, 2008
It’s a difficult task encapsulating FIRE’s efforts in 2008 in a single sentence, much less a single word. After all, the breadth of FIRE’s victories on campus this year ranges from the exoneration of a student at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis who was the subject of a disgraceful investigation stemming from reading a book with… Read more
Stop Invoking Virginia Tech to Punish Protected Speech
November 24, 2008
Of particular note in the court order in Barnes v. Zaccari, the federal civil rights lawsuit filed after former Valdosta State University (VSU) student Hayden Barnes was expelled for posting a collage on Facebook.com protesting the construction of new parking facilities at VSU, is this excerpt: For purposes of the motion to dismiss, the court… Read more
This Month in FIRE History: IUSB and Double Standards for Student Speech
September 18, 2008
In our nearly ten-year history, FIRE has seen many absurd cases in which students have been punished for exercising their First Amendment rights. One of our more interesting cases was finally resolved last September, when Indiana University–South Bend overturned its punishment of student reporter Robert Francis, whose only offense was asking questions of an actress… Read more
Back to School: Remember FIRE’s Red Alert List
September 9, 2008
Students going back to school should be aware of the institutions that demonstrate a blatant disregard for their students’ rights. FIRE’s Red Alert list, recently featured in a full-page ad in the 2009 “America’s Best Colleges” edition of U.S. News and World Report, is a list of the “worst of the worst” when it comes… Read more
Victory for Free Speech in University of Delaware Lawsuit
September 5, 2008
Last year, we wrote about the case of University of Delaware student Maciej Murakowski, who was barred from his classes and his dormitory pending a psychiatric examination because of material on his website that another student found offensive and which university officials found "racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, and homophobic." Murakowski soon was suspended and banned from… Read more
FIRE Exposes Unrepentant Abusers of Liberty in ‘U.S. News’ College Rankings Issue
August 25, 2008
PHILADELPHIA, August 25, 2008—The 2009 edition of U.S. News and World Report‘s America’s Best Colleges issue, released today, includes a full-page advertisement from FIRE highlighting the five colleges and universities that have earned FIRE’s Red Alert distinction for being the “worst of the worst” when it comes to liberty on campus. Students should think twice… Read more
FIRE Again Urges Colorado College President to Demonstrate His Recommitment to Free Speech
July 31, 2008
FIRE gave Colorado College President Richard Celeste another opportunity yesterday to restore the tarnished image of his school by once again calling on him to remove any disciplinary letters from the files of two CC students. Loyal Torch readers will remember this amazing case in which students were punished simply for posting satirical flyers. Back… Read more
Weekly Media Round-up: IUPUI Heats up the News Cycle, and Richard Celeste Continues to Get it Wrong
July 18, 2008
FIRE’s public efforts on behalf of Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) student-employee Keith John Sampson, who was convicted of racial harassment for reading the book Notre Dame vs. the Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan, received a major boost this week, courtesy of the Associated Press. The AP ran a story… Read more
Colorado College President Blogs on ‘Monthly Bag’ Case, Makes Errors, Spins Untruths
July 17, 2008
This week the President of Colorado College (CC), Richard Celeste, blogged for a second time in the disgraceful case of two male students convicted of “violence” after they posted a parody of a feminist newsletter. The story is well known to Torch readers, but Celeste gets some of his facts wrong and shamefully spins others…. Read more
FIRE’s ‘Test for Free Speech’
July 16, 2008
In a recent entry on his blog Flow of Ideas, Colorado College President Dick Celeste writes of FIRE: An interesting note: In 2007, FIRE reviewed 346 colleges and universities, and fully 96 percent of them did not pass its test for free speech (only 2% passed; 2% were unrated). Celeste arrives at this figure by… Read more
Whence is Colorado College’s Board of Trustees Getting Its False Information?
June 26, 2008
Today we report in a press release that the Chair of Colorado College’s (CC’s) Board of Trustees has affirmed the school’s actions in finding that two students violated CC’s “violence” policy for posting a flyer that parodied a flyer of the Feminist and Gender Studies program. In a letter to FIRE, Board of Trustees Chair… Read more
Colorado College Board of Trustees Backs School in Punishing Students for ‘Violent’ Parody
June 26, 2008
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., June 26, 2008—The Chair of Colorado College’s (CC’s) Board of Trustees has affirmed the school’s actions in finding that student Chris Robinson and another student wishing to remain anonymous violated CC’s “violence” policy for posting a flyer that parodied a flyer of the Feminist and Gender Studies program. In a letter to… Read more
Colorado College’s President Misses the Point (Again)
June 25, 2008
A friend of FIRE at Colorado College recently passed along a copy of the May 9th edition of The Catalyst, the school’s student newspaper, which featured a column written by Colorado College President Richard Celeste. The column, aptly titled “Trials and Tribulations of 07/08,” is a look back at the year’s controversies, including the most… Read more
When Schools Punish Creative Work
May 20, 2008
As Samantha points out this morning, today’s Wall Street Journal features an excellent article by Elizabeth Bernstein on schools that punish students for their creative work—sometimes with good intentions, when there is a real chance that the work signifies that someone is dangerous—and sometimes vindictively, such as in the case of student T. Hayden Barnes… Read more
Colorado College Joins Worst Offenders of Liberty on FIRE’s Red Alert List
May 15, 2008
Thanks to its disregard for protected speech, obvious display of double standards, and lack of a fair judicial process, Colorado College has earned the dubious distinction of being placed on FIRE’s Red Alert list. Institutions on the Red Alert list are unrepentant offenders against basic rights that are guaranteed either by the U.S. Constitution or… Read more
Colorado College Press Strategy: Parse Words, Ignore Substance
April 29, 2008
As we’ve mentioned in this space before, Colorado College President Richard Celeste is the former Governor of Ohio. And after reading the following exchange between Adam Kissel, Director of FIRE’s Individual Rights Defense Program, and Colorado College Media Relations Director Jane Turnis, it’s obvious Celeste has taught his staff some old political tricks—like parsing opposing… Read more
New Colorado College Video Now Up on Multimedia Page
April 29, 2008
If you’re interested in the continuing saga of our latest case at Colorado College, don’t miss the latest video installment on our multimedia page. We’ve just posted video of Adam Kissel’s appearance on Jon Caldara’s television show, Independent Thinking, on KBDI Channel 12 in Colorado. Adam discusses the Colorado College case and its implications with… Read more
Colorado College Denies Students’ Appeal of Guilty Finding
April 28, 2008
Today’s press release unveils some disappointing news from Colorado College (CC). CC denied the appeal of student Chris Robinson who, with another student who wishes to remain anonymous, was found guilty of having violated the school’s “violence” policy for posting a flyer mocking a flyer distributed by the Feminist and Gender Studies program. Robinson is… Read more
Adam Kissel’s Colorado College Lecture Available on Multimedia Page
April 28, 2008
On April 21, FIRE’s Adam Kissel visited Colorado College to give a speech on “The Free Expression Myth on America’s Campuses.” Adam has blogged about his lecture and media tour, and now we are able to offer you the entire audio of his speech, along with a Q&A session with the students and faculty at… Read more
Colorado College Travelogue, Part II: Media Tour
April 28, 2008
In my lecture at Colorado College (CC) on Monday—see Part I of this travelogue and listen to the podcast version—I noted: There is a good reason why the media in Colorado Springs, in Denver, and around the country have been all over this case. What has happened to the Dudes is profoundly unjust. The media… Read more
Colorado College Denies Appeal of Students Responsible for ‘Violent’ Parody
April 28, 2008
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., April 28, 2008—Colorado College has denied student Chris Robinson’s appeal of its finding that he and another student violated the school’s “violence” policy for posting a flyer that parodied a flyer of the Feminist and Gender Studies program. The school also has decided not to remove any letters about the case from… Read more
Colorado College Travelogue, Part I: Lecture at CC
April 24, 2008
I returned yesterday after two days in Colorado Springs and Denver for a lecture at Colorado College and a media tour in the shameful case of Colorado College’s censorship and punishment of students for “violence” after they posted a parody called “The Monthly Bag.” (I will describe the media tour in another blog post soon.)… Read more
Adam Kissel Speaking at Colorado College Tonight
April 21, 2008
FIRE’s Director of the Individual Rights Defense Program, Adam Kissel, will be visiting Colorado College for several speaking engagements over the next two days. Tonight at 9:00 p.m., he will be giving a speech at an event sponsored by Colorado College’s Political Science department, on “The Free Expression Myth on America’s Campuses.” This event is… Read more
Colorado College and LSSU Media Round-Up
April 18, 2008
April has been a media-friendly month here at FIRE and we’d like to take a minute to catch you up on all the latest coverage of our cases, specifically articles on Colorado College and Lake Superior State University. As Torch readers know, the controversy at Colorado College continues, with student Chris Robinson awaiting the decision… Read more
Colorado College Feminists Do Not Seek Dialogue
April 16, 2008
Today’s Rocky Mountain News prints a very misleading letter from Tomi-Ann Roberts, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Program in Feminist and Gender Studies program at Colorado College. The paper headlined her letter “SPEAKOUT: Feminists at CC seek dialogue.” See below for my detailed responses to Roberts’s letter and for the simultaneous response from… Read more
What Did President Celeste Really Think About The Monthly Bag?
April 16, 2008
In my piece examining Colorado College President Dick Celeste’s blog entry about his administration’s censorship of the satirical “Monthly Bag” newsletter and the punishment of its authors, I asserted that Celeste didn’t really believe that there was any violence threatened by the flyer. I wrote: I am trying to follow Celeste’s thought process on this…. Read more
The Coalition of Some Other Dudes and the Range of an M1-A1 Tank
April 16, 2008
In response to the censorship and punishment by Colorado College of a flyer that was an obvious parody, another group of students has published a new issue of “The Monthly Bag.” These authors, again pseudonymous, are The Coalition of Some Other Dudes. These dudes are, by report, three men and one woman. Yes, women can… Read more
Star Chamber at CC
April 16, 2008
I’m delighted to hear from the director of Colorado College’s Feminist and Gender Studies Program that many of her colleagues “disagreed” with the abominable way that two male students were recently treated after publishing a satire of a radical feminist flier called the Monthly Rag (see today’s Speakout, “Feminists at CC seek dialogue”). Not that… Read more
Can State Officials Condemn Without Censoring?
April 15, 2008
Over at Popehat, a FIRE friend (pseudonymously “Ken”) takes me to task for my response to Colorado College president Richard Celeste’s false contention that the students who published the first issue of “The Monthly Bag” were not sanctioned or punished. Celeste’s sentence was: The students involved in creating this publication were found to have violated… Read more
Colorado College President Celeste Blogs on “The Monthly Bag”
April 14, 2008
It turns out that Colorado College President (and former Ohio governor) Dick Celeste has his own blog, “Flow of Ideas,” on Colorado College’s site. This is a very progressive thing for a college president to do, and I think he is to be commended for this attempt to get down in the trenches in the… Read more
“Muzzle Tov” to Brandeis and Valdosta State from Greg
April 11, 2008
In his latest Huffington Post blog, FIRE President Greg Lukianoff recaps the 2008 Jefferson Muzzle awards, bringing special attention to with “winners” at Brandeis University and Valdosta State University. He also puts in an early nomination for 2009’s Muzzles: Finally, while I know it’s only April, I already have two nominations for next year’s Jefferson… Read more
Greg’s New Blog for ‘The Huffington Post’ Questions Campus Speech Abuses in the Aftermath of Virginia Tech
April 8, 2008
In his latest blog for The Huffington Post, FIRE President Greg Lukianoff discusses university administrators who have been citing the rash of campus shootings to justify punishing protected speech. Greg writes: In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, we all knew things on college campuses were going to change. Even the most cynical among… Read more
Latest FIREside Chats Episode Features Colorado College
April 7, 2008
This week’s podcast features Adam Kissel, director of FIRE’s Individual Rights Defense Program, and Robert Shibley, FIRE’s Vice President, discussing the ongoing case at Colorado College. As we mentioned in our press release and in numerous blog posts, two students at Colorado College were deemed “violent” and punished for posting a satirical flyer on campus…. Read more
‘What Can The Virginia Tech Tragedy Do For Me?’
April 7, 2008
In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, we all knew things on college campuses were going to change. Even the most cynical among us, however, probably didn’t think to themselves, “Hey, how can I use this horrible tragedy to my advantage?” But regardless of whether that despicable thought ever popped into college administrators’ heads… Read more
Colorado College Still Swarmed by Media
April 3, 2008
The case at Colorado College, where two students were found guilty of “violence” for parodying a flyer, has generated even more media coverage since yesterday. Last night, KRDO News Channel 13, the ABC affiliate in Colorado Springs, ran a story on the case during the 10 o’clock news. Adam Kissel, FIRE’s director of the Individual… Read more
Colorado Springs Abuzz over Punishment for Parody
April 2, 2008
It seems like a lot of people in Colorado Springs are talking about the case of two students at Colorado College being found guilty of “violence” after they published a parody of a feminist flyer. Their crime: the “juxtaposition of weaponry and sexuality.” The Gazette of Colorado Springs put the story on its front page,… Read more
Colorado College President Defends “Violence” Finding against Satirical Flyer
April 1, 2008
This is startling. Scott Jaschik reports at Inside Higher Ed that Colorado College’s president, Richard Celeste, has defended the school’s finding that two students were guilty of “violence” for posting a satirical flyer. The flyer, called “The Monthly Bag,” had been posted anonymously by “The Coalition of Some Dudes” as a clear-as-day parody of a… Read more
Persecuted for Parody, Colorado College Student Fights Back in Op-Ed
March 31, 2008
As explained in today’s press release, Colorado College found two students guilty this month of violating the school’s policy against “violence” by publishing an anonymous parody of a publication of the Feminist and Gender Studies program. As Adam explains this morning, by punishing the students, Colorado College violates not only its own promises of freedom… Read more
Colorado College Punishes Students for “Violent” Satirical Flyer
March 31, 2008
In a press release today, FIRE exposes the preposterous injustice perpetrated by Colorado College when it found two students guilty of “violence” after they distributed a satirical flyer mocking a publication of the Feminist and Gender Studies program. For having violated the school’s conduct code regarding violence, student Chris Robinson and a second student have… Read more
Colorado College Punishes, Deems Students “Violent” for Satirical Flyer
March 31, 2008
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., March 31, 2008—Two students at Colorado College were found guilty of violating the school’s conduct code regarding “violence” after they distributed a satirical flyer mocking a publication of the Feminist and Gender Studies program. As part of their punishment, student Chris Robinson and a second student have been required to hold a… Read more