School Spotlight
Dartmouth College
Location:
Hanover, New Hampshire
Type:
Private
Speech Code Rating
Dartmouth 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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Student Affairs: Achieving Community Together
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: June 10, 2022The Achieving Community Together (ACT) process is a fact-finding, communication, education, and response process that was developed to provide guidance in assisting and supporting the student community when incidents occur that are experienced or perceived as undermining the College’s Principle of Community. A... Read MoreProvisional Nondiscrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy and Resolution Procedures
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: June 10, 2022Harassment is any act of intimidation or hostility based on protected class status (or perceived protected class status) that is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive such that it has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with, limiting or depriving an individual from participating in or benefiti... Read MoreOffice of Judicial Affairs: Standards of Conduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: June 10, 2022Harassment is defined as abusive behavior or conduct that is targeted at an individual or group and is ordinarily repeated. Read MoreDartmouth College Policy on Sexual and Gender-Based Misconduct: Sexual Harassment
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: June 10, 2022Dartmouth also defines Sexual Harassment to include (1) any unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favors, or other unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, whether verbal, non-verbal, graphic, physical, electronic, or otherwise (sexual harassment); and (2) unwelcome conduct, whether verbal, nonverbal, graphic... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Use of the College Green and Campus Grounds
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: June 10, 2022The College Green and campus grounds are reserved primarily for informal use, including rallies and other assemblies, by students, faculty, staff, and guests of the College. Read MoreAcceptable Use Policy
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: June 10, 2022[A]uthorized users may also use College information and technology for appropriate incidental personal use so long as those activities are legal and do not violate: College policies; contractual obligations; the safety, security, privacy, reputational, and intellectual property rights of others; or restrictions on p... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Principles of the Community- Freedom of Expression and Dissent
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: June 10, 2022Freedom of expression and dissent is protected by College regulations. Dartmouth College prizes and defends the right of free speech and the freedom of the individual to make his or her own disclosures, while at the same time recognizing that such freedom exists in the context of the law and in responsibility for on... Read MoreDartmouth College Policy on Sexual and Gender-Based Misconduct: Title IX Sexual Harassment
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: June 10, 2022The Title IX regulations define Sexual Harassment as conduct on the basis of sex that must satisfy one or more of the following: … Unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to Dartmouth̵... Read MoreInformation Technology Policy: Freedom of Expression
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: June 10, 2022Freedom of expression and an open environment within which to pursue scholarly inquiry and to share information are encouraged, supported, and protected at Dartmouth. … Censorship is not compatible with the goals of Dartmouth. 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 44,000 students at 203 colleges and universities about the climate for free speech at their institutions. See the full report on FIRE’s 2022 College Free Speech Rankings for more information.
Overall / out of a top score of 100 |
|
| Overall Score | 48.99 |
Rankings / out of 203 colleges ranked |
|
| Overall Ranking | 83 |
| Openness | 73 |
| Tolerance (Liberals) | 33 |
| Tolerance (Conservatives) | 35 |
| Administrative Support | 187 |
| Comfort | 77 |
| Disruptive Conduct | 157 |
Administrative Behavior |
|
| Supported Scholars | 0 |
| Sanctioned Scholars | 0 |
| Successful Disinvitations | 0 |
Climate |
|
| Speech Climate | AVERAGE |
| Speech Code | YELLOW |
Dartmouth College: Administrators Force Andy Ngo Event Online, Citing Safety Concerns
January 26, 2022
On January 20, 2022, Dartmouth’s College Republicans, Turning Point USA, and Network of Enlightened Women chapters planned to host an event with conservative journalist Andy Ngo. Dartmouth’s administration unilaterally canceled the in-person event, citing “information” from local law enforcement, and required the event be conducted online. No protesters appeared. FIRE wrote to Dartmouth on January… Read more
Dartmouth College: Medical School Implements Restrictive Social Media Policy During Academic Misconduct Controversy
April 14, 2021
On March 30, 2021, FIRE and the Electronic Frontier Foundation wrote to Dartmouth College’s Geisel School of Medicine amid reports the school had accused approximately 20 students of academic misconduct, urging the medical school to be cautious in evaluating the logs allegedly indicating that students had accessed materials during their exams. Students complained publicly —… Read more
Wilson Report: FIRE Writes to 15 Top Schools to Express Concern About Their Press Policies
November 12, 2020
On November 10, 2020, FIRE sent letters to 15 top colleges and universities across the country to express concern regarding their restrictive press policies. These letters followed a report published by John K. Wilson of the University of California National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement (the “Wilson Report”), which gave each of these… Read more
Dartmouth College: Abolition of Speech Code
February 28, 2005
A set of statements published on Dartmouth’s website, in the wake of a controversy regarding a fraternity at the college, sparked confusion over Dartmouth’s commitment to free speech. The statements appeared to contradict Dartmouth’s reverence for free speech and expression. After FIRE expressed its concern over the potential speech code, the statements where removed from… Read more
Dartmouth continues to violate College Republicans’ rights, imposing $3,600 in security fees following Andy Ngo event
April 18, 2022
After unilaterally canceling their in-person event featuring conservative journalist Andy Ngo, Dartmouth College has now informed the College Republicans campus chapter that it must pay $3,600 in security fees for the canceled event, or else it cannot request further funds from the college. This comes after a monthslong saga that saw Dartmouth act in bad… Read more
Dartmouth doubles down on rationale for canceling in-person Andy Ngo event, but the details still don’t add up
March 25, 2022
It seems the more we know, the less we understand when it comes to Dartmouth’s last-minute decision to cancel an in-person event featuring conservative journalist Andy Ngo, forcing organizers to conduct the event from an empty lecture hall via Zoom. Dartmouth’s response to FIRE’s March 7 letter brings little clarification to a saga that has… Read more
Dartmouth’s ‘safety’ rationale crumbles as records reveal censorship as the primary motivator in canceling event with Andy Ngo
March 7, 2022
Dartmouth’s eleventh-hour cancellation of a student event featuring journalist Andy Ngo due to “safety” concerns immediately raised suspicion, especially after precious few protesters actually showed up. Now, police department records cast even greater doubt on Dartmouth’s security rationale and demonstrate how university administrators ignored law enforcement when they censored their students. In the weeks leading… Read more
Dartmouth evades questions after moving Andy Ngo event online, so FIRE goes to the source.
January 31, 2022
Last week, FIRE asked Dartmouth College for transparency after it cited unspecified “information” from local law enforcement to justify unilaterally moving an in-person appearance by conservative journalist Andy Ngo and activist Gabriel Nadales to an online-only broadcast. On Friday, given the opportunity to shed light on the nature of that “information” or what drove administrators’… Read more
Dartmouth forced Andy Ngo’s event to go online only — despite protesters never showing up. FIRE wants answers.
January 26, 2022
In a letter to Dartmouth College’s administration today, FIRE demanded to know why administrators unilaterally canceled an in-person appearance by conservative journalist Andy Ngo and activist Gabriel Nadales. The college required the event to be held online-only, citing “information” from law enforcement after apparent threats of violence. But it’s unclear what “information” justified the change… Read more
FIRE and EFF: Tech companies must act now to stem tide of ‘flimsy’ e-cheating allegations
August 11, 2021
New guidance from the Electronic Frontier Foundation explains why e-learning platforms like Canvas and Blackboard may not reliably show cheating. Includes: What to do and ask for if you’re accused, and a form letter you can send to your school. FIRE and EFF call on e-learning companies to be transparent about data. FIRE and the… Read more
Dartmouth drops cheating charges against med students, apologizes for flawed investigation
June 10, 2021
Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine announced that it has dropped all charges against more than a dozen medical students investigated for electronic cheating after they were accused of accessing online course material during remote exams. FIRE and the Electronic Frontier Foundation first alerted Dartmouth back in March that there was not enough evidence to charge… Read more
Citing appalling due process failures at root of cheating scandal, FIRE demands answers from Dartmouth
May 12, 2021
On Sunday, The New York Times relayed troubling student accounts of how Dartmouth College’s Geisel School of Medicine has handled the misconduct cases of at least a dozen students caught up in a controversial online cheating scandal — one experts have said appears in many cases to have been premised on faulty data that does… Read more
FIRE objects to Dartmouth med school social media crackdown amid cheating controversy
April 14, 2021
Just days after students began leveling anonymous online criticism of how Dartmouth College’s Geisel School of Medicine has been handling an ongoing cheating controversy, the school imposed a restrictive new social media policy that prohibits them from doing so. Because Dartmouth makes strong free speech promises to its students, it cannot censor students who criticize… Read more
FIRE urges 15 top colleges and universities to improve restrictive press policies
November 12, 2020
Over the summer, a report from the University of California’s National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement revealed that a majority of top colleges and universities maintain policies unfriendly to the press, including the student press. As FIRE reported at the time, UC Center fellow John K. Wilson found that these policies include requirements… Read more
Dartmouth revises one restrictive speech code, yet concerns remain in light of Title IX regulations
July 30, 2020
Dartmouth College took a big step forward for free speech by revising a severely restrictive technology use policy this year. However, the progress will amount to a classic “one step forward, two steps back” if Dartmouth doesn’t revise its student harassment policies in accordance with the Department of Education’s recent Title IX regulations. “Speech Code… 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
Dartmouth student’s op-ed incites calls for censorship and punishment of author
February 16, 2018
A Dartmouth student’s op-ed on diversity was deemed “violent” by several campus groups and elicited calls to punish the author and the newspaper that printed his piece. In Ryan Spector’s piece published by The Dartmouth, he criticized the process used to select First-Year Trips directors, a group of upperclassmen that runs the college’s annual summer… Read more
Speech Code of the Month: Dartmouth College
January 10, 2018
(Editor’s note: This policy has since been revised. Please visit Dartmouth College’s entry in FIRE’s Spotlight Database for more information.) FIRE announces our Speech Code of the Month for January 2018: Dartmouth College. Once a “green light” institution, Dartmouth has adopted more restrictive policies over the past several years. First came a bias-reporting policy that earns… Read more
Speech Code Countdown: ‘U.S. News’ Top 25 College Rankings, Numbers 19-11
October 6, 2016
FIRE’s U.S. News & World Report “Best Colleges” Countdown continues today. We’re giving you a school-by-school analysis of just how well America’s “Best Colleges” do when it comes to protecting free speech on campus. Unfortunately, in today’s crop of top campuses, troubling speech codes abound. As part of FIRE’s fresh look at U.S. News’ top-ranked… Read more
‘Paternalistic Babysitters’ Begone! Dartmouth Students Call for Intellectual Independence
May 19, 2016
At least some Dartmouth College students have had enough. In a scathing petition on change.org, five leaders in Dartmouth’s student government, joined by more than 1,200 signatories, have called on the administration to return the college to its mission of educating, rather than policing, students. Although the growth of bureaucracy in academia is no secret,… Read more
Dartmouth Stands By Restrictive ‘Bias Incident Reporting’ Protocol, Loses FIRE’s ‘Green Light’ Rating
November 23, 2015
Note: This story concerns events that occurred between January 2013 and October 2015. It was scheduled to be posted several weeks ago, when we suddenly had to turn our attention to unfolding events at Yale University and the University of Missouri. Just as we were again ready to post it, controversy erupted at Dartmouth over… Read more
Law Prof: Bureaucracy Hinders Freedom of Speech
February 6, 2015
George Mason University (GMU) School of Law professor Todd Zywicki knows from personal experience that persuading an institution to revise its unconstitutional speech codes is not always an easy task. Zywicki shared some of what he’s learned from his advocacy over the years in a post on The John William Pope Center for Higher Education… Read more
When Campus Intolerance Means Free Speech Gets Torn Up and Run Over, Literally
March 21, 2014
Being offended is what happens when you have your deepest beliefs challenged. And if you make it through four years of college without having your deepest beliefs challenged, you should demand your money back. I have been saying that line in speeches on campus for more than a decade. Even though it often gets a laugh, the idea that students have an overarching “right not to be offended” seems more entrenched on campus than ever.
New FIRE Video: Dartmouth Student Runs Over Free Speech
March 20, 2014
FIRE’s newest video features Dartmouth College student Robert Smith, who talks about the afternoon a fellow Dartmouth student ran over his organization’s pro-life display with his car. The ironic twist? The car was sporting a “Coexist” bumper sticker on the back. [iframe src=”//www.youtube.com/embed/AD9J67RvDt4″]
What’s Dartmouth’s Real Attitude about Due Process?
February 19, 2014
Last week, the University of Virginia hosted a conference to talk about the handling of sexual assault on campus in light of the 2011 “Dear Colleague” letter from the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. (Executive summary: Everyone’s still confused about it.) Inside Higher Ed’s Allie Grasgreen covered the conference, and her report included a mightily interesting exchange involving Amanda Childress, who is the coordinator of the Sexual Assault Awareness Program at Dartmouth College.
Student at IU Attempts to Censor Fellow Students by Vandalizing Pro-Life Display
October 1, 2013
FIRE often exposes how colleges censor students—but last week, it was a student at Indiana University who decided to engage in some vigilante censorship by vandalizing a pro-life display. According to a student account, new student organization Students for Life at IU intended to have a peaceful demonstration on campus as part of an organized protest dubbed the “Planned… Read more
Censorship of Art on Campus Is Also Unlearning Liberty
August 16, 2013
In 2002, someone at the Department of Justice had curtains draped strategically over an aluminum statue in the Great Hall of the Department of Justice to cover up Lady Justice’s exposed breast. Whether fairly or not, John Ashcroft, then Attorney General, was widely mocked for this move. The August 13 edition of the Dartmouth Review has an article… Read more
Universities Value Diversity, As Long As It Doesn’t Include Diversity of Thought
August 16, 2013
Yesterday, we heard the news that Dartmouth College was retracting its offer of a deanship to Malawian bishop James Tengatenga in light of comments he had made about homosexuality during his tenure as Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Southern Malawi. Today, we learned that the University of Michigan rescinded a speaking invitation to Alice… Read more
‘Dartmouth Review’ Asks Protesters to ‘Stop the Hijacking’
May 7, 2013
The Dartmouth Review Editor-in-Chief J.P. Harrington wrote last week to support Dartmouth College’s administration for investigating the protesters who interrupted the student-run Dimensions show for prospective students last month, in addition to responding to threats against the protesters. In his article, Harrington explained that disrupting other students’ speech, rather than responding in turn, detracts from free and… Read more
Dartmouth Students: Class Cancellation Not Particularly Effective
April 29, 2013
Dartmouth College students and administrators are still expressing mixed reactions to the school’s decision to cancel classes and instead have a "Day of Reflection and Understanding" last Wednesday in response to some online posts that were hostile to student protesters. Student body president Suril A. Kantaria remarked that while "the community does need to come together now… Read more
The Latest Commentary on Dartmouth
April 25, 2013
As FIRE reported yesterday, Dartmouth College cancelled classes Wednesday in the wake of a controversial student protest that sparked online threats against the demonstrators and serious debates over the administration’s response. Our own Robert Shibley covers the case today in a new article for The Daily Caller, explaining how the college replaced those cancelled… Read more
Dartmouth College Replaces Today’s Classes with Discussions About Civil Discourse
April 24, 2013
Baker Memorial Library at Dartmouth College – Wikimedia Commons Today’s classes at Dartmouth College have been canceled and replaced by a program meant to address the school’s "commitment to fostering debate that promotes respect for individuals, civil and engaged discourse, and the value of diverse opinions." Dartmouth Interim President Carol Folt emailed students yesterday evening to… Read more
On a Collision Course with Free Speech
June 7, 2012
At its most basic level, free speech is not a difficult concept to grasp: I say my view, and you say your view. Recently, however, FIRE has encountered a disturbing trend: people claiming that vandalizing, heckling, or otherwise shutting people up is an exercise rather than a violation of free speech. FIRE’s Robert Shibley highlighted… Read more
FIRE Names Seven Best Schools for Free Speech on ‘Huffington Post’
May 24, 2011
PHILADELPHIA, May 24, 2011—Today the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) commends the nation’s seven best colleges and universities for freedom of speech in an article by FIRE President Greg Lukianoff on The Huffington Post. The colleges listed are Arizona State University, Dartmouth College, The College of William & Mary, the University of Pennsylvania,… Read more
Dartmouth Newspaper Notes College’s ‘Green-Light’ Rating and Poor Performance of Ivy Peers
January 6, 2011
Writing for The Dartmouth, student Brendan Woods is pleased to note Dartmouth College’s status as one of the 12 schools in our most recent national survey of college speech codes to receive FIRE’s green-light rating (a designation, by the way, that did not come without a lot of work on FIRE’s part). Most of Dartmouth’s… Read more
Alumni Democracy at Dartmouth College: A New Chapter?
January 27, 2010
This is the third entry in a five-part series on recent developments at Dartmouth College. See posts from Monday and Tuesday. A day after the selection of former Harvard professor and global health leader Jim Yong Kim as Dartmouth College’s 17th President in March 2009, the student writers of "Generic Good Morning Message," a satirical… Read more
Alumni Democracy at Dartmouth College: Battle for Board Balance Enters the Courtroom
January 26, 2010
This is the second entry in a five-part series on recent developments at Dartmouth College. Read Monday’s post here. It was the fall of 2007, and Dartmouth’s governing board had just ended more than a century of equal balance between elected "Alumni Trustees" and appointed "Charter Trustees." With negotiations to restore board parity at an impasse,… Read more
Alumni Democracy at Dartmouth College: Critical, or Compliant, Oversight?
January 25, 2010
Dartmouth College was little more than a cash-strapped finishing school when it asked alumni for a financial lifeline in the late 19th century. Graduates, in exchange for donations, demanded an effective voice in the college’s management. The resulting compromise: Dartmouth’s governing board would consist of an equal number of alumni-elected and administration-appointed trustees. Then and… Read more
‘The Dartmouth’ on Zywicki’s Amicus Brief in Alumni Lawsuit
September 15, 2009
Last week Kyle discussed an article by FIRE Co-founder and Chairman Harvey Silverglate and Joe Malchow on the latest developments regarding the Dartmouth Board of Trustees and the college’s alumni. A group of Dartmouth alumni have petitioned the New Hampshire Superior Court to re-open a lawsuit against Dartmouth’s Board of Trustees that had been dismissed in… Read more
FIRE Chairman Issues Call for Restoration of Alumni Democracy at Dartmouth College
September 8, 2009
Dartmouth College is one of the few institutions of higher education that provide alumni a direct voice in college leadership. Since 1891, when an agreement was reached between the administration and alumni, Dartmouth degree-holders have had the opportunity to elect half of the Board of Trustees (not including the College President and the New Hampshire… Read more
Rights in the News: FIRE’s Thought Reform Efforts Continue to Resonate
May 1, 2009
It seems like every week we’re reporting that FIRE’s short film on the University of Delaware’s experiment in thought reform has doubled the amount of views received on YouTube from the week before—a trend I’m all too happy to continue. This week the folks at Reason (which—throwback!—published Alan Charles Kors’ article "Thought Reform 101" back… Read more
Dartmouth’s Speech Codes: FIRE Responds to Challenge
April 30, 2009
Yesterday, in his blog entry discussing the difficult road facing petition candidates for governing board positions at Harvard University and Dartmouth College—and the substantial hostility they face if elected—Kyle provided an excellent overview of the independent campaign, tenure, and eventual dismissal of former Dartmouth Trustee Todd Zywicki. As Kyle usefully recounts, Zywicki, a professor of… Read more
Harvard and Dartmouth Oppose Petition Candidates and Independent Trustees
April 29, 2009
College and university presidents gathered last week to discuss what they need from trustees in times of economic uncertainty. Difficult discussions often arise, and the best board members are "strong enough to say, ‘No, that is a bad idea,’" a university chancellor explained at the annual meeting of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities… Read more
The State of Free Speech on Campus: Dartmouth College
April 20, 2009
Throughout the spring semester, FIRE is drawing special attention to the state of free speech at America’s top 25 national universities (as ranked by U.S. News & World Report). Today we review policies at Dartmouth College, only the second institution in our series to receive a green-light rating. A green-light rating means that FIRE has… Read more
Outside Input Unwanted: A Brief History of Petition Candidacies in University Governance
March 24, 2009
In cases of campus speech restrictions, the path to censorship is paved with seemingly benign intent: see, for instance, bans on "rude, disrespectful behavior," as in the case of Johns Hopkins University (covered extensively yesterday by Samantha). Yet the inherent conflict between free speech and open inquiry on one hand and enforcing "civility" on the… Read more
The Muzzle Awards: Collegiate Division
June 25, 2008
Our annual Muzzle Awards survey scours all six New England states for free-speech violations. But it always causes the judges special pains when we find such cases at institutions of higher learning, which, in theory, are supposed to be the freest places in our society. In reality, however, college campuses are home to some of… Read more
Dartmouth Trustee in Hot Water over Critical Speech
December 11, 2007
Check out John Miller’s discussion over at Phi Beta Cons about the latest controversy at Dartmouth regarding their alumni trustees. It appears as though the university is attempting a “trustee-stacking” maneuver to eliminate the influence of the so-called “insurgent trustees” who were elected by popular ballot. In the midst of all of this, some critics… Read more
The Dark Truth About T.J. Rodgers, Revealed!
September 4, 2007
By now, many of you have had the chance to read Joseph Rago’s excellent Wall Street Journal article on embattled Dartmouth College alumni trustee T.J. Rodgers. What you may not know is that I have special insider knowledge as to why Dartmouth College is so afraid of this reform-minded trustee. In a closed-door meeting, Rodgers revealed… Read more
‘Mr. Rodgers Goes to Dartmouth’ on OpinionJournal
September 2, 2007
Check out the fascinating article by Joseph Rago in The Wall Street Journal‘s OpinionJournal concerning T.J. Rodgers and the Dartmouth trustee wars. The article also mentions FIRE’s decision in 2005 to change Dartmouth’s speech code rating from Red (worst) to Green (best) in light of reforms the college implemented in response to FIRE’s concerns. OpinionJournal has… Read more
Dartmouth College: A ‘Green Light’ Institution?
April 4, 2007
Once again, free speech issues are at the forefront at Dartmouth College thanks to an alumni trustee election. For those outside of the Dartmouth community who may not know, elections for Dartmouth’s Board of Trustees include a process whereby Dartmouth alumni vote on candidates for the Board. This process has resulted in the election of… Read more
At Princeton, a (Mostly) Satisfactory Resolution to the Satire Controversy
January 24, 2007
In a refreshing development, The Daily Princetonian joke op-ed controversy will resolve itself through campus discussion, not through administrative intervention. Even though the op-ed garnered a good amount of media attention—enough to be featured in The New York Times—administrators at Princeton have limited their involvement to a strongly worded letter to the editor. While Janet… Read more
Viva La Revolucion: A Dartmouth Alum Speaks Out
January 23, 2007
For those who have been concerned about the state of free speech at Dartmouth College, these are heady days. For decades, the administration at the small liberal arts college in New Hampshire had been waging a sometimes explicit yet ever-present campaign to impose political correctness on its students. While I was a student there, from… Read more
Emmett Hogan on 2006: The More Things Change…?
January 5, 2007
Emmett Hogan is a student at University of Michigan Law School and a luminary early FIRE employee. As we looked back on 2006 in campus rights and abuses I wanted to check in with him for his thoughts on the past year in FIRE history. This was his thoughtful response: One of FIRE’s most gripping… Read more
At Dartmouth, Apology for “Cowboys & Indians” Costume Party
November 13, 2006
The Dartmouth reports that last weekend, the Dartmouth crew team’s themed formal party at the “FUEL Dance and ‘Club’ Space” in the Center for Student Life on campus sparked an incident between the team and another student organization, resulting in an apology from the crew team. The formal’s theme was “Cowboys and Indians,” and members… Read more
UMass Amherst to Students: Free Speech Isn’t Free
November 10, 2006
Administrators at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst have instituted a new policy whereby students wishing to post flyers on the bulletin boards surrounding the university’s Student Union and Campus Center will now have to pay one dollar per flyer per day to gain access to the bulletin board. In announcing the policy, Campus Design… Read more
Offended? Overreact!
November 9, 2006
The campaign against offense continues. IvyGate reports that on Monday, The Dartmouth student newspaper ran a cartoon drawn by freshman Drew Lerman. The cartoon depicts Friedrich Nietzsche conversing with a male college student about whether the student should take advantage of a drunken college female. As seen in the last panel of the cartoon, the joke… Read more
Dartmouth Alums Vote Down New Constitution
November 3, 2006
According to Inside Higher Ed, Dartmouth’s alumni have voted down changes in the alumni association constitution that would have made it harder for insurgent candidates to get elected to Dartmouth’s Board of Trustees. 51% of voters rejected the changes while 49% voted for them (a two-thirds vote was needed to pass the changes). This is… Read more
Due Process at Dartmouth
October 24, 2006
In an October 17 column in The Dartmouth student newspaper, Michael Herman, a Dartmouth student, writes to defend changes to Dartmouth College’s student disciplinary process proposed by a Student Assembly taskforce. In particular, Herman defends the taskforce’s recommendations that (1) Dartmouth adopt a “clear and convincing” evidentiary standard for student discipline, and (2) that Dartmouth… Read more
Dartmouth, What Are You Doing?
March 27, 2006
Last year, FIRE lauded Dartmouth College for repealing its speech code, and we were very pleased with the election of two more Dartmouth trustees who support free speech—Peter Robinson and Todd Zywicki. Robinson and Zywicki’s campaigns came in the wake of a similar insurgent candidacy on the part of T.J. Rodgers, who got himself elected… Read more
Testing Dartmouth
September 27, 2005
The controversy Ebony discusses in her post today represents the first public speech controversy since Dartmouth repealed its speech code in the last academic year. While we do not yet know all the details, it appears that Noah Riner is facing a storm of criticism for his obviously admiring remarks about Jesus to incoming freshmen…. Read more
Welcome to College
September 27, 2005
Last week Noah Riner, a senior at Dartmouth College addressed the campus community at the opening convocation. His speech focused on building and maintaining character while in pursuit of academic achievement and recognition. Riner offered Jesus as the best example of having good character: Character has a lot to do with sacrifice, laying our personal… Read more
Is Hamilton the Next Dartmouth?
July 11, 2005
In the last twelve months, New York’s Hamilton College has not exactly covered itself in glory. First, it made national news after it hired Susan Rosenberg, a convicted terrorist, to teach a course entitled “Resistance Memoirs: Writing, Identity, and Change.” Then it became the epicenter of the Ward Churchill controversy when his speech at the… Read more
‘A Step in the Right Direction’
June 6, 2005
In an interview in the Dartmouth Review, George Mason law professor Todd Zywicki gives his two cents on FIRE’s successful effort to repeal Dartmouth’s speech code, which resulted in Dartmouth’s receiving a “green light with asterisk“ rating on speechcodes.org: I think that Dartmouth’s repeal of its speech code is a step in the right direction. From that… Read more
‘Red Light, Green* Light’
May 16, 2005
Check out Scott L. Glabe’s insightful analysis in The Dartmouth Review of FIRE’s decision to upgrade Dartmouth College’s speechcodes.org rating. I was also pleased they chose to end the article with a quote from a favorite FIRE alum: “In the end, let’s not forget: today, Dartmouth is closer to having a healthy respect for free… Read more
Victory for the Free Speech Trustee Candidates
May 13, 2005
After a day of swirling rumors, it is now official: Dartmouth’s free speech trustees have won. Peter Robinson and Todd Zywicki have been elected to the Dartmouth College Board of Trustees, where they will no doubt work to transform Dartmouth into a true marketplace of ideas—restoring a culture of free speech and (not coincidentally) leading… Read more
Is Dartmouth Really Free?
May 10, 2005
FIRE friend (and Dartmouth alum) Alston Ramsay has written in response to FIRE’s decision to upgrade Dartmouth’s rating on speechcodes.org: I received your press release today regarding Dartmouth’s free speech upgrade, and I certainly agree there have been some positive shifts—particularly the most recent letter Robert Donin sent to FIRE. As a recent Dartmouth graduates,… Read more
Dartmouth’s Student Newspaper Covers College’s ‘Green Light’
May 10, 2005
Check out The Dartmouth’s coverage of our announcement yesterday of the new “green light” rating for Dartmouth College.
A Huge Victory for Free Speech at Dartmouth
May 9, 2005
Over the last few months, FIRE has been heavily engaged in a dialogue with Dartmouth and with Dartmouth trustee T.J. Rodgers regarding the college’s onerous speech code. The speech code was an important issue in the recent trustee election and has been the subject of several entries in The Torch (see posts here, here, here,… Read more
Dartmouth Ends Confusion Over Speech Policies, Affirms Commitment to Free Speech, and Removes Troubling Documents From Website
May 9, 2005
HANOVER, N.H., May 9, 2005—In a remarkable development for liberty on campus, Dartmouth College has issued a clear and unambiguous statement in favor of free speech. The statement ends what Dartmouth called “confusion” about the college’s policies by removing from its website documents containing language that earned the college a poor, “red” rating on the… Read more
Dartmouth: The Spin Unravels
April 22, 2005
One of the cornerstones of Dartmouth’s campaign to prove that it does not have a speech code is the assertion that its 2001 punishment of the Zeta Psi fraternity was based on conduct, not speech. In a recent speech to the Dartmouth Club of New York, President Wright said: The Dean derecognized the fraternity because… Read more
Dartmouth: Still Mysterious
April 21, 2005
On Monday, the Dartmouth printed a guest column by Robert Donin, Dartmouth’s general counsel, in which he makes two interesting arguments. First, he argues that Zeta Psi (which was derecognized after a woman found an offensive internal fraternity newsletter in the trash) was not punished for engaging in protected speech: The Zeta Psi case falls… Read more
Dartmouth Mystery Deepens
April 7, 2005
I recently wrote about the “Dartmouth Free Speech Mystery,” in which Dartmouth has apparently removed its speech code from its website but has not indicated whether the policy is simply being moved, as its site indicates, or has been formally retracted. An article in today’s Dartmouth only deepens the mystery. Apparently, President Wright is making… Read more
The Dartmouth Free Speech Mystery
March 28, 2005
What has happened to the Dartmouth College speech code? Over the past academic year, we have received word from several sources that President James Wright has been declaring that Dartmouth does not have speech-restrictive policies and that it is dedicated to freedom of expression. For example, during his 2004 convocation address, President Wright stated: “[There… Read more
Defending Speech Codes?
March 24, 2005
A group calling itself Alumni for a Strong Dartmouth has mobilized against free-speech trustee candidates Peter Robinson and Todd Zywicki. In a curious entry on its site, Alumni for a Strong Dartmouth challenges FIRE’s contention that Dartmouth has a speech code. The group states: Robinson does not mention FIRE’s position on free speech in higher… Read more
Important Developments at Dartmouth
March 7, 2005
As I noted in an earlier post, Dartmouth alums are now using the college’s open trustee election system to run on a free speech platform. One of the issues in the race is Dartmouth’s current red rating on FIRE’s site, speechcodes.org. Dartmouth trustee (and free speech advocate) T.J. Rodgers asked us to evaluate our ratings… Read more
Taking Back Their School
February 21, 2005
In one of the more promising developments for free speech in higher education, prominent Dartmouth alums are now using the college’s open trustee election system to run for office on a free speech platform. Scott Johnson (of Powerline fame) has the story.