East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania

Location: East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
Website: http://www.esu.edu
Type: Public
Federal Circuit: 3rd Circuit

Speech Code Rating

East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania 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 here.

Yellow Light Policies

  • Student Handbook: Student Code of Conduct

    Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
    Last updated: July 27, 2017

    Disorderly conduct including behaving in a manner that interferes or limits the ability of other students, employees, or guests to engage in a climate conducive to living, learning, and working.

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  • Residence Hall Information and Policies: Community Standards

    Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
    Last updated: July 27, 2017

    As a member of this residence hall, I will abide by the standards and expectations established by this community. Specifically, I will strive to:
    …
    Refrain from using vulgar, foul or derogatory language, particularly in public areas.

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  • Discrimination and Harassment Policy

    Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
    Last updated: July 27, 2017

    Harassment: is defined as any type of behavior based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or veteran’s status that is so severe or pervasive that it interferes with an individual’s ability in the work, learning or other university environment.

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  • Student Handbook: Student Code of Conduct

    Speech Code Category: Bullying Policies
    Last updated: July 27, 2017

    Non-Sexual Harassment or intimidation of any person in a manner that causes that person to feel their health and safety is endangered. This includes but is not limited to cyberbullying and bullying.

     

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  • Sexual Harassment & Title IX Compliance

    Speech Code Category: Bullying Policies
    Last updated: July 27, 2017

    Bullying and Cyber-Bullying are defined as repeated and/or severe aggressive behaviors likely to intimidate or intentionally hurt, control or diminish another person, physically or mentally, not inclusive of speech or conduct protected by the First Amendment. Cyber—bullying is when an individual is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed and otherwise targeted by another person using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies, or mobile phones.

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  • Acceptable Use of Technology

    Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
    Last updated: July 27, 2017

    Use of technology resources to transmit abusive, threatening or harassing material, chain letters, spam, phishing scams or other communications prohibited by law.

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Green Light Policies

  • Sexual Harassment & Title IX Compliance

    Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
    Last updated: July 27, 2017

    Sexual Harassment is a form of sex discrimination.

    It is defined as unwelcome gender-based verbal or physical conduct that is sufficiently severe, persistent or pervasive, whether accompanied by promises or threats or not, and other sexual conduct when:  …

    • such conduct is so severe or pervasive so as to create a hostile or abusive work or educational environment, which unreasonably interferes with work or educational performance or negatively effects an individual’s employment or education opportunities.

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  • New High-Court Nominee Has Championed Free Speech on Campuses and Questioned Policies on Diversity

    November 11, 2005

    President Bush’s latest nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Samuel A. Alito Jr., is a federal appeals-court judge who has championed free speech on campuses while taking a skeptical view of policies intended to protect minority students from verbal harassment or give the minority employees of educational institutions an edge over their colleagues.   Many Republican lawmakers and conservative commentators cheered the president’s announcement last week that he had picked Judge Alito to succeed Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who plans to retire. But several liberal groups immediately declared their opposition to Judge Alito, and key Democratic senators made it clear […]

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  • FIRE Cases Figure Strongly in ‘Chronicle of Higher Education’ Article on Retaliation Against Faculty Speech

    August 3, 2011

    The Chronicle of Higher Education‘s Peter Schmidt has an excellent article on the hair-trigger sensibilities of the college classroom, in which many professors have found themselves under fire for remarks seen as violent or threatening. Perhaps not surprisingly, given the free speech and academic freedom issues involved, several of the cases Schmidt cites in his piece are cases in which FIRE has been—or is currently—involved. Two of the cases Schmidt devotes significant coverage to in his article are cases with which FIRE has been intimately involved in recent months. The first, involving law professor Lawrence Connell of Widener University, concerns […]

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  • East Stroudsburg University Suspends Innocent Professor for Weeks over Facebook Comments

    April 5, 2010

    East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (ESU) has finally reinstated professor Gloria Gadsden this week after suspending her for more than a month, pending a psychological examination, because of comments about her students on Facebook. Taking actions that would have been worthless if Gadsden had truly presented a threat as the university asserted, ESU put her on paid administrative leave because she had posted obvious jokes including that she “didn’t want to kill even one student.” After FIRE intervened and a clinician found her fit for work, Gadsden returned to the classroom last week. Gadsden’s saga began in late February, after someone […]

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