School Spotlight
Eastern Michigan University
Speech Code Rating
Board Policy Manual: 8.1. Code of Community Responsibility- Harassment/Bullying
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: April 30, 2020The University’s Sexual Misconduct and Interpersonal Violence Policy governs conduct of a sexual or gender based nature. This section of the Code of Community Responsibility applies only to conduct that is not covered by the Sexual Misconduct Policy. Intimidating conduct which would cause a reasonable person to fee... Read MoreEastern Michigan University Campus Life: Student Organization Poster/Flier/Table Tent Policy
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Posting and Distribution Policies
Last updated: April 30, 2020It is expected that all poster/fliers conform with generally accepted standards of good taste. Read MoreCampus Life: On-Campus Events and Demonstrations
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: April 30, 2020[A]ll outside campus events, demonstrations and protests must be sponsored by a recognized EMU faculty, staff or student organization and must be scheduled in advance with the Department of Public Safety. … Board policy 8.4.3 requires rallies and parades to be scheduled with the Department of Public Safety. If... Read MoreBoard Policy Manual: 8.1. Code of Community Responsibility- Computer Misuse
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: April 30, 2020Use of computing facilities or equipment to send obscene, harassing, threatening or abusive messages. Read MoreBoard Policy Manual: 3.7.7. Sexual Misconduct and Interpersonal Violence Policy
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: April 30, 2020Sexual Harassment is any unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favors, or other unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, whether verbal, non-verbal, graphic, physical, or otherwise, when the conditions outlined in (1) and/or (2), below, are present. … Such conduct creates a hostile environment. A “hostile e... Read More
This Time, We’re Failing to Talk About ‘American Sniper’
April 20, 2015
Every so often, a cultural touchstone descends on college campuses, with the effect of putting campus discourse under the microscope for all to see. The results, frequently, are discouraging. Clint Eastwood’s blockbuster film American Sniper, adapted from deceased Navy sniper Chris Kyle’s memoir, is the latest exhibit. That American Sniper is a controversial movie is… Read more
After Lawsuit, Eastern Michigan U. Agrees to Revise Unconstitutional Policy
November 22, 2013
In March, student organization Students for Life at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) enlisted Alliance Defending Freedom’s (ADF’s) help in suing the school after it denied the group funding based on its “political or ideological” views. ADF announced yesterday that EMU settled the case late last month, agreeing to fund all groups—including Students for Life—without consideration of the groups’ viewpoints…. Read more
After Sixth Circuit Loss, Eastern Michigan U Settles with Expelled Counseling Student
December 12, 2012
The Detroit Free Press reported on Monday that Eastern Michigan University (EMU) will pay former graduate student Julea Ward $75,000 to settle Ward’s lawsuit against the university. Ward filed suit in 2009 after being dismissed from EMU’s graduate counseling program for inquiring about the possibility of referring a gay client who sought counseling regarding a… Read more
Eastern Michigan Stands By Speech Code, Defying Legal Clarity
July 12, 2012
Despite months of appeals from FIRE, Eastern Michigan University (EMU) does not appear inclined to take its legal obligations under the First Amendment, as a public university, seriously. The university is simply not willing to revise a sexual harassment so clearly unconstitutional that FIRE named it our Speech Code of the Month in July 2011—let… Read more
‘Julea Ward Freedom of Conscience Act’ before Michigan Legislature
May 17, 2012
Torch readers may recall the case of Julea Ward, an Eastern Michigan University (EMU) student in counseling who was expelled for seeking to refer a gay client to another counselor when counseling would have required violating her Christian beliefs. The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a victory for Ward in… Read more
Sixth Circuit Relies on High School Cases to Assess Graduate Student’s Rights
February 10, 2012
Last week here on The Torch, I discussed the interesting ruling from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Ward v. Polite (.PDF). Before discussing the facts of the case and the Sixth Circuit’s holding, I noted that while the court reached the right result by allowing the First Amendment lawsuit… Read more
In ‘Ward v. Polite,’ Sixth Circuit Reaches Right Result, but with Wrong Reasoning
January 30, 2012
On Friday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that expelled Eastern Michigan University (EMU) counseling student Julea Ward’s First Amendment suit may continue, finding that a federal district court had improperly granted the EMU defendants summary judgment. Ward was expelled from EMU’s graduate counseling program after she inquired about referring… Read more
Sixth Circuit: Expelled Counseling Student Will Have Day in Court
January 27, 2012
In an opinion (.PDF) issued today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that the civil rights suit filed by former Eastern Michigan University counseling student Julea Ward may proceed. Ward was expelled from her graduate program after she inquired about referring a gay client during her student practicum due to… Read more
Speech Code of the Month: Eastern Michigan University
July 5, 2011
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for July 2011: Eastern Michigan University (EMU). EMU’s Student Conduct Code defines “sexual harassment” as Conduct of a sexual nature that creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive campus, educational or working environment for another person. This includes unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors, inappropriate sexual… Read more
Michigan Attorney General Supports Former Student’s Suit Against EMU
March 14, 2011
The Detroit News reports that Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has put his support behind Julea Ward, a former graduate student at Eastern Michigan University who is suing the school following her dismissal from its counseling program. The Detroit News writes that "Ward claims she was dismissed in March of 2009 after asking how to refer… Read more
Another Political Cartoon Controversy; This Time, at Eastern Michigan
October 7, 2010
Controversies over political cartoons in college newspapers are nothing new, but it’s always disappointing to see them spring back up. This time it’s Eastern Michigan University’s turn, where a cartoon depicting members of the Ku Klux Klan has drawn the ire of some students and, almost inevitably, the university itself. The Eastern Echo published the… Read more