Evergreen State College
Location: Olympia, Washington
Website: http://www.evergreen.edu
Type: Public
Federal Circuit: 9th Circuit
Speech Code Rating
Evergreen State College has been given the speech code rating Red. A red light university has at least one policy that both clearly and substantially restricts freedom of speech. Read more here.
Red Light Policies
The Social Contract
Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
Last updated: March 23, 2018The Social Contract is an agreement. … Civility is not just a word; it must be present in all our interactions.
Policies and Procedures: Use of college facilities for expressive activities
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: March 23, 2018“First amendment activities” include, but are not necessarily limited to, informational picketing, petition circulation, the distribution of information leaflets or pamphlets, speechmaking, demonstrations, rallies, appearances of speakers in outdoor areas, protests, meetings to display group feelings or sentiments, and/or other types of constitutionally protected assemblies to share information, perspectives, or viewpoints.
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(2) Policy. Subject to all other applicable regulations and requirements of this chapter, individuals and/or groups may use the college’s designated public forum areas for those activities protected by the first amendment.
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(4) Designated public forum area. The college designates the followingpublic forum areas are:
(a) The bricked areas of Red Square;
(b) The public sidewalks adjacent to public roads.
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Except for the use of a campus designated public forum as described in 174-136-048 WAC, use of college facilities for political activities, as described in this section, must have prior approval of the vice president for finance and administration or designee.
Event Security and Safety
Speech Code Category: Security Fee Policies
Last updated: March 23, 2018Events covered under this policy include but are not limited to:
- Concerts
- Lectures/Speeches/Indoor Rallies
- Public performances or theater productions
- Sporting events/competitions
- Outdoor events
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Before submitting an offer or contract, the first step for student organizations and other in-house promoters is to complete a required Event Sponsor Assessment & Planning Worksheet or ESAP Worksheet. The ESAP Worksheet is the preliminary planning and screening tool that can assess the level of risk of an event, the level of security and staffing, and the resources and conditions needed to make the event safe and successful.
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The ESAP Worksheet further indicates the size, topic, invitations to outside groups, history of the performer, number of ticket sales to non-College populations, etc. The ESAP Worksheet will be reviewed by the Director of Student Activities for student groups and by the building manager/performance venue manager for faculty/staff. If the review by the Director of Student Activities or the building manager/performance venue manager highlights elements of potential risk, the Risk Assessment Review Team (RART) will be convened.
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If it is determined by the RART’s assessment that extra security will be needed, this additional cost will be the responsibility of the event sponsor.
Bias Related Incident Response Protocol: Practices & Procedures
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: March 23, 2018The College champions free expression. The ways in which we address bias incidents respect that value. Bias incidents often center around speech that many community members find offensive. Those who engage in the speech that offends others and those that respond to the speech may be protected by First Amendment rights. When the speech is protected, neither the student conduct system nor criminal justice system can be applied. It is through the speech of others including, the Bias Incident Team that bias incidents are best addressed. The College aspires to create an environment that is inclusive and safe for all members of the community.
The Social Contract
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: March 23, 2018(a) Evergreen’s members live under a special set of rights and responsibilities, foremost among which is that of enjoying the freedom to explore ideas and to discuss their explorations in both speech and print. Both institutional and individual censorship are at variance with this basic freedom. Research or other intellectual efforts, the results of which must be kept secret or may be used only for the benefit of a special interest group, violate the principle of free inquiry.(b) An essential condition for learning is the freedom and right on the part of an individual or group to express minority, unpopular, or controversial points of view. Only if minority and unpopular points of view are listened to, and are given opportunity for expression will Evergreen provide bona fide opportunities for significant learning.Student Conduct Code: Prohibited Conduct
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: March 23, 2018Harassment which is defined as conduct against a person on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sex, gender identity or expression, disability, age, military status, or sexual orientation that is sufficiently severe, pervasive, or persistent to create an objectively hostile environment that interferes with or diminishes the ability of an individual to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by the college, or an employee to engage in work duties.
Policies and Procedures: Sexual Harassment and Sexual Misconduct
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: March 23, 2018“Sexual harassment” is a form of discrimination based on the recipient’s sex. It can involve persons of the same or differing sexes, sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions. It is characterized by unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, including sexual assault. Such conduct violates this policy when: … Conduct (by anyone involved in a College program or activity, e.g., administrators, faculty members, students, contractors, vendor, volunteers and campus visitors) is sufficiently serious (i.e., severe, persistent, or pervasive) and objectively offensive so as to create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working or learning environment, (i.e., to unreasonably interfere with an individual’s employment, academic status, or deny or limit the individual’s ability to participate in or to receive the educational benefits, services or opportunities of the College).
Appropriate Use of Information Technology Resources
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: March 23, 2018In light of all the policies outlined above in this document, the following are examples of specifically prohibited activities: … sexual harassment or harassment based on race, color, gender, religion, creed, age, marital status, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran status.
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1st Amendment group gives Evergreen State College low marks for free speech
February 14, 2018
By Katherine Long at The Seattle Times A national organization that promotes First Amendment rights on campus has labeled The Evergreen State College as one of the 10 worst in the country for free speech. Read more here.
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Will free speech prevail on campus?
November 6, 2017
By Donald Downs at the Washington Examiner. Alarm over the state of free speech and academic freedom on American campuses is nothing new under the collegiate sun. But it has reached fever pitch in the past few years… Read more here.
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As school year starts, Washington’s Evergreen among colleges working to balance free speech, safety
October 5, 2017
By Katherine Long at The Seattle Times. The hate mail was specific, and it threatened violence. I know where you live, read one email to one professor. To a student: I know what dorm room you live in. One letter was even mailed directly to the college president’s home… Read more here.
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Evergreen campus takeover could happen anywhere
June 6, 2017
From OIA News. Founded as a “hippie school” with no grades or majors, Evergreen State College may have been ripe for a student takeover — but academics warn what has happened in Olympia, Washington, could happen anywhere. Classes resumed Monday after an anonymous threat shut down the campus for nearly three days. “At Evergreen, campus safety is our number-one priority,” Evergreen President George Bridges said in a statement. “After consultation with law enforcement today, we have determined there is no active threat to campus. We are ready to get back to the business of teaching and learning. . . ” […]
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Consulting All Sides on “Speech Codes”
May 1, 2005
By David T. Beito, Ralph E. Luker, and Robert David Johnson, Organization of American Historians Newsletter Few controversies have polarized higher education more than that of Ward Churchill at the University of Colorado (CU). Many conservatives, including Governor Bill Owens of Colorado and Newt Gingrich, have demanded that Churchill be dismissed for characterizing the victims of 9/11 as “Little Eichmanns.” Professors and students at CU and elsewhere have responded with rallies and petitions to defend Churchill’s academic freedom. They emphasize that the health of the academy rests on the toleration of controversial, even repellant, ideas. Joining in, the faculty of […]
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So to Speak podcast: Bret Weinstein, professor in exile
March 8, 2018
Former Evergreen State College professor Bret Weinstein describes himself as a “professor in exile.” The evolutionary biologist left Evergreen last September in the fallout from the controversy surrounding the school’s planned Day of Absence programming. Weinstein’s objection to the programming led fifty students to disrupt his class and demand his resignation. The backlash became so intense that Evergreen’s chief of police told him she could not protect him from protesters. As a result, he had to hold his biology course in a public park. On this episode of So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast, we speak with Weinstein about […]
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The 10 worst colleges for free speech: 2018
February 12, 2018
Every year, FIRE chooses the 10 worst colleges for free speech — and unfortunately, 2017 left us with plenty of options: Campuses were rocked by violent mob censorship, monitored by bias response teams, plagued by free speech zones, and beset by far too many disinvitation attempts. Although the number of colleges with the most restrictive speech codes has continued to decline, 90 percent of schools still maintain codes that either clearly restrict or could too easily be used to restrict free speech. Today, we present our 2018 list of the 10 worst colleges for free speech. As always, our list […]
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FIRE names America’s 10 worst colleges for free speech: 2018
February 12, 2018
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 12, 2018 — Each year, colleges across the country find dubious ways to silence student and faculty expression. In the last year, administrators became embroiled in litigation for telling a student he couldn’t hand out Spanish-language copies of the U.S. Constitution outside a free speech zone, continued a years-long effort to ban a group from campus due to its political viewpoint, and even investigated a professor for a satirical tweet — eventually driving him to resign. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education has identified America’s 10 worst colleges for free speech, published today with detailed descriptions on […]
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Yale 2.0 at Evergreen State College?
June 1, 2017
A faculty member sends an email that critiques a recent announcement from the college administration on an issue related to race, equity, and inclusion; students catch wind of the email, allege that its sender is racist, and organize campus-wide protests in response; the protesters confront the faculty member directly and demand their resignation or firing; the administration responds to the protesters’ demands with a wishy-washy statement of support for the embattled faculty member before outside pressure and criticism forces a more full-throated statement of public support. Sound familiar? It is much like the series of events that transpired on Yale […]
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Hey, Evergreen State: Let It Go!
June 6, 2014
Duquesne University law professor Jacob H. Rooksby reports on the latest failure of common sense on campus over at HigherEducationLaw, and it’s a stunner: Administrators at The Evergreen State College are refusing to let a student theater troupe perform an original work on university property because they’re worried that the production, which includes parodies of Disney songs, might trigger liability for copyright infringement.
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