School Spotlight
George Mason University
Speech Code Rating
This school has adopted the chicago statement for free speech.
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FIRE Speech Code Memorandum for George Mason University
Residential Student Handbook: Harassment/Intimidation/Bullying
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: April 15, 2019The Office of Housing and Residence Life will not tolerate a hostile environment created by conduct so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively bars the victim’s access to educational opportunity or benefit. Read MoreOffice of Diversity, Inclusion and Multicultural Education: Bias Incident Report Form
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: April 15, 2019The university defines bias incidents as follows: Bias Incidents: A bias incident is an act of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, violence or criminal offense committed against any person, group or property that appears to be intentional and motivated by prejudice or bias. Such are usually associated with neg... Read MoreUniversity Policy Number 1202: Sexual and Gender-Based Harassment and Other Interpersonal Violence
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: April 15, 2019a) Definition of Harassment Harassment is a type of Discrimination that occurs when verbal, physical, electronic, or other conduct based on an individual’s Protected Status (Protected Statuses are listed in University Policy 1201, Non-Discrimination) interferes with that individual’s (a) educational environment (e.g... Read MoreFree Speech at Mason
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: April 15, 2019All members of the George Mason University community enjoy the right to freedom of speech and expression. Read MoreCode of Student Conduct: Acts of Misconduct
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: April 15, 2019Any hostile, threatening, or intimidating behavior that by its very nature would be interpreted by a reasonable person to threaten or endanger the health, safety or well-being of another. Examples of such behavior may include, but are not limited to: a) Act(s) that alarms or seriously disrupts another person’s abili... Read MoreResidential Student Handbook: Posting and Distribution
Speech Code Category: Posting and Distribution Policies
Last updated: April 15, 2019The sign may not include content so severe and pervasive and objectionably offensive that it effectively creates a hostile environment Read More
Phi Beta Kappa: Member Institutions’ Speech Codes
November 29, 2005
When George Mason University cancelled a speech by filmmaker Michael Moore, the Phi Beta Kappa Society denied George Mason University’s application for a campus chapter of the honor society, citing academic freedom concerns. Given the Society’s professed commitment to freedom of speech, FIRE wrote to Phi Beta Kappa Secretary John Churchill to point out the speech codes that abound… Read more
George Mason University: Unconstitutional Policies and Suppression of Dissent
October 27, 2005
GMU student and Air Force veteran Tariq Khan protested military recruiters on campus by silently standing near their table with a “Recruiters Lie” sign taped to his chest while passing out handbills. According to witnesses, a student assaulted Khan and took his sign within less than 30 minutes. Yet the police arrested Khan, not the… Read more
‘Green light’ institution George Mason University adopts free speech statement
January 15, 2019
In the late fall of 2018, a sixth “green light” institution in FIRE’s Spotlight database adopted a version of the “Report of the Committee on Freedom of Expression” at the University of Chicago (better known as the “Chicago Statement”). George Mason University, a green light institution since 2015, is the 55th institution or faculty body… Read more
Open records request reveals donor influence at George Mason University
May 1, 2018
Documents produced pursuant to an open records request demonstrate that George Mason University entered into agreements with the Charles Koch Foundation and other donors between 2003 and 2011 that granted those donors broad input into faculty employment. As the The Washington Post, The Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed report, these arrangements reveal… Read more
More Campus Leaders Address Free Speech; Some Do It Better Than Others
October 27, 2016
We’ve been keeping our eye on the recent uptick in campus leaders addressing free speech. In our latest roundup of public commitments to freedom of speech by college and university administrators, we’re focusing only on “The Good”—bringing you a few of our recent favorites. We’ve even included one statement that almost made our “Bad” list…. Read more
Due Process Legal Update: Students’ Title IX and Due Process Claims Move Forward, But Challenges Remain
March 1, 2016
As I’ve written about on many previous occasions, there are a large number of ongoing lawsuits by students alleging that through unfair campus sexual misconduct proceedings, their institutions violated their constitutional due process rights, breached contracts, and discriminated against them on the basis of sex. In the past eight days alone, there have been four… Read more
FIRE’s Majeed: 2015 Already a Good Year for Speech Code Reform
July 30, 2015
Over at The Huffington Post today, my colleague Azhar Majeed takes an encouraging survey of the solid progress FIRE has already made in 2015 in reforming restrictive speech codes. Azhar reviews the four schools that have already earned FIRE’s best, most speech-friendly “green light” rating thus far in 2015—George Mason University, Purdue University, the University… Read more
George Mason University Earns FIRE’s Highest Rating for Free Speech
April 21, 2015
WASHINGTON, April 21, 2015—George Mason University (GMU) has eliminated all of its speech codes, earning the highest, “green light” rating from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). After working with FIRE to ensure its policies comply with the First Amendment, the Virginia university has joined a select group of colleges and universities nationwide… 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
George Mason University President: Unfettered Dialogue Empowers Students
December 19, 2013
There is another controversy related to Middle East politics on a college campus, this time at the George Mason University (GMU) main campus. (Disclosure: I am an adjunct legal writing instructor at the GMU law school.) But in this case, the participants appear committed to a constructive debate over whether the university should honor Israeli… Read more
Getting It Right: Dean of George Mason Law Sets Excellent Example
October 4, 2011
All too often here at FIRE, we find ourselves up to our necks in campus censorship. For example, in just the last few weeks, we’ve seen a professor threatened by campus police for posting a sci-fi quote and a coalition of student groups silenced by a professor who didn’t like their free speech wall. Of… Read more
Virginia Newspaper Touts Growing Number of ‘Green Light’ Schools
February 8, 2011
With only 14 "green light" colleges and universities in the entire country, the state of Virginia should be proud to be home to two of them. Writing in the Daily Press (Hampton Roads, Va.), Michael F. Cochrane commends the University of Virginia (UVa) and The College of William & Mary for preserving free speech on… Read more
‘Volokh Conspiracy’ and Local Media Decry Virginia Speech Codes
November 3, 2010
Ever since the University of Virginia (UVa) eliminated all four of its speech codes to earn FIRE’s coveted "green light" rating, local and national media have put the spotlight on the speech codes remaining at other public universities in Virginia. When FIRE announced the news, we noted that UVa joins The College of William & Mary… Read more
What Would the Founders Think of the Modern University?
July 9, 2008
(Maggie Rackl is a senior at the College of Charleston, where she majors in History with a minor in Asian Studies, and a 2008 FIRE Summer Intern.) In my experience, a favorite question of college and university admissions applications is the classic, "If you could go to dinner with any one person, living or dead,… Read more
At George Mason, Student Editors Decry School’s Speech Code
September 26, 2007
The editors of The Broadside, George Mason University’s student newspaper, have sharp words for their school’s unconstitutional speech code in an editorial published in yesterday’s edition. The Broadside editors write: Mason is a public university; it has no business enforcing rules that restrict first amendment speech. Its only defense is that these policies, in some… Read more
Offensive Halloween Costumes and Censorship
October 31, 2006
Halloween is upon us and college students all across the country will be celebrating this day by dressing up in a wide array of costumes. While some students will probably stick to classic costumes such as ghosts and vampires, some others may be thinking about slipping into scarier, more politically incorrect costumes this Halloween. For instance,… Read more
There Is No Such Thing as ‘Hate Speech’
February 24, 2006
Yes, that is correct. “Hate speech” is not a category of speech recognized under current constitutional law. It is merely a convenient way to pigeonhole speech that some people find offensive. But what is very troubling is when people begin to treat “hate speech” as unprotected speech. For example, a student leader at Penn State,… Read more
Clarification on PBK’s Double Standard
February 3, 2006
In a blog last week, I explained that the honor society Phi Beta Kappa (PBK) does not support schools like evangelical Wheaton College, which recently fired a professor for converting to Catholicism. I made the assertion that if PBK claims to support academic freedom, it should stand up to its many member institutions that have… Read more
Censorship is Everybody’s Problem
December 29, 2005
FIRE’s press release from yesterday details some of the cases that made 2005 FIRE’s busiest year ever. If 2005 made anything clear, it is that no student, regardless of his or her views, is safe from censorship on today’s college and university campuses. This year, we intervened on behalf of students censored for expressing viewpoints… Read more
FIRE’s Work Lauded in Newspapers Nationwide
December 12, 2005
It’s been a good couple of days for Justice Brandeis’ maxim that “sunlight is the best disinfectant.” Thanks to articles in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Chronicle of Higher Education, news of FIRE’s efforts to disinfect the swamps of repression currently passing for American universities is reaching an ever-increasing number of… Read more
Phi Beta Kappa Can Do Better
December 2, 2005
Earlier this week, FIRE wrote Phi Beta Kappa a letter encouraging the organization to join the fight against censorship and repression at some of America’s most prestigious colleges and universities. Although FIRE has received no formal response from Phi Beta Kappa, the organization has made several comments to the press indicating that it is not… Read more
FIRE Challenges Phi Beta Kappa to Stand Up for Free Speech
November 30, 2005
Most people will tell you that they support free speech. When people ask me what I do and I tell them I work for a free speech organization, the reaction is almost uniformly positive. Everyone seems to like the Bill of Rights, at least in theory. Dig a little deeper, however, and the waters become… Read more
Policies Actually Matter; Don’t Be Deceived
November 17, 2005
Why, you may ask, does the fine staff at FIRE spend its days hunting down unconstitutional speech codes and disputing unjust university policies? Unjust university policies, as it turns out, lead to actual violations of students’ constitutional and human rights. As today’s press release shows, such policies at George Mason University (GMU) led to the… Read more
FIRE Challenges Unconstitutional Policies at George Mason University
November 17, 2005
FAIRFAX, Va., November 17, 2005—The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) is challenging unconstitutional policies at George Mason University (GMU). Earlier this fall, such policies led to the arrest of a GMU student who was protesting military recruiters on its Northern Virginia campus. “GMU’s unconstitutional policies make it no surprise that a peaceful student… Read more
McMasters on the Free Speech Controversy at George Mason University
October 24, 2005
Paul K. McMasters, renowned First Amendment expert and member of the Board of Editors for FIRE’s Guides to Student Rights on Campus series, has published an important piece (with an equally great title, “Fear of Dissent Is a Fear of Freedom”) on the recent controversy over student protests of military recruiters. The most notable case… Read more
Practical Advice for Fraternities Caught in the Battle for Free Speech on Campus
September 16, 2004
I. Introduction While there is no shortage of free speech battles on college campuses, fraternities have the dubious honor of being at the center of many of the least sympathetic controversies. From Halloween parties where brothers show up dressed as Ku Klux Klan members to fraternity newsletters that graphically relate a brother’s sexual exploits with… Read more
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