School Spotlight
Grinnell College
Location:
Grinnell, Iowa
Type:
Private
Speech Code Rating
Grinnell 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.
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Student Handbook: Campus Life Policies- Hate Crimes and Bias-Motivated Incidents Policy
Speech Code Rating: Red
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: May 26, 2021[A] bias-motivated incident … is an expression of hostility toward, a person, group, or property thereof because of such person’s (or group’s) identifying or perceived race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, veteran status, p... Read MoreSexual Respect at Grinnell College: About Sexual Misconduct
Speech Code Rating: Red
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: May 26, 2021Definitions regarding forms of prohibited behavior, consent and related concepts, and other terms are listed below … Bias-Motivated Incident: an expression of hostility against a person, group, or property thereof because of such person’s (or group’s) identifying or perceived race, color, religion, ancestry, n... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Campus Life Policies- Harassment
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: May 26, 2021Harassment is conduct that has the effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment for others, interfering with the academic performance or co-curricular activity of a student, or the work performance of a faculty or staff member. Read MoreGrinnell College Policy, Procedures and Guide to Preventing, Reporting, and Responding to Sexual Misconduct and Other Forms of Interpersonal Violence: Other Forms of Sexual Misconduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: May 26, 2021Sexual harassment is any unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favors, or other unwanted verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when one of the following conditions is present: … Such conduct is sufficiently severe, persistent or pervasive that it unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work... Read MoreInformation Technology Services: Academic Computer Usage
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: May 26, 2021Grinnell College supports the free expression and exchange of ideas and opinions and hopes that users of its computer systems will actively explore the possibilities of electronic publication on the World Wide Web. The College encourages students, faculty, and staff to develop and publish WWW pages through its serve... Read MoreGrinnell College Policy, Procedures and Guide to Preventing, Reporting, and Responding to Sexual Misconduct and Other Forms of Interpersonal Violence: Title IX Sexual Harassment
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: May 26, 2021Title IX Sexual Harassment: The Title IX regulations define Sexual Harassment as conduct on the basis of sex that satisfies 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 ... Read MoreAbout Grinnell: Mission and Values
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: May 26, 2021When Grinnell College framed its charter in the Iowa Territory of the United States in 1846, it set forth a mission to educate its students “for the different professions and for the honorable discharge of the duties of life.” The College pursues that mission by providing an education in the liberal arts... Read More
FIRE surveyed roughly 37,000 students at 154 colleges and universities about the climate for free speech at their institutions. In 2021, FIRE released rankings of those schools, based on a number of factors, including openness, tolerance, self-expression, administrative support for free speech, and campus policies, scoring overall speech climate on a scale from 0-100. See the full report on FIRE’s 2021 College Free Speech Rankings for more information.
Rankings / out of 154 colleges surveyed |
|
| Overall Ranking | 126 |
| Ideological Diversity | 147 |
Overall / out of a top score of 100 |
|
| Overall Score | 56 |
| Openness | 11.15 |
| Tolerance (Liberals) | 12.34 |
| Tolerance (Conservatives) | 7.32 |
| Administrative Support | 5.99 |
| Comfort | 15.57 |
| Disruptive Conduct | 9.63 |
| Speech Code | RED |
Due process legal update: Two accused-student lawsuits survive summary judgment
July 12, 2019
Barring a settlement, sex discrimination lawsuits against Grinnell College and Quinnipiac University appear to be headed to trial after judges in each case denied the school’s motion for summary judgment on both sex discrimination and breach of contract claims. These decisions demonstrate that schools need to take seriously both their obligation to respond to sexual… Read more
Speech Code of the Month: Grinnell College
March 18, 2016
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for March 2016: Grinnell College in Iowa. FIRE recently downgraded Grinnell College to our poorest, “red light” speech code rating for a “bias-motivated incident” policy that makes a great deal of speech punishable at the college. Grinnell defines a bias-motivated incident as an expression of hostility against… Read more