School Spotlight
Johns Hopkins University
Location:
Baltimore, Maryland
Type:
Private
Speech Code Rating
Johns Hopkins University 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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This school has adopted the chicago statement for free speech.
Policy & Document Library: Principles for Ensuring Equity, Civility and Respect for All
Speech Code Rating: Red
Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
Last updated: September 20, 2021The Johns Hopkins University is an environment in which all people behave in a manner that engenders mutual respect, treating each other with courtesy and civility regardless of position or status in the academy. Rude, disrespectful behavior is unwelcome and will not be tolerated. … We hold our community and i... Read MoreStudent Conduct Code
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility, Statement
Last updated: September 20, 20212. The physical or emotional abuse of any person or any action that threatens physical or emotional harm or endangers the physical or emotional well-being, health or safety of any person. 3. Any physical or verbal threats against or harassment, bullying or intimidation of any person(s). 4. Conduct or a pattern of co... Read MoreThe Johns Hopkins University Sexual Misconduct Policy and Procedures: Non-Title IX Hostile Environment
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 20, 2021Non-Title IX Hostile Environment: A “non-Title IX hostile environment” results from unwelcome sexual or sex-based conduct (including sexual orientation-based and/or gender identity/expression-based conduct) that does not meet the definition of Title IX Sexual Harassment but is so severe, pervasive, or persistent tha... Read MoreDiscrimination and Harassment Policy and Procedures
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 20, 2021For purposes of this Policy, “harassment” is defined as any type of behavior which is based on an individual or group’s membership in a “protected class(es)” that is: a) unwelcome and (b) creates a “hostile environment.” Harassment when directed at an individual because of their membership in a “protected class(es)”... Read MoreStudent Leadership and Involvement: Policies and Procedures- Event Promotion
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Posting and Distribution Policies
Last updated: September 20, 2021The rules and regulations governing advertising on the Johns Hopkins University Homewood campus are designed to encourage the promotion of sanctioned events and activities on campus in a fair manner. In addition, advertising should not disrupt academic classes, programs, or activities and should not damage the prope... Read MoreThe Johns Hopkins University Sexual Misconduct Policy and Procedures: Title IX Sexual Harassment
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 20, 2021Title IX Sexual Harassment: The term “Title IX Sexual Harassment” means conduct on the basis of sex [5] that satisfies one or more of the following: … Unwelcome conduct that a reasonable person would determine is so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to... Read MoreAcademic Freedom at Johns Hopkins
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: September 20, 2021Academic freedom is the wellspring of an open and free university. Academic freedom protects the right to speak and create, to question and dissent, to participate in debate on and off campus, and to invite others to do the same, all without fear of restraint or penalty. It is designed to afford members of the commu... Read MoreInformation Technology Use Policies
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: September 20, 2021Unacceptable use of IT Resources includes, but is not limited to, the following: … a. Sending or posting threatening, harassing or defamatory messages or other communications in violation of Johns Hopkins policies and/or applicable law; b. Sending or posting messages or other communications that appear to come... Read MoreGuidelines for Students in Support of Free Expression Through Protests and Demonstrations at the Homewood Campus
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: September 20, 2021Johns Hopkins University seeks to uphold and protect the right of free expression and presents these guidelines to aid students seeking to engage in protests, demonstrations, vigils, displays, or other acts of public expression at the Homewood Campus. … Protests, demonstrations, and other acts of public expres... Read More
Policies are rated on their inclusion of 10 due process safeguards. Each policy may receive 2 points for fully including that safeguard, 1 point for partial inclusion, and 0 points for no meaningful inclusion. Most, but not all, institutions have separate policies for sexual misconduct and all other misconduct. See FIRE’s Spotlight on Due Process report for more information.
Grades
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 | 139 |
| Ideological Diversity | 115 |
Overall / out of a top score of 100 |
|
| Overall Score | 53.85 |
| Openness | 10.55 |
| Tolerance (Liberals) | 10.96 |
| Tolerance (Conservatives) | 7.87 |
| Administrative Support | 5.52 |
| Comfort | 14.89 |
| Disruptive Conduct | 10.06 |
| Speech Code | RED |
Johns Hopkins University: Viewpoint-Based Rejection of Pro-Life Group
April 8, 2013
Johns Hopkins University’s Student Government Association Senate voted to deny recognition to pro-life student group Voice for Life (VFL) on the basis that the club’s activities might make people feel “uncomfortable.”
Johns Hopkins University: Student Punished for Party Invitation
November 28, 2006
Johns Hopkins University earned its Red Alert designation by suspending 18 -year-old junior Justin Park for posting an “offensive” Halloween party invitation on Facebook. Because some found the invitation racially offensive, Park was charged with and found guilty of “harassment,” “intimidation,” and “failing to respect the rights of others.” Although it was later reduced in… Read more
Johns Hopkins University: Viewpoint Discrimination Against Student Newspaper
May 19, 2006
Johns Hopkins University (JHU) dropped its investigation of a harassment complaint filed against staff members of a conservative student newspaper, The Carrollton Record. After several months of correspondence with JHU administrators, FIRE gained assurance that JHU is no longer pursuing the investigation. However, limitations on the distribution rights of campus publications remain and the university… Read more
Johns Hopkins University: Disciplining of Professor for Pro-War Remarks
October 21, 2001
Soon after the September 11 terrorist attacks, Johns Hopkins University Professor Charles H. Fairbanks voiced his support, at a public forum, for an aggressive campaign against states that harbor terrorists. He said that he would “bet anyone here a Koran” that his analysis was correct. One member of the audience charged that he sought to… Read more
Pressure continues against campus critics of China
May 24, 2021
Exiled activist and politician Nathan Law is no stranger to efforts to silence him — if he returns to Hong Kong, he will undoubtedly face arrest under the national security law. But a recent incident with Law at the University of Chicago is a reminder that, even on campuses far outside of Hong Kong and… Read more
February 2021 Speech Code of the Month: Johns Hopkins University
February 2, 2021
We’re proud to say our long-running Speech Code of the Month series — in which we highlight a policy that is particularly restrictive of students’ free speech rights — gets results, with about 50% of schools responding by revising the speech code in question. But some universities seem to be stuck in a time loop,… Read more
Sexual Misconduct Policy at Johns Hopkins Creates Wide Room for Error
June 20, 2016
Elizabeth Gudgel is a rising junior at Johns Hopkins University and a FIRE summer intern. At my university, Johns Hopkins University, last fall, a campus group presented an installation called “The Monument Quilt,” a vast display of fabric squares created by victims of sexual violence. The quilt nearly covered the school’s largest quad, featuring 450… Read more
Pro-Life Group Fights for Recognition on Campus: Q&A with Andrew Guernsey
May 18, 2015
Meet Andrew Guernsey, a student at Johns Hopkins University and the founder of Voice for Life—a pro-life student organization at JHU. When Andrew set out to create Voice for Life in 2013, JHU’s student government had other plans. Despite meeting all qualifications for a registered student organization, Voice for Life was denied their charter on… Read more
Students unsure whether anatomical models are appropriate at Johns Hopkins
April 15, 2015
For three decades, the North Baltimore Pro-Life Study Group has set up a display of anatomical models of fetal development as part of Johns Hopkins University’s (JHU’s) annual Spring Fair. This year, however, JHU’s Arts and Crafts Committee decided to disallow the display because it “contains triggering and disturbing images and content.” Thankfully, after pushback… Read more
Advocacy Groups Face Discrimination at Johns Hopkins University
August 15, 2014
Torch readers may remember that in our most recent case at Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the university’s Student Government Association (SGA) put itself on the wrong side of free speech when it wrongly denied the recognition of the student group JHU Voice for Life. Unfortunately, the SGA has been at it again in recent months, and this time its actions threaten an even wider swath of student expression at JHU.
Admins at ‘Red Light’ Schools Claim to Value Free Speech, But Policies Suggest Otherwise
February 4, 2014
Last month, FIRE released its 2014 report on campus speech codes, which revealed that 59% of the 427 colleges and universities analyzed maintain policies that clearly and substantially restrict constitutionally protected speech. When quizzed recently by student journalists about their institution’s speech codes, administrators at “red light” institutions Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and Grand Valley… Read more
Johns Hopkins Student Asks School to Restore Its Reputation for Free Expression
September 18, 2013
Johns Hopkins University (JHU) student Andrew Guernsey took to The Johns Hopkins News-Letter Sunday to discuss the state of free speech at his school. Guernsey points out that although JHU is moving up the national university rankings, its rating on free speech is abysmal. FIRE has been involved in multiple cases at JHU over the years, and… Read more
Liberty Requires Tough Choices: The Student Funding Dilemma
July 31, 2013
Kanisha Parthasarathy is a FIRE summer intern. Allocating money to student groups is a tricky game. For many colleges, the amount of money given to groups is not increasing at the same rate as the number of student groups vying for recognition and funding. Funding boards usually solve this problem by creating guidelines to determine how… Read more
Private Universities and the Conflict Between Mission and Speech
July 15, 2013
Madeline Gootman is a FIRE summer intern. When private universities send out their shiny pamphlets to high school seniors, they highlight their commitment to all things politically correct and otherwise acceptable in academia. However, these commitments to civility, respect, and social comfort are often at odds with the broad promises of free speech that universities… Read more
Pro-Choice Johns Hopkins Group Turns to Harassment Policies to Silence Pro-Life Speech
May 3, 2013
Tom Cruise works as a PreCrime agent in Minority Report. Thankfully, no universities have implemented this department on campus. Recently, FIRE successfully defended the rights of the now-recognized Johns Hopkins University student group Voice for Life (VFL). As Torch readers may recall, VFL was wrongly denied recognition in March due in part to student… Read more
Johns Hopkins Reverses Decision, Recognizes Pro-Life Group
April 10, 2013
As recounted in today’s press release, the Johns Hopkins University student government’s judiciary committee has unanimously reversed the decision of the university’s student senate to deny recognition to the prospective student group Voice for Life (VFL) on the basis of the group’s expression. FIRE has previously covered this case on The Torch, and wrote to… Read more
Johns Hopkins Reverses Decision, Recognizes Pro-Life Group
April 10, 2013
BALTIMORE, April 10, 2013—Late yesterday, Johns Hopkins University’s student judiciary committee unanimously overturned the decision of its student senate to deny official recognition to the pro-life student group Voice for Life on the basis that it might make people feel “uncomfortable.” The decision means that the group will now have the ability to reserve meeting rooms, host speakers, and… Read more
Is ‘The Johns Hopkins News Letter’ Unlearning Liberty?
April 4, 2013
Last week, FIRE’s Peter Bonilla explained here on The Torch why The Johns Hopkins News-Letter editorial board was wrong to say that the refusal of Hopkins’ student government to recognize Voice for Life, a pro-life student group, was "not a matter of free speech." A few days later, we noticed that this statement was… Read more
Johns Hopkins Pro-Life Group Fights for Recognition, with No Help From its Student Newspaper
March 29, 2013
The student government at the Johns Hopkins University has refused to recognize a pro-life student group—but that refusal doesn’t raise "a question of free speech," says the editorial board of The Johns Hopkins News-Letter. By the time you’re finished reading this post, the incorrectness of this statement should be clear. Voice for Life (VFL) had… Read more
Compelling ‘Civility’
June 1, 2012
Earlier this week, an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription required) discussed the growing popularity on college campuses of programs aimed at promoting civility. While one might reasonably ask whether there is a connection between exorbitant tuition rates, administrative bloat, and programs such as the "transformational, saturation approach" civility projects discussed in the… Read more
The top 12 worst colleges for free speech
March 28, 2012
Who doesn’t love a good awards show? The gowns, the acceptance speeches, the brutal infringements of civil liberties … the excitement just never ends. Once again, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE, where I work), has sorted through the hundreds of colleges and universities across the nation that severely restrict the First Amendment rights of… Read more
FIRE’s 12 Worst Colleges for Free Speech in 2012
March 27, 2012
Here’s today’s press release: PHILADELPHIA, March 27, 2012—The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) released its 2012 list of the 12 Worst Colleges for Free Speech in The Huffington Post today. Harvard is new to the list this year, joining Yale, Syracuse, and the University of Cincinnati at the top of the list. "These colleges and universities… Read more
Johns Hopkins University Continues to Defend Censorship
January 23, 2012
Johns Hopkins University’s utter lack of concern for its students’ free speech rights is on display again, this time in comments the university’s spokesman made to the Maryland Gazette last week. You may remember that in 2006, Hopkins threw the book at then-18-year-old student Justin Park for posting a Halloween party invitation deemed to be… Read more
FIRE in ‘The Huffington Post’ on America’s 12 Worst Schools for Free Speech
January 27, 2011
Today, The Huffington Post published FIRE’s list of America’s 12 Worst Schools for Free Speech. An expansion of FIRE’s Red Alert List of the “worst of the worst” schools for student and faculty rights, this “dirty dozen” slideshow includes the schools that come onto FIRE’s radar screen again and again for their repeated and egregious violations of fundamental rights, as… Read more
Red Alert at Johns Hopkins: No ‘Rude’ or ‘Disrespectful’ Expression Allowed
September 8, 2010
Since announcing our full-page advertisement in U.S. News & World Report‘s college rankings issue last week, in which we publicly shame the six colleges and universities that comprise FIRE’s Red Alert list, we have been going through the schools one by one on The Torch to review why they are on our Red Alert list… Read more
Johns Hopkins Student Government Association Asks President to Defend Free Speech
March 6, 2010
Promising news recently from Red Alert school Johns Hopkins University. Marc Perkins, President of the Student Government Association, wrote to Johns Hopkins President Ronald Daniels last month on behalf of the Undergraduate Student Government Association to ask that he uphold free speech rights at Johns Hopkins. His letter begins by asking that President Daniels support Maryland H.B. 677/S.B. 805,… Read more
Still Looking for a New Year’s Resolution, Red Alert Schools?
January 14, 2010
Here’s an easy New Year’s resolution that Brandeis University, Bucknell University, Colorado College, Johns Hopkins University, Michigan State University, and Tufts University can make: get off of FIRE’s Red Alert list of America’s worst violators of campus liberty! This week, FIRE sent the presidents of each of the six Red Alert schools a letter reminding… Read more
FIRE 2010 U.S. News Letter to JHU President Daniels
January 7, 2010
January 7, 2010 President Ronald J. Daniels Office of the President The Johns Hopkins University 3400 N. Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21218 Re: Johns Hopkins University and FIRE’s Red Alert list Dear President Daniels: I am writing to draw your attention to the full-page advertisement that FIRE ran in the most recent “America’s Best Colleges”… Read more
This Month in FIRE History: Johns Hopkins Drops Harassment Investigation of Student Journalists
September 25, 2009
September is a notoriously busy time for FIRE. Looking back over the past 10 years, some of our most important cases have either started or concluded as students returned to campus. Since we just reminded our Red Alert Schools of their unenviable status, I decided to again look at a case from one of those schools. Johns Hopkins University (JHU) has… Read more
How Can Johns Hopkins University Get Off FIRE’s Red Alert List?
September 4, 2009
Following up on FIRE’s full-page ad in U.S. News & World Report‘s "America’s Best Colleges" issue, released nationwide last week, we have been explaining why each of our six Red Alert schools has been named among the worst of the worst when it comes to individual rights on campus—and what each school can do to… Read more
‘U.S. News’ Readers: FIRE’s Red Alert List Exposes the Worst Violators of Campus Rights
August 25, 2009
Why does FIRE’s ad in U.S. News & World Report show a book padlocked shut? One of FIRE’s most shocking cases was that of Keith John Sampson, a student-employee at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) who was found guilty of racial harassment for merely reading the book Notre Dame vs. the Klan: How the Fighting… Read more
FIRE’s Biggest Ad Campaign Ever Hits ‘U.S. News’
August 25, 2009
For the second year in a row, FIRE has run a full-page advertisement in U.S. News & World Report‘s America’s Best Colleges issue, released today, highlighting the colleges and universities that have earned FIRE’s Red Alert distinction for being the “worst of the worst” when it comes to liberty on campus. Brandeis University, Colorado College, Johns Hopkins University, Michigan State University, and Tufts University are listed in the print ad, while Bucknell University,… Read more
On Speech Codes and Sodomy Laws
June 9, 2009
Over the weekend, FIRE received an e-mail from a graduate of Johns Hopkins University criticizing our decision to give Hopkins a "red light" rating for its restrictive speech codes. Like so many similar e-mails we have received since beginning our "State of Free Speech on Campus" blog series, one of the author’s main points was… Read more
The State of Free Speech on Campus: Johns Hopkins University
March 23, 2009
Throughout the spring semester, FIRE is drawing special attention to the state of free speech at America’s top 25 national universities (as ranked by U.S. News & World Report). Today we review policies at Johns Hopkins University, which FIRE has given a red-light rating for maintaining policies that clearly and substantially restrict free expression on… Read more
2008 Highlights: FIRE Places Full-Page Ad in ‘U.S. News & World Report’ Calling Out ‘Red Alert’ Schools
December 31, 2008
While FIRE works on cases from hundreds of schools in a given year, we have a special list for those schools that have shown unique intransigence in the face of criticism from FIRE for abusing student and faculty rights. We call that special list our Red Alert list, and right now five schools have earned… Read more
This Month in FIRE History: Johns Hopkins Suspends Student for One Year for ‘Offensive’ Halloween Invitation
November 17, 2008
Few schools have been more stubborn about censoring free expression than Johns Hopkins University (JHU). JHU is on our Red Alert list for being among the "worst of the worst" when it comes to violating individual rights on campus—and the university earned this ignominious distinction in November of 2006 in one of the most egregious… Read more
Back to School: Remember FIRE’s Red Alert List
September 9, 2008
Students going back to school should be aware of the institutions that demonstrate a blatant disregard for their students’ rights. FIRE’s Red Alert list, recently featured in a full-page ad in the 2009 “America’s Best Colleges” edition of U.S. News and World Report, is a list of the “worst of the worst” when it comes… Read more
FIRE Exposes Unrepentant Abusers of Liberty in ‘U.S. News’ College Rankings Issue
August 25, 2008
PHILADELPHIA, August 25, 2008—The 2009 edition of U.S. News and World Report‘s America’s Best Colleges issue, released today, includes a full-page advertisement from FIRE highlighting the five colleges and universities that have earned FIRE’s Red Alert distinction for being the “worst of the worst” when it comes to liberty on campus. Students should think twice… Read more
FIRE Remembers September 11
September 11, 2007
Today, FIRE joins individuals across America and around the world in reflecting upon the tragic events of September 11, 2001. As university students and professors from Maine to California host commemorations today to remember those who suffered and died six years ago, we take a moment to look back at how those events played out… Read more
Oxford Spies on Students through Facebook
July 18, 2007
The United Kingdom appears to be rapidly turning into a place where Big Brother is not just a character in a book, or a reality TV show, but a reality for everyone. Britain is well-known for its abundance of closed-circuit TV cameras that record everyone walking down the streets, all the time—and sometimes, the cameras… Read more
Today’s ‘Campus Alert’: Hassles at Hopkins
June 18, 2007
Today’s Campus Alert coincides with our press release today announcing our new Red Alert feature—an “honor” we are awarding to institutions of higher education that have shown particularly severe and ongoing disregard for their contractual or constitutional commitments to uphold the fundamental rights of students and faculty. We devoted this week’s New York Post column… Read more
FIRE Launches ‘Red Alert’ List of Worst Offenders Against Liberty
June 18, 2007
Today FIRE is unveiling a new tool in our fight for liberty on America’s college and university campuses: FIRE’s Red Alert. Red Alert is our newly developed list of campuses that pose an ongoing and serious threat to the rights of current and future students and faculty. FIRE deals with some horrendous offenses against liberty… Read more
Update from Johns Hopkins: Student Council Still Unhappy with New Speech Code
June 7, 2007
A member of the Johns Hopkins Student Council writes in to FIRE’s Campus Freedom Network with an update on the continuing travails of free speech at Johns Hopkins: Dear CFN, I thought you’d like an update on the JHU free speech debacle. First, read over President Brody’s Commencement Speech. Pay attention to the final paragraphs… Read more
‘From the President’ in ‘The FIRE Quarterly’, May 24, 2007
May 24, 2007
FIRE President Greg Lukianoff’s new column in the latest FIRE Quarterly explores how university administrators’ try to squelch student speech acting “like the censors of the Victorian era—morally infallible, plugged into absolute truth, and engaged in saving the country’s soul from incivility or impropriety. As Greg points out, FIRE’s recent cases at Johns Hopkins University,… Read more
Today’s ‘Campus Alert’: Don’t Laugh Too Hard
May 21, 2007
Our weekly Campus Alert column in the New York Post focuses today on speech codes at Drexel University, Northeastern University, and Johns Hopkins University—all of which have been named FIRE’s Speech Code of the Month for banning constitutionally protected expression on their respective campuses. Drexel, which was given the dubious honor of being recognized… Read more
Hopkins Again Disappoints FIRE
May 11, 2007
FIRE recently received a disappointing response to our latest letter to Johns Hopkins protesting a major contraction of free speech rights on campus. Following October’s “Halloween in the Hood” incident, Hopkins introduced a new speech code, the Principles for Ensuring Equity, Civility and Respect for All (the “Principles”), and President William Brody wrote a column… Read more
‘Campus Outrage Awards’ Feature Two FIRE Cases
April 25, 2007
The Collegiate Network has released their 2007 Campus Outrage Awards, an effort “to shed light on the most outrageous instances of intolerance and intimidation on the part of college officials.” Out of the five awards, two went to schools for their involvement in a FIRE case. At Johns Hopkins University (JHU), The Carrollton Record… Read more
Why Private Schools Need to Follow Their Own Rules
April 18, 2007
While Robert’s latest blog discusses the difference between public schools and private schools in relation to sectarian institutions, I’d like to discuss the dichotomy in more depth, especially in regard to the schools which Jon B. Gould mentions in his piece (subscribers only) in the Chronicle—Brown, Johns Hopkins, and Pace. FIRE’s Guide to Free… Read more
At Johns Hopkins, Students Voice Frustration With New Speech Code
March 2, 2007
The Johns Hopkins News-Letter reports that this past Tuesday night, Johns Hopkins University Student Council members met with university officials to air frustration and concern over the school’s new speech code. Torch readers will remember that the policy, entitled “Principles for Ensuring Equity, Civility and Respect,” was instituted by JHU President William Brody in response… Read more
FIRE Quarterly: ‘From the Board of Directors’
March 2, 2007
Daphne Patai, a member of our Board of Directors, contributed to our recent edition of The FIRE Quarterly with a column reinforcing the importance of FIRE’s work after a year in which we saw so many attempts to limit student speech on campus. She wrote: Where restrictions on speech must, by law, be content-neutral, universities… Read more
Lessons from the Communications Revolution
February 26, 2007
As Greg and Will pointed out in their Boston Phoenix cover story last week, social networking sites like Facebook.com are giving university administrators an unprecedented look into the way students actually talk to one another. This, in turn, has led to an increase in cases of students being subjected to university discipline for the content… Read more
Facing off over Facebook
February 21, 2007
Students, be warned: the college of your choice may be watching you, and will more than likely be keeping an eye on you once you enter the hallowed campus gates. America’s institutions of higher education are increasingly monitoring students’ activity online and scrutinizing profiles, not only for illegal behavior, but also for what they deem… Read more
‘Bullets and Bubbly’ Party Draws Controversy at UConn
January 25, 2007
An article in today’s Hartford Courant explains how University of Connecticut Law School students recently had an off-campus theme party reminiscent of Hopkins’ ill-fated “Halloween in the Hood” party. The UConn students posted photos from their “Bullets and Bubbly” party on Facebook.com, upsetting many students, faculty, and administrators, who found the party’s theme racially insensitive…. Read more
If You Can’t Say Something Nice…?
January 18, 2007
Recently on Phi Beta Cons, FIRE’s friend David French addressed the attempts to suppress free speech on campus in the name of civility. In part, David wrote: [S]ubjective experience is not the stuff of legal structures, and rights of free speech are too precious to place at the mercy of the offended. When it comes… Read more
Facebook and the Campus Communication Explosion
January 12, 2007
Looking back on FIRE’s work last year, several trends stand out: the disturbing rise of student-led censorship, the increased public awareness of the importance of the right of private conscience, the continued pervasiveness of speech codes and the often willful misinterpretation of “harassment” to squelch speech. One trend, however, strikes me as being truly unique to… Read more
Johns Hopkins Still Under Fire
January 12, 2007
Even though Johns Hopkins University reduced Justin Park’s punishment and he now considers the matter resolved, the university is still taking hits in the press. Today, the Indiana Daily Student published an opinion piece criticizing Hopkins for ignoring the free speech rights of its students. Columnist Edward Delp discussed the Hopkins case and other similar… Read more
FIRE is Committed to Free Expression, No Matter Whose Free Expression
January 10, 2007
Yesterday, FIRE received an e-mail challenging our commitment to free speech in the Johns Hopkins “Halloween in the Hood” case, in which student Justin Park was suspended for posting a supposedly racist Halloween flyer on Facebook.com. The e-mailer asked, “If it was reverse and a black student did this against white students, would you still… Read more
Media Coverage of Johns Hopkins ‘Hood’ Party Continues
January 9, 2007
The decision by Johns Hopkins University (JHU) to reduce the punishment of student Justin Park is receiving attention from national and local media. Articles from the Associated Press, The Baltimore Sun, and Inside Higher Ed discuss FIRE’s efforts in this case, as well as our remaining concerns about students’ rights on the JHU campus. As… Read more
Johns Hopkins Resolves Facebook Case; Becomes FIRE’s First-Ever ‘Censor of the Year’
January 8, 2007
Today’s press release announces that Johns Hopkins University has reached a final decision in its case against Justin Park, the 18-year-old junior who posted “offensive” party invitations on Facebook.com. Acting on Park’s appeal, Hopkins has decided to amend its initial litany of sanctions, which included suspension for a year, 300 hours of community service, an… Read more
Johns Hopkins University Resolves ‘Halloween in the Hood’ Case; Students’ Rights Remain in Jeopardy
January 8, 2007
BALTIMORE, January 8, 2007—After weeks of public pressure, Johns Hopkins University has reduced its draconian punishment of student Justin Park, who posted an “offensive” Halloween party invitation on Facebook.com. The university has concluded Park’s appeal, and he is satisfied with the outcome. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) is nonetheless troubled that any… Read more
2006 and the Culture of Offense
January 5, 2007
On Monday, November 20th, the Native American Council at Dartmouth ran a two-page advertisement in The Dartmouth entitled “When Good People Do Nothing: Racism On Our Campus.” The advertisement, addressed to “the Dartmouth community,” begins by condemning those who “failed to respond” to a string of events the Council deemed offensive and racist. After listing… Read more
Happy Holidays from FIRE
December 22, 2006
All of us at FIRE would like to wish our friends and supporters happy holidays. As universities wind down for winter break, students head home to their families, and we prepare for a restful holiday weekend, some students have plenty to celebrate. After a months-long wrongful suspension, the Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) at Brown University… Read more
William Brody Non-Responds to High School Student
December 18, 2006
Last week, I posted an e-mail sent to William Brody, President of Johns Hopkins University, by a high school student expressing his unwillingness to attend Johns Hopkins because of the deplorable manner in which the university is treating Justin Park. Below is William Brody’s reply. I have received so many emails on this issue I… Read more
The Consequences of “Civility”: A Torch Reader’s Take on Hopkins
December 18, 2006
Dr. Roy Poses—friend of FIRE, President of the Foundation for Integrity and Responsibility in Medicine, and Clinical Associate Professor at Brown University School of Medicine—has written an interesting commentary about the ramifications of the call for “civility” written last week by Dr. William R. Brody, President of Johns Hopkins University. President Brody penned his paean… Read more
Mike Adams on Justin Park and Johns Hopkins
December 15, 2006
Mike Adams has written another scathing indictment of Johns Hopkins for its decision to kick a student off campus for a year (among other punishments) for writing a Halloween invitation. Adams writes: Johns Hopkins University President William Brody (410-516-8068; wrbrody@jhu.edu) recently wrote a column in response to the public outcry over his university’s handling of… Read more
High School Student to Brody: I Won’t Attend Johns Hopkins
December 14, 2006
FIRE was cc’d on the following e-mail sent to Johns Hopkins President William Brody. The sender is a student who was considering attending Johns Hopkins University until he received word that Johns Hopkins had suspended student Justin Park for posting party advertisements on Facebook.com that offended some students. The e-mail read as follows: I have… Read more
Brody, Mill, and the “Truth”
December 13, 2006
To add to Tara’s skillful dissection of Johns Hopkins President William R. Brody’s “A Civil Tongue,” it’s important to remember that neither the inclination to censor “crude and tasteless speech” nor the concern with this reason for censorship is new. As FIRE states in its Guide to Free Speech on Campus: [John Stuart] Mill addressed… Read more
Remember What’s Really at Stake at Johns Hopkins
December 12, 2006
In the midst of all of the discussion about free speech at Johns Hopkins, it is important to remember what is really at stake here: a young man’s future. Justin Park, an 18-year-old Korean-American junior majoring in economics, entered Johns Hopkins at the age of 15 after skipping several grades in school. He has no… Read more
Hopkins President Brody: Civility Trumps Free Speech
December 12, 2006
Johns Hopkins President William R. Brody addresses the university’s extreme treatment of Justin Park in an article called “A Civil Tongue” that appeared in the Johns Hopkins Gazette yesterday. Brody states that expression should garner protection under principles of free speech only if it is “of a substantive and serious nature.” After citing two instances… Read more
FIRE Discusses Johns Hopkins Case on Radio Today
December 12, 2006
Today at 12:10 p.m. ET, Samantha Harris, FIRE’s Director of Legal and Public Advocacy, will speak on Washington Post Radio to discuss our recent case with Johns Hopkins junior Justin Park. Torch readers can listen online here.
Johns Hopkins’ Unique Interpretation of ‘Free Speech’
December 11, 2006
Last week saw the latest round of exchanges between FIRE and Johns Hopkins University regarding Hopkins’ suspension of eighteen-year-old junior Justin Park. On Wednesday, December 6, Hopkins wrote FIRE a letter defending the university’s overreaction to Park’s two Facebook.com advertisements for Sigma Chi’s “Halloween in the Hood” party. FIRE in turn wrote back to Hopkins… Read more
Jason Antebi on Hopkins and Facebook
December 8, 2006
Jason Antebi, a graduate of Occidental College who suffered one of the worst abuses of campus rights that FIRE has encountered, has an article in FrontPage Magazine today on Johns Hopkins’ inexcusable treatment of student Justin Park. Antebi points out, disturbingly, that “Park’s case is not an anomaly,” and goes on to write a good… Read more
Mike Adams on Johns Hopkins
December 7, 2006
Mike Adams has addressed the suspension of Johns Hopkins University junior Justin Park in an article on Townhall.com. Driving home the excessiveness of Park’s punishment—which includes a one-year suspension and 300 hours of community service, among other things—Adams commented, “Fortunately, the committee stopped just short of making Park sit in the back of the bus… Read more
FIRE on FOX News
December 4, 2006
Fox News reports on FIRE’s case at Johns Hopkins where a student was punished for posting invitations to a fraternity party on Facebook that some students found offensive. Scroll down to “Conduct Unbecoming.”
Hopkins Ignores Due Process
December 1, 2006
FIRE’s mission statement makes clear that we work to “defend and sustain individual rights”—but what exactly are those individual rights? A few leap to mind readily: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, freedom of conscience. Those are easy; First Amendment rights are the all-stars of constitutional law. But while the First Amendment… Read more
Expression, Not Harassment, at Hopkins
December 1, 2006
Inside Higher Ed features an article today about Justin Park’s suspension at Johns Hopkins University. The article concludes with a statement by Hopkins Executive Director of Communications and Public Affairs Dennis O’Shea, who told IHE, “There is a difference between expression of opinion and harassment.” There is no doubt a distinction between the two—I just… Read more
Public Pressure on Hopkins Continues
December 1, 2006
The press coverage of Justin Park and Johns Hopkins continues. United Press International, the Baltimore Examiner, and Inside Higher Ed all ran accounts of the story. In an editorial published in the Baltimore Sun, Gregory Kane, a black writing professor at JHU, writes: I’ve said it a couple dozen times before. Others have said it…. Read more
Speech Code of the Month: Johns Hopkins University
December 1, 2006
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for December 2006: Johns Hopkins University. Hopkins’ brand new Principles for Ensuring Equity, Civility and Respect for All prohibit “rude, disrespectful behavior” at the university. This policy virtually necessitates abuse, since it is so broad that it could never be enforced across the board, instead leaving students… Read more
FIRE in ‘The Baltimore Sun’ on Censorship at Johns Hopkins University
November 30, 2006
FIRE’s criticism of Johns Hopkins University for its blatant disregard for free speech has gained the attention of the Baltimore media. The Baltimore Sun reported today on Hopkins’ one-year suspension of student Justin Park, and on the letter that FIRE sent the university to protest the severe, life-altering sanctions imposed upon Park simply for engaging… Read more
JHU Statement on “Halloween in the Hood” Party
November 6, 2006
In response to an “offensive” Halloween party, John Hopkins University President William R. Brody recently released a statement denouncing the party and outlining several diversity initiatives that will take place as a result. Perhaps the most troubling part of this plan is the emphasis on Principles for Ensuring Equity, Civility and Respect for All which… Read more
Hopkins Busts ‘Halloween in the Hood’
October 31, 2006
As the Baltimore Sun reports today, on Saturday night the Sigma Chi fraternity at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) threw a “Halloween in the Hood” party. The party was shut down because the invitation the frat circulated “invoked racial stereotyping” and because “[a] decoration outside the party site was a plastic skeleton dressed in pirate garb… 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
Partial Victory at Johns Hopkins
September 21, 2006
As today’s press release shows, Johns Hopkins University (JHU) told FIRE in a letter that it has dropped the harassment investigation against members of The Carrollton Record (TCR). However, the victory is bittersweet since JHU remains unrepentant about its discriminatory behavior toward TCR, has instituted tighter restrictions on distribution for every paper on campus, and… Read more
Johns Hopkins Drops Harassment Investigation of Student Journalists
September 21, 2006
BALTIMORE, September 21, 2006—The Johns Hopkins University (JHU) has finally dropped its investigation of a harassment complaint filed against staff members of a conservative student newspaper, The Carrollton Record (TCR). After several months of correspondence with JHU administrators, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has gained assurance that JHU is no longer pursuing… Read more
What 9/11 Taught Us About Academia
September 11, 2006
Today, FIRE joins the rest of the nation in remembering the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Five years ago, the events of 9/11 highlighted—in a very ugly way—just how out of touch many universities are with the American public. In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, when much of America was still in mourning, a… Read more
‘Know Before You Go’
September 7, 2006
With students heading back to school, the busy season for FIRE has started once again. This year, FIRE has more resources than ever before to help students and professors combat censorship and oppression on college campuses. From an expanded Spotlight, to the Guides to Student Rights on Campus, to our individual rights defense work, FIRE… Read more
Johns Hopkins University Tries to Ignore FIRE’s Objections to the State of Press Freedom on Campus
August 23, 2006
On August 9, FIRE wrote to the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Board of Trustees to once again express concern about the state of liberty on campus. FIRE had already written a letter in May to JHU President William Brody regarding violation of freedom of the press for The Carrollton Record (TCR). JHU counsel Frederick Savage… Read more
Journalism Association Condemns Press Freedom Violations
August 16, 2006
Yesterday, the Student Press Law Center (SPLC) reported the August 4 decision by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) to censure a community college in New Jersey for violating freedom of the press. Ocean Community College (OCC) has already been censured by the College Media Advisers, Inc. (CMA), a national organization… Read more
FIRE Continues to Fight for Press Freedom at Johns Hopkins University
August 15, 2006
In June, FIRE reported that Johns Hopkins University had ignored the theft of The Carrollton Record (TCR), banned the distribution of the conservative paper in campus dormitories, and entertained the possibility of investigating “harassment” complaints against the paper’s editors. All of this came after the paper ran a story about a campus visit by a… Read more
‘What Difference Can My Measly $18 Million Make?’
June 30, 2006
Two days ago, David French had a great post over at National Review’s Phi Beta Cons about Larry Ellison’s decision to rescind his $115 million gift to Harvard University following the Larry Summers fiasco. I have consistently been amazed at how wealthy alums give to their alma maters uncritically and almost as if they had… Read more
Hopkins Responds
June 15, 2006
Upon reading FIRE’s press release on Johns Hopkins University’s shameful viewpoint discrimination against The Carrollton Record (TCR), a conservative student newspaper, Annie Turner of Maryland e-mailed JHU President William Brody asking him to reverse the college’s decision. She received the following response from JHU spokesman Dennis O’Shea, here analyzed for your reading pleasure. Dear Ms…. Read more
Johns Hopkins: Harassment Investigation of Students for Newspaper Must Be Dismissed
June 14, 2006
Since we issued our press release yesterday about the shameful viewpoint discrimination at Johns Hopkins University (JHU), we have received many e-mails from angry citizens and Johns Hopkins alumni about what can be done. Yes, JHU should openly condemn the theft of The Carrollton Record (TCR) and should end its illiberal and selectively enforced distribution… Read more
Johns Hopkins University Denies Students Freedom of the Press
June 13, 2006
As today’s press release describes, freedom of the press is in serious jeopardy at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). Last month, The Carrollton Record (TCR) published an issue that criticized a recent campus appearance by pornographic film producer Chi Chi LaRue. TCR’s cover page pictured LaRue surrounded by members of the Diverse Sexuality and Gender Alliance… Read more
Student Newspaper Suffers Viewpoint Discrimination at Johns Hopkins University
June 13, 2006
BALTIMORE, June 13, 2006—Johns Hopkins University (JHU) ended this school year by engaging in shameful viewpoint discrimination and denying its students freedom of the press. First, JHU turned a blind eye to the theft of a conservative student newspaper, The Carrollton Record (TCR), then stifled its right to distribute in dorms while allowing other papers… Read more
Silence Speaks Volumes at NYU
May 24, 2006
New York University prides itself on being a “private university in the public service,” but talk is cheap—that is, when it isn’t silenced altogether. Despite the lofty aspirations of the school’s motto, in late March NYU decided that certain types of speech on campus just aren’t entitled to the core First Amendment protections relied upon… Read more