School Spotlight
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Speech Code Rating
Acceptable Use Policy
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: January 8, 2021Use of the university information technology resources to transmit abusive, threatening, or harassing material, chain letters, spam, or other communications prohibited by state or federal law … Read MoreStudent Handbook: Student Code of Conduct- Harm to Others
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: January 7, 2021Harassment, defined as a pattern of behavior that involves verbal abuse or harassment, threats, intimidation, bullying, coercion, stalking, and/or other conduct which threatens or endangers the health and safety of another person(s) or another person’s property. … Bullying, defined as the repeated and intentio... Read MoreAnti-Harassment Policy and Procedures
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: January 8, 2021Harassment, a specific form of discrimination, is defined as any type of behavior based on sex, race, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or veteran status that is so severe or pervasive that it interferes with an individual’s work or academic performance or cre... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Reservation & Use of University Facilities
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: January 8, 2021This policy defines procedures and provides guidelines utilized when individuals and groups request the use of University facilities for programs, events, sales/fundraising activities, solicitations, and public demonstrations. … The facility should be reserved as far in advance as possible but at least two wee... Read MoreBias Response Task Force
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: January 7, 2021Bias Incident: Any act of bigotry, harassment or intimidation directed at an individual or group based on actual or perceived race, color, religion, ethnicity, national origin, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or veteran status, which may be a violation of law, university conduct standard, o... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Due Process- Rights
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: January 7, 2021University students have the same constitutional freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, and right of petition as other citizens enjoy and are subject to the same civil laws and due process as other citizens. Read MoreStudent Handbook: Sexual Misconduct Policy
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: January 7, 20219. Regulatory Hostile Environment Sexual Harassment – Unwelcome conduct, on the basis of sex, that a reasonable person would determine is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the University’s Education Program or Activity.; 10. Non-Regulatory Hostile Env... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Posting and Chalking Guidelines
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Posting and Distribution Policies
Last updated: January 7, 2021No information will be posted that is inconsistent with or in violation of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or federal laws or regulations, or any municipal ordinances. The policy is not intended to infringe upon the First Amendment rights guaranteed by the United States and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Constitutions. Read More
Pennsylvania House of Representatives Select Committee on Student Academic Freedom
September 19, 2005
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives brought together a committee to examine allegations that Pennsylvania’s public universities were plagued by liberal ideology and indoctrination. David A. French, at the time president of FIRE, served as a legal adviser to the panel. FIRE released FIRE Report on the First Amendment Responsibilities of Pennsylvania State-Funded Colleges and Universities,… Read more
Fired for Making Waves, Kutztown University Professor Takes Case to Federal Court
May 27, 2011
Until being fired in October 2009, Will Plouffe had been a tenure track professor in the Criminal Justice Department at Pennsylvania’s Kutztown University for just under two years. Transitioning into academia from his previous career as an attorney, Plouffe was seemingly well-suited for a long, successful career. So what happened? In Plouffe’s telling, the answer… Read more
Is Kutztown Slipping?
March 3, 2006
In a February 10 post, Charles lauded administrators at Kutztown University for their reaction to and treatment of the College Republicans’ affirmative action bake sale. Charles wrote, “Not only was the bake sale there not shut down, but university officials told the media that ‘they hope the bake sale promotes healthy debate on campus.’” Since… Read more
DePaul, Meet Kutztown
February 10, 2006
DePaul University, a private institution that proudly bills itself as the nation’s largest Catholic university, could learn a few lessons from Pennsylvania’s little-known Kutztown University. Earlier this week, the College Republicans at Kutztown did exactly what the DePaul Conservative Alliance tried to do—that is, they had an “affirmative action bake sale.” As FIRE’s recent press… Read more