School Spotlight

Louisiana State University – Baton Rouge
Speech Code Rating
Policy Statement 95: Sexual Harassment of Students
Speech Code Rating: Red
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: October 20, 2021Sexual harassment: is a form of unlawful sexual discrimination. It is defined as unwelcome verbal, visual, or physical behavior of a sexual nature. It can also include unwelcome gender-based conduct. A man or a woman may be the victim of sexual harassment or the initiator of sexual harassment. The victim does not ha... Read MorePolicy Statement 107: Computer Users’ Responsibilities
Speech Code Rating: Red
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: October 20, 2021Specifically, each user of computing resources shall NOT: … Utilize computing resources, including the Internet and/or e-mail, to access, create, transmit, print, or download material that is defamatory, obscene, fraudulent, harassing (including uninvited amorous or sexual messages), threatening, incites viole... Read MoreLiving On Campus Handbook: Decorations
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Posting and Distribution Policies
Last updated: October 20, 2021Decorations on the door of rooms are subject to approval by the Department of Residential Life Read MoreLSU Cares: Bias or Discrimination Incident Report
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: October 20, 2021If you witness or experience conduct that discriminates, stereotypes, marginalizes, excludes, harasses or harms anyone in our community based on their identity (such as race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, age or religion) please report it to th... Read MoreCode of Student Conduct: Misconduct- Behavioral Misconduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: October 20, 2021A Student or RSO may be charged with Behavioral Misconduct for any of the following acts or omissions: … Repeated, persistent, severe, or pervasive action directed toward a specific individual or individuals with the intent or effect to harass, harm, or alarm, through oral, written, graphic, physical, or socia... Read MorePermanent Memorandum 79: Freedom of Speech and Expression
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: October 20, 2021The “Public Areas” of Campus mean all Outdoor Areas. The “Outdoor Areas” mean outside areas generally accessible to the majority of students, administrators, faculty, and staff such as grassy areas, walkways, or other similar common areas, but do not include University facilities, the interior of buildings or areas ... Read MoreLiving On Campus Handbook: Harassment
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: October 20, 2021Activity (verbal, written, graphic, and/or physical) that is threatening in nature or any form of harassment is prohibited. Read MorePermanent Memorandum No. 73: Title IX and Sexual Misconduct Policy
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: October 20, 2021Hostile Environment Harassment: Unwelcome conduct, determined by a reasonable person, to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive, that it effectively denies a person equal access to an education program or activity. … Sexual Harassment: Conduct on the basis of sex or gender that satisfies one or mor... Read MoreRegistered Student Organization Handbook: Peaceful Assembly
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: October 20, 2021Peaceful assemblies by student organizations are not required to be scheduled or registered with the Office of the Dean of Students via TigerLink unless the event meets one or more of the following criteria: The event will be held in a University facility, the interior of a building or other area where access is re... 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 | 152 |
Ideological Diversity | 29 |
Overall / out of a top score of 100 |
|
Overall Score | 52.09 |
Openness | 8.23 |
Tolerance (Liberals) | 9.45 |
Tolerance (Conservatives) | 8.33 |
Administrative Support | 5.98 |
Comfort | 15.99 |
Disruptive Conduct | 10.1 |
Speech Code | RED |
University of Missouri and Louisiana State University: Residential Advisors Report Prohibitions on Speaking to Media During COVID-19 Pandemic
September 4, 2020
In August 2020, as campuses prepared for students to return amid uncertainty about the coronavirus pandemic, RAs at two universities reported that they had been instructed not to speak to journalists. After FIRE wrote letters to the institutions, the University of Missouri pledged to clarify that its policies do not bar student employees from speaking… Read more
Louisiana State University – Stand Up For Speech Lawsuit
January 21, 2016
On January 21, 2016, tenured education professor Teresa Buchanan filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the president of Louisiana State University (LSU) and other top administrators for violating her free speech and due process rights by firing her in 2015.
Louisiana State University: Threat to Muslim Group’s Freedom of Association
November 11, 2004
The Muslim Student Association of Louisiana State University (LSU) ran into trouble in the fall of 2003 when it was informed that a new policy required all groups to explicitly state that they would not deny membership on the basis of a list of criteria including “religion” and “sexual orientation.” The MSA decided that it… Read more
University of Missouri clarifies that RAs can speak about Coronavirus — but Louisiana State University remains silent
September 4, 2020
Last month, as many universities and colleges across the country prepared for an influx of students to campus for the fall semester, residential advisors from at least two universities reported that their institutions had directed them not to speak to the press. As FIRE explained in letters to the University of Missouri and Louisiana State… Read more
Reports: RAs told not to speak to media as students return amidst coronavirus pandemic
August 14, 2020
As students begin to physically return to institutions conducting in-person classes this fall, troubling reports have emerged that some universities are directing student employees not to speak to reporters, including student journalists. Today, FIRE wrote to the University of Missouri and Louisiana State University seeking clarification about these reports and explaining that public institutions cannot… Read more
Why a decade-old LSU faculty case matters in the age of COVID-19
April 22, 2020
Walk through any university campus and odds are you’ll be unsettled by its quietness, as students nationwide have been sent home in an effort to fight the spread of COVID-19. And yet universities are very much on the front lines in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic ― in particular through their hospitals, health systems… Read more
Supreme Court denies cert in Buchanan v. Alexander
October 22, 2019
Yesterday brought bad news for academic freedom from the Supreme Court, which turned down former Louisiana State University education professor Teresa Buchanan’s petition for certiorari in Buchanan v. Alexander. Buchanan, who was fired by LSU in June 2015 for allegedly violating the university’s sexual harassment policy — over the contrary recommendation of a faculty panel… Read more
Teresa Buchanan appeals district court ruling on her termination from LSU
February 1, 2018
Former Louisiana State University professor Teresa Buchanan filed a notice of appeal yesterday, seeking review of a ruling from the the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana dismissing her claims against her former employer over her firing. Buchanan is seeking review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit… Read more
Federal district court rules against fired LSU professor Teresa Buchanan
January 11, 2018
Yesterday, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana issued a ruling in the case of Buchanan v. Alexander. The court granted summary judgment to the defendants, Louisiana State University President F. King Alexander and three top administrators. Former LSU education professor Teresa Buchanan, who was fired by LSU in June 2015… Read more
Louisiana State University suspends free speech and freedom of assembly “until further notice”
September 27, 2017
News has been trickling out of Louisiana State University, where a student’s tragic death is being used by the administration to justify clamping down on the fundamental rights of its students, including freedom of speech and assembly. Some of those unconstitutional restrictions have been relaxed, while most remain in place indefinitely. Following the death of… Read more
Louisiana State University’s Faculty Senate Adopts Chicago Statement
February 23, 2016
Louisiana State University’s (LSU’s) faculty senate adopted a resolution yesterday affirming its commitment to free speech on campus. The group’s vote makes LSU the tenth institution at which faculty or administrators have formally endorsed the University of Chicago’s policy statement on freedom of expression, which FIRE has promoted as the gold standard for speech policy… Read more
FIRE’s Will Creeley in ‘The Wall Street Journal’: How the Sexual Harassment Cops Became Speech Police
February 20, 2016
In this weekend’s edition of The Wall Street Journal, FIRE’s Will Creeley explains why those of us who care about free speech on campus should watch closely Teresa Buchanan’s recently filed civil rights lawsuit against Louisiana State University (LSU). Buchanan’s lawsuit against LSU, filed last month with FIRE’s help, followed her firing over her alleged… Read more
FIRE Announces 10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech: 2016
February 17, 2016
PHILADELPHIA, February 17, 2016—Nearly half of America’s top colleges maintain speech codes that blatantly violate First Amendment standards. But every year the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) takes a closer look at the past year’s incidents of college censorship to determine the nation’s 10 worst abusers of student and faculty free speech rights…. Read more
Teresa Buchanan Uncensored: How an Innovative Educator Created Top Teachers and Got Fired for It
January 22, 2016
Teresa Buchanan meant business. It was 2002, and as one of the nation’s top early childhood education scholars at Louisiana State University (LSU), Buchanan had been tasked with starting a program for student teachers. One of its goals was to prepare LSU undergraduates to help fix Louisiana’s failing public school system. It was a job… Read more
On Day of FIRE Lawsuit, LSU Faculty Introduce Resolution to Adopt ‘Chicago Principles’
January 21, 2016
On the heels of the announcement this morning of a FIRE-sponsored lawsuit by fired Louisiana State University (LSU) professor Teresa Buchanan against top LSU administrators, the LSU Faculty Senate will introduce a resolution to adopt a version of the “Chicago Principles” affirming the faculty’s commitment to free speech. The resolution will be introduced this afternoon… Read more
Fired LSU Professor Files First Amendment Lawsuit Challenging Speech Code Championed by Feds
January 21, 2016
LSU claimed professor’s teaching methods violated sexual harassment policy that mirrors “blueprint” language proposed by U.S. Depts of Education, Justice “LSU said I offended some people, called it sexual harassment, and fired me.” Civil liberties advocates warned the policy threatened free speech on campus Professor asks court to strike down LSU policy as unconstitutional, reverse… Read more
University Training Programs Can Misinform, Fail to Protect
December 30, 2015
2015 has been a landmark year for student activism, including for those demanding more attention be paid to the issue of rape and sexual assault on college campuses. Although this activism has helped shine light on an important issue, many of the responses by universities have undermined students’ rights in critical ways. While FIRE has… Read more
It’s Already Been a Remarkably Bad Year for Student Press
October 21, 2015
Many student journalists are being taught an unfortunate lesson by college administrators and their fellow students lately: Don’t publish anything that might offend anyone. That this advice is antithetical to a free press on campus, and that journalists cannot be held responsible for how their readers react to opinions they publish, doesn’t seem to matter… Read more
LSU Law Center’s Diversity Task Force Mulls Prior Restraint, Administrative Oversight of Student Newspaper
October 12, 2015
Louisiana State University’s (LSU’s) Law Center is weighing measures to improve “quantitative and qualitative diversity” amongst its student body, The College Fix reports. One suggestion posed by the university’s Diversity Task Force: ridding themselves of the free press. In a report submitted to the law school late last month, the task force—selected last year by… Read more
Faculty Senate Censures LSU President for Firing Tenured Professor
October 8, 2015
This past June, Louisiana State University (LSU) President F. King Alexander fired tenured associate professor Teresa Buchanan for sexual harassment, ignoring a faculty panel that unanimously recommended that she keep her job. As has been reported here on The Torch and elsewhere, Professor Buchanan’s transgression (if one can call it that) was to occasionally use… Read more
AAUP Censures Louisiana State Over Buchanan Case, Prompting LSU to Play Dirty
September 3, 2015
When I took employment law in law school, the professor warned us on the first day that personnel disputes would be among the most vicious we would encounter as lawyers because they are, by definition, personal. Louisiana State University has proved my professor’s point by launching a series of attacks against Professor Teresa Buchanan, who,… Read more
Firing of LSU Professor Who Used Profanity in the Classroom Raises Concerns
June 30, 2015
Last week, Louisiana State University (LSU) associate professor Teresa Buchanan learned that she was fired from LSU as a result of what she’s calling a “witch hunt.” In April, a faculty review committee ruled on Buchanan’s use of curse words and sex-themed jokes, recommending corrective action but unanimously voting against her firing. LSU President and… Read more
Greg Lukianoff on LSU Student’s Hostility Toward Free Expression
September 10, 2013
FIRE President Greg Lukianoff writes for Forbes today to discuss a video and companion piece recently posted by Louisiana State University student Jana King, who laments LSU’s recent revision of a policy that restricted student speech to a 1,000 square foot area on campus called “Free Speech Alley.” As Lukianoff explains, King’s support for abridging… Read more
LSU’s ‘Free Speech’ Zones Raise A Disturbing Question: Are We Losing The War?
September 10, 2013
This fall I will celebrate 12 years defending the basic rights of students on college campuses across the country, and in that time my organization, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), has had some great successes. But while we win battle after battle, sometimes I fear we are losing the war. Time and time again… Read more
Demonstrators at UCF and LSU Enjoy Free Speech on Campus
September 10, 2013
The University of Central Florida (UCF) and Louisiana State University (LSU) have both recently made positive changes with respect to free speech zones on their campuses, and student journalists are emphasizing the importance of free expression. Adam Rhodes wrote last week for the Central Florida Future, UCF’s student newspaper, to celebrate the university’s acceptance of… Read more
LSU Ends ‘Free Speech Alley’
July 5, 2013
Last November, FIRE’s Azhar Majeed reported on a Louisiana State University (LSU) policy that restricted student expression to a 1,000 square foot area on campus called “Free Speech Alley.” Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a lawsuit, Candler v. Jenkins, over the rights of a student to hand out pro-life literature in areas of campus outside… Read more
LSU Blows $1 Million on Losing Fight against Professor It Fired over Katrina Comments
April 5, 2013
In February, Louisiana State University and former LSU engineering professor Ivor van Heerden reached a settlement agreement ending van Heerden’s wrongful termination suit against the school. Van Heerden had been fired after publicly stating that mistakes by the Army Corps of Engineers contributed to the failure of levees during Hurricane Katrina. The New Orleans newspaper The… Read more
LSU Settles First Amendment Suit With Professor Terminated After Katrina Comments
February 13, 2013
The Louisiana-based publication The Advocate is reporting that Louisiana State University and former LSU engineering professor Ivor van Heerden have reached a settlement in the wrongful termination suit the former professor brought against LSU in February 2010. Van Heerden had been publicly critical of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over its responsibility for the levee… Read more
LSU Sued by Student, ADF over Free Speech Zone
November 5, 2012
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is suing Louisiana State University (LSU) on behalf of an LSU student over the university’s maintenance of a "free speech zone" restricting student campus expression. According to ADF, LSU prohibits students from distributing written materials anywhere on campus except for a solitary "Free Speech Alley," which only comprises approximately 1,000… Read more
AAUP Censures Louisiana State for Firing Professor Who Spoke Out about Hurricane Katrina
June 22, 2012
In January, FIRE’s Andrew Kloster wrote about Professor Ivor van Heerden’s lawsuit against Louisiana State University, which has been successful so far: In October, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana ruled in favor of Ivor van Heerden, an engineering professor at Louisiana State University (LSU) who claims he was fired… Read more
Federal District Court in Louisiana Reaffirms Academic Exception to ‘Garcetti’
October 27, 2011
As reported by the The Chronicle of Higher Education, a scientist alleging that Louisiana State University fired him due to comments he made as a private citizen has been allowed to proceed with his First Amendment retaliation suit. The ruling of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana against LSU’s summary… Read more
LSU Chancellor Speaks Out on Flag Burning Protest
May 17, 2011
Last week, Louisiana State University (LSU) graduate student Benjamin Haas expressed his intention to burn an American flag at the university’s Parade Grounds to protest the treatment of Isaac Eslava, who was arrested after stealing and burning an American flag flown over a campus war memorial. Correctly, the university respected Haas’ First Amendment rights and… Read more
Free Speech Suffers a Near-Miss at LSU
February 9, 2006
Louisiana State University (LSU) has dropped all charges against senior Collins Phillips, who had been accused of violating the student code of conduct for criticizing the university. As an article in Baton Rouge’s The Advocate explains, at a January 3 meeting of the Student Equality Commission (SEC), Phillips, who last year protested displays of the… Read more
Religious Liberty and Free Association at LSU: Not a ‘Conservative’ Concern
March 17, 2005
Today, FIRE announces a victory for freedom of religion and association at Louisiana State University, where the Muslim Students Association (MSA) recently attained official recognition. The group, which had already been recognized for 30 some years on campus, was unable to re-register for more than a year because it didn’t want to include additional “nondiscrimination”… Read more
Victory for Religious Freedom at Louisiana State University
March 17, 2005
BATON ROUGE, La., March 17, 2005—Louisiana State University (LSU) has granted official recognition to the Muslim Students Association (MSA) after the group was denied recognition for a year and a half for refusing to accept limits on its rights to religious liberty and free association. LSU initially denied the MSA official recognition when the group… Read more