School Spotlight
Mount Holyoke College
Location:
South Hadley, Massachusetts
Type:
Private
Speech Code Rating
Mount Holyoke 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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Office of Residential Life Policies and Procedures: Bias-Related Incidents
Speech Code Rating: Red
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: July 19, 2022Harassment based on race, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender/gender expression, religion, age, or disability is not tolerated in the residence halls. Such behavior includes unwelcome slurs, jokes, graphic or written materials, and all other verbal or physical actions related to an individual&... Read MoreProtocols for Bias Incidents and Hate Crimes
Speech Code Rating: Red
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: July 19, 2022Bias incidents are any act, conduct, or communication that reasonably is understood to demean, degrade, threaten, or harass an individual or group based on an actual or perceived identity characteristic such as race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gend... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Chalking
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Posting and Distribution Policies
Last updated: July 19, 2022Mount Holyoke College allows chalking on campus under the following guidelines. Individuals will be held responsible for any damage and/or cleanup if these guidelines are not followed. ● Only erasable chalk may be used — grease-based chalk is not permitted. ● Chalking may be done only on asphalt roads and walkways. ... Read MoreGender-Based and Sexual Misconduct: Gender-Based and Sexual Misconduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: July 19, 2022Sex based harassment is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, as determined by a reasonable person that is severe, pervasive or objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the College’s education program or activity. Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sex... Read MoreGender-Based and Sexual Misconduct: Title IX Misconduct
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: July 19, 2022Sexual Harassment: unwelcome conduct, determined by a reasonable person, to be so severe, and pervasive, and, objectively offensive, that it effectively denies a person equal access to the College’s education program or activity. Read MoreStudent Handbook: Community Responsibility
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: July 19, 2022The very act of choosing to become a member of the Mount Holyoke community implies a commitment to free inquiry, a search for understanding as central to the liberal arts education, and a willingness to share in the responsibility for maintaining an environment in which these goals may be attained. Read MoreStudent Handbook: The Mount Holyoke Community
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: July 19, 2022Mount Holyoke College believes in the right, indeed the necessity, of free inquiry and free expression for every member of the College community. Read More
FIRE surveyed roughly 44,000 students at 203 colleges and universities about the climate for free speech at their institutions. See the full report on FIRE’s 2022 College Free Speech Rankings for more information.
Overall / out of a top score of 100 |
|
| Overall Score | 36.7 |
Rankings / out of 203 colleges ranked |
|
| Overall Ranking | 159 |
| Openness | 5 |
| Tolerance (Liberals) | 19 |
| Tolerance (Conservatives) | 198 |
| Administrative Support | 56 |
| Comfort | 103 |
| Disruptive Conduct | 178 |
Administrative Behavior |
|
| Supported Scholars | 0 |
| Sanctioned Scholars | 0 |
| Successful Disinvitations | 0 |
Climate |
|
| Speech Climate | BELOW AVERAGE |
| Speech Code | RED |
Professor who fled Egypt over censorship at American University in Cairo: ‘There’s still an accounting that needs to take place’
September 6, 2019
Professor Adam Duker puts his faith in faith. Specifically, the transformative power of teaching world religions to students who’ve never been exposed to them. Hired in 2016 as the endowed Abdulhabi H. Taher Chair of Comparative Religions at the American University in Cairo, Egypt, Duker had the unique task of building the first religious studies… Read more
September 2019 Speech Code of the Month: Mount Holyoke College
September 3, 2019
Unfortunately, bias incident reporting policies are common at colleges and universities across the country, but they’re not all made alike — there’s a wide range in how schools define bias incidents, as well as how they say they’ll respond to them. Mount Holyoke College, a private liberal arts school in Massachusetts, misses the mark… Read more