School Spotlight
San Jose State University
Speech Code Rating
Discrimination Incident Reporting Form
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: August 28, 2021By reporting discrimination incidents, you are helping to maintain SJSU as an inclusive and safe campus environment. Once received, the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Equity will review the information and may contact you for additional information. […] Type of complaint (classify as best you ca... Read MoreStudent Conduct Code
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
Last updated: August 28, 2021Students are expected to be good citizens and to engage in responsible behaviors that reflect well upon their university, to be civil to one another and to others in the campus community, and contribute positively to student and university life. Read MoreExecutive Order 1097: Systemwide Policy Prohibiting Discrimination, Harassment & Retaliation, Sexual Misconduct, Dating & Domestic Violence, & Stalking Against Students
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: August 28, 2021Harassment means unwelcome conduct, based on the Complainant’s Protected Status, that is sufficiently severe, persistent or pervasive that its effect, whether or not intended, could be considered by a reasonable person in the shoes of the Complainant, and is in fact considered by the Complainant, as limiting her/his... Read MoreStudent Organization Code of Conduct: Disorderly Conduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
Last updated: August 28, 2021(5) Disorderly Conduct (A) Any offensive or disorderly act or display which interferes with the rights of others, (B) Harassment, threats, physical abuse, intimidation or the threat of physical abuse, including bias-related incidents. (C) Excessive noise which is disruptive to the campus or surrounding community Read MoreStudent Conduct Code
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: August 28, 2021Use of computing facilities and resources to send obscene or intimidating and abusive messages. Read MoreExecutive Order 1097: Systemwide Policy Prohibiting Discrimination, Harassment & Retaliation, Sexual Misconduct, Dating & Domestic Violence, & Stalking Against Students- Addendum B
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: August 28, 2021Sexual Harassment means 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 to an Education Program or Activity. Read MoreOffice of the President: Freedom of Speech
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: August 28, 2021San José State University believes that freedom of expression is a cornerstone of a democratic society and essential to the educational process. Universities like SJSU have a special obligation to encourage and support the free expression of ideas, values, and opinions, even when they may be unpopular or contr... Read More
‘California Watch’: No Free Speech at California Colleges
January 7, 2011
Free speech is not safe at California colleges—not by a long shot. That’s what investigative reporter Erica Perez found in FIRE’s 2011 speech code report, as she wrote yesterday for California Watch: A new report from a national free speech advocacy organization found most of the four-year universities it surveyed had speech codes that substantially limit students’… Read more
Victory for Free Speech at San Jose State University: Administrators Lead the Way
February 8, 2010
There is good news today for students living in the residence halls at San Jose State University (SJSU). The housing department has revised several restrictive policies, including a previous FIRE Speech Code of the Month, thanks to the efforts of administrators seeking to protect the free speech rights of SJSU students. In April 2009, FIRE… Read more
Speech Code of the Month: San Jose State University
April 1, 2009
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for April 2009: San Jose State University (SJSU). SJSU’s housing department maintains a policy on “harassment and/or assault” which provides: Any form of activity, whether covert or overt, that creates a significantly uncomfortable, threatening, or harassing environment for any UHS resident or guest will be handled judicially… Read more
California Court Misses the Point on Freedom of Conscience
August 17, 2006
On Monday, a federal court in California issued what I find to be a disturbing opinion addressing the freedom of conscience of an education student at San Jose State University (SJSU). Plaintiff Stephen M. Head is an education student at SJSU who self-identifies as “libertarian or conservative” and as a Christian. He filed a pro… Read more