School Spotlight
Shawnee State University
Speech Code Rating
Conditions for Use of Campus Computing Resources
Speech Code Rating: Red
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: September 9, 2021There will be no dissemination of libelous, slanderous or racist material, or other material prohibited by law. Read MoreStudent Conduct Code: Sexual Misconduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 9, 2021Sexual harassment (also called “sexual misconduct”) is conduct that is: 1) sexual in nature; 2) unwelcome; and 3) denies or limits an individual’s ability to participate in or benefit from the University’s education program or work environment. Read MoreTitle IX: Frequently Asked Questions
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 9, 2021What are some examples of sexual Harassment? Inappropriate behavior may include: Sexual jokes, innuendoes, gestures Unwanted flirtation, advances, or propositions Pressure for sex Leering Display of sexually suggestive objects/visuals Display/transmission of sexually suggestive electronic content Any unnecessary, u... Read MoreStudent Conduct Code: Violations
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Bullying Policies
Last updated: September 9, 2021Harassment, intimidation, stalking, bullying, including cyber-bullying, and/or other threatening behavior. Read MoreProcedure 5.01:2 Reporting & Investigating Sexual Assault, Sexual Misconduct
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 9, 2021Sexual Harassment, as an umbrella category, includes the offenses of sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking, and is defined as: … Conduct that a reasonable person would determine is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person ... Read More
Ohio professor’s pronoun-use lawsuit delivers First Amendment victory
April 22, 2022
In the spring of 2021, Shawnee State University philosophy professor Nicholas Meriwether won a favorable ruling on appeal in a First Amendment lawsuit against his university. In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that Meriweather sufficiently alleged Shawnee State burdened his rights to freedom of speech and religious… Read more
In Meriwether v. Hartop, the Sixth Circuit recognizes an academic exception to restrictions on the First Amendment rights of public employees
March 29, 2021
Last Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued an opinion in Meriwether v. Hartop, which has been closely watched by the First Amendment legal community. Nicholas Meriwether, a philosophy professor at Shawnee State University, filed a First Amendment lawsuit against his university after he was disciplined for refusing to call a… Read more
Speech Code of the Month: Shawnee State University
August 8, 2018
Editor’s note: Shawnee State University revised this speech code shortly after FIRE named the policy our Speech Code of the Month. Bans on posting or sending “racially offensive” or “racist” materials over university wireless networks are unfortunately commonplace in FIRE’s Spotlight database. As FIRE has discussed time and time again, materials about race that are… Read more