School Spotlight
State University of New York – Albany
Speech Code Rating
Student Organization Protest Activity Planning
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: September 18, 2021Contact the Student Organization Resource Center (SORC) in Campus Center 110A and a staff member will contact you within 24 hours to discuss the proposed event. Full disclosure regarding the nature of the program is essential. In the event that the proposed activity is planned in direct response to a current event, ... Read MoreCommunity Rights and Responsibilities: Prohibited Conduct- Disruptive Conduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
Last updated: September 18, 2021Impairing, interfering with or obstructing the orderly conduct, processes and functions of the University or the community where the conduct occurs. This behavior includes, but is not limited to, excessive noise, abusive or obscene language in a public place … Read MoreCommunity Rights and Responsibilities: Prohibited Conduct- Sexual Harassment
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 18, 2021Sexual Harassment is unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, whether verbal, nonverbal, graphic, physical, or otherwise, when the conditions outlined in (1) or (2), below, are present. … (2) Such conduct creates a hostile environment. A hostile envir... Read MoreResponsible Use of Information Technology
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: September 18, 2021Improper use includes, but is not limited to: unauthorized access to or misuse of network or electronic data in any form; the use of another’s computing account, circumventing network security measures; the use of University networks, computer resources or data for private, commercial or political purposes; harassme... Read MoreInterim Policy 1.8: Title IX Grievance
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 18, 2021Covered Sexual Harassment, for the purpose of this Title IX Grievance Policy, includes any conduct on the basis of sex that satisfies one or more of the following: … Unwelcome conduct that a reasonable person would determine is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a perso... Read MorePolicy for Freedom of Expression
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: September 18, 2021The rights of free speech, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly are the foundation of a higher education institution’s mission. As a public institution, the University is also bound by legal requirements that the campus be open to third parties to exercise their free speech rights under the principles of ... Read MoreCommunity Rights and Responsibilities: Prohibited Conduct- Harassment
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 18, 2021Engaging in behavior that is sufficiently severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it unreasonably interferes with, denies, or limits an individual’s ability to participate in or benefit from the College’s education program and/or activities, and creates an academic environment that a reasonable person would... Read More
University at Albany ‘coronavirus’-themed party video is protected by the First Amendment
February 21, 2020
A video that — and I apologize, but there’s no better way to put this — went viral has led the State University of New York at Albany, a public university, to issue a statement condemning students’ “coronavirus”-themed party and pledging to investigate any “misconduct.” The video, which has since been removed from the @BarstoolAlbany… Read more
Speech Code of the Month: SUNY Albany
January 25, 2017
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for January 2017: the University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY Albany). According to SUNY Albany’s Sexual Harassment Policy, “sexual harassment in the educational setting” is defined as “unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature,” including “verbal” conduct. This is an extremely broad definition that effectively… Read more
After Giving Accepted Students a Taste of Campus Censorship, SUNY Albany Recommits to Freedom of Expression
April 19, 2016
Every spring, colleges and universities across the country host accepted students and their families on campus tours to give them a sense of student life at their institutions. Sadly (though perhaps unsurprisingly, given trends elsewhere), a recent two-day open house at the State University of New York at Albany (SUNY Albany) gave accepted students the… Read more
Dorm Room Door Decorations Allowed… As Long as You Don’t Criticize the Food
October 14, 2009
FIRE is looking into this interesting case at SUNY Albany (University at Albany), where it has been reported that a student was ordered to remove from his dorm room door "a satirical representation of the definition of Chartwells food service" because it was said to be defacing campus property, while other students’ postings on their own… Read more
Second Circuit: Allocation of Mandatory Student Activity Fees Cannot Hinge on Advisory Referenda
November 26, 2007
Last week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an opinion in Amidon v. Student Ass’n of the State Univ. of N.Y., holding that the student government of the State University of New York at Albany (SUNY-Albany) cannot base allocation decisions about mandatory student activity fees upon the outcomes of student… Read more