School Spotlight
University of Mary Washington
Speech Code Rating
Bias Offense and Incident Reporting Policy
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: March 12, 2020A bias offense is any act that is based on actual or perceived race, color, religion, disability, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, veteran status, or age that creates an intimidating and/or hostile educational , living, or working environment by unreasonably and sub... Read MoreCode of Conduct: Disorderly or Obscene Conduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
Last updated: March 12, 2020No student shall be involved in disorderly or obscene conduct. Such conduct includes, but is not limited to: fighting, creating a disturbance, obscene language, verbal or physical harassment, making excessive noise. Disorderly or obscene conduct on campus, at any UMW-sponsored event, or while operating or trav... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Code of Conduct
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: March 12, 2020Harassment, threats, or intimidation directed toward any individual or group of individuals. Read MoreStudent Handbook: Statement of Rights and Responsibilities
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: March 12, 2020All members share the obligation to respect the right to freedom of inquiry, of religion, of speech, of press, of peaceful assemblage, of association, and of petition to the institution for a redress of grievances. Read MoreB.8.1. Policy on Sexual and Gender-Based Harassment and Other Forms of Interpersonal Violence
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: March 12, 2020E. Sexual or Gender-Based Harassment: Unwelcome conduct – verbal, non-verbal, written, or physical – of a sexual nature, including unwelcome sexual advances and requests for sexual favors, that unreasonably interfere [sic] with or deprive someone of educational access, benefits, or opportunities. … Sexual hara... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Demonstration/Expressive Activity By Members of University Community
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: March 12, 2020For the purpose of implementation, expressive activity shall refer to all demonstrations, protests, marches, rallies, leaflet distribution or other activity involving the public display of expression by a group or multiple groups. General: All University property is intended primarily for use by students, faculty an... Read MoreE.4.4. Network and Computer Use Policy
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: March 12, 2020The network provides an open forum for the expression of ideas, including viewpoints that are strange, unorthodox, and unpopular. Opinions expressed there must be presented in a manner that is free of obscenity (as defined by Code of Virginia, Section 18.2-372), forgery, and other illegal forms of expression, which ... Read More
On Student Press Freedom Day, a look back at censorship in 2018
January 30, 2019
Despite what you may have heard in school, America is (by some measures) not home to the freest press in the world. Since 2013, the United States’ press freedom ranking tumbled 13 spots to 45th globally. And freedom of the press is even more attenuated for student reporters, who face additional hurdles from administrators, legislators,… Read more
In blow to free speech, Fourth Circuit reinstates lawsuit against University of Mary Washington
December 19, 2018
This morning, in a deeply disappointing ruling for students’ free speech rights, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reinstated several claims against the University of Mary Washington that had previously been dismissed by a district court. The alarming upshot of the ruling is its suggestion that Title IX may sometimes require colleges… Read more
FIRE, joined by coalition of free speech advocates, files amici curiae brief in Feminist Majority Foundation v. University of Mary Washington
January 19, 2018
Yesterday, FIRE―joined by the Cato Institute, the National Coalition Against Censorship*, and Professor Nadine Strossen―filed an amici curiae brief in the case of Feminist Majority Foundation v. University of Mary Washington. FIRE’s brief urges the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to uphold a district court’s ruling that the University of Mary Washington… Read more
University of Mary Washington’s decision not to ban anonymous app Yik Yak upheld by federal court
September 26, 2017
A federal district court in Virginia has ruled in favor of the University of Mary Washington, dismissing a lawsuit over the university’s refusal to block access to Yik Yak, a now-defunct app that allowed users within a narrow geographic area to post and read anonymous messages. Yik Yak was often criticized for caustic or offensive… Read more
Lawsuit against U. of Mary Washington alleges defending free speech violates Title IX
May 17, 2017
Earlier this month, the Feminist Majority Foundation — along with its University of Mary Washington campus affiliate Feminists United and five former UMW students — filed a lawsuit against the Virginia public university and its president. They alleged that the university’s response to offensive speech by other UMW students was inadequate and perpetuated a hostile… Read more
FIRE’s Samantha Harris: Title IX Retaliation Complaints Are Silencing Campus Speech
November 10, 2015
Today’s opinion section of the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star features an op-ed by Samantha Harris, FIRE’s director of policy research, describing how the abuse of Title IX retaliation complaints is hurting free speech on campus. Sam describes a federal Title IX retaliation complaint filed against the University of Mary Washington (UMW) after UMW President Richard Hurley… Read more
OCR’s Investigation of U. of Mary Washington Raises Free Speech Concerns
October 22, 2015
Last fall, a controversy arose at the University of Mary Washington (UMW) when several members of the UMW men’s rugby club were recorded participating in a bawdy song at an off-campus party. After members of the UMW student group Feminists United on Campus (FUC) complained about the recording, UMW dissolved the rugby club in March… Read more
Greg Laments an ‘Unfortunate Renaissance in Campus Speech-Policing’ on College Campuses
May 18, 2015
Freedom of speech on college campuses seems to ebb and flow—periods of rampant censorship are followed by movements for truly open discourse, which in turn are followed by attempts to silence “offensive” speech. Unfortunately, as FIRE President Greg Lukianoff writes for Minding the Campus today, colleges and universities are now home to a “renaissance in… Read more
UMW’s Punishment of Rugby Team Disregards Free Speech, Due Process
March 26, 2015
Another week, another public university president defying the First Amendment. Declaring that his university (unconstitutionally) prohibits “derogatory statements of any form,” University of Mary Washington (UMW) President Richard Hurley announced last week that the UMW men’s rugby club has been dissolved, and all of its players ordered to attend sensitivity training, because of a few… Read more
Responding to “Offensive” Speech with Constructive Speech at the University of Mary Washington
November 12, 2007
According to Jeff Branscome in The Free Lance-Star, University of Mary Washington freshman Rob Mariani “is facing college disciplinary action for disrupting community values and disorderly conduct after the school’s student newspaper ran a story about a racially insensitive poster found in a dorm.” Mariani had put the poster outside his dorm room door, and… Read more
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