School Spotlight

University of Michigan – Flint
Speech Code Rating
The University of Michigan Interim Policy On Sexual and Gender-Based Misconduct: Sexual and Gender-Based Misconduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: January 27, 2022Sexual Harassment is any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, whether verbal, graphic (e.g., pictures and videos), physical, or otherwise, when: … Such conduct creates a hostile environment. Behavior creates a hostile environment when it is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that it interferes with a REA... Read MoreThe University of Michigan Interim Policy On Sexual and Gender-Based Misconduct: Title IX Misconduct
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: January 27, 2022Title IX Misconduct: Is conduct on the basis of sex in which: … A Student, Employee, or Third Party engages in unwelcome conduct determined by a Reasonable Person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies another person equal access to a University Program or Activity ... Read MoreCode of Student Conduct: Student Responsibilities
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: January 27, 2022Harassing or bullying another person – physically, verbally or through other means; a. The term bullying means any written, verbal, or physical act, or any electronic communication, directed toward a person that is intended to cause or that a reasonable person would know is likely to cause, and that actually causes... Read MoreStandard Practice Guide Policies: Freedom of Speech and Artistic Expression
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: January 27, 2022Expression of diverse points of view is of the highest importance, not only for those who espouse a cause or position and then defend it, but also for those who hear and pass judgment on that defense. The belief that an opinion is pernicious, false, or in any other way detestable cannot be grounds for its suppressio... Read MoreCommunity Living Standards: Resident Bill of Rights
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
Last updated: January 27, 2022The Office of HRL strives for a positive environment for living and learning in our residential communities, where residents treat one another with respect and in good faith, and appreciate the value of conducting themselves in a responsible manner. In the interest of promoting this positive environment, the Housing... Read MoreCode of Student Conduct: Student Rights
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: January 27, 2022Students at the University have the same rights and protections under the Constitutions of the United States and the State of Michigan as other citizens. These rights include freedom of expression, press, religion, and assembly. Higher education has a long tradition of student activism and values freedom of expres... Read More
REPORT: Great Fakes? Michigan colleges routinely fail to protect free speech on campus
March 29, 2022
Michigan may be known for its Great Lakes, but a new report from FIRE suggests that its universities’ free speech promises don’t hold much water. “State of the Speech Codes: Michigan” examines the speech codes — policies that regulate student expression that would be protected by the First Amendment in society at large — on… Read more
Federal judge’s dangerous speech code ruling overshadows promising due process decision
November 27, 2018
Last week, a federal district court issued a ruling in a lawsuit brought by University of Michigan professor Pamela Smock against her institution that is notable for its sharply divided outcomes on several major civil liberties issues facing public university faculty. While the decision is promising with regard to campus due process protections, its holding… Read more
University of Michigan Student Assembly Does the Right Thing, Scraps Proposal to Lower Standard of Evidence
December 11, 2009
Last week, I blogged about the fact that Tulane University is on the verge of lowering the standard of evidence in student disciplinary matters from one of "clear and convincing evidence" to a "preponderance of the evidence." I discussed, as we have before on The Torch, why adopting the "preponderance" standard was a bad idea and would shortchange students’… Read more
Debate over Offensive Letter at University of Michigan–Flint
October 18, 2007
In the latest in a series of controversies involving student newspapers, a college newspaper at the University of Michigan–Flint has come under fire because it published an offensive letter to the editor insulting the university’s Muslim community. As with the recent case at Colorado State University, the letter seems to have spurred some calls for… Read more
Art and the Myth of the ‘Right Not to Be Offended’
October 21, 2005
Check out the fascinating story (“Censoring Art or Protecting Workers?”) about censored artwork in Inside Higher Ed. Apparently the University of Michigan at Flint is demanding that a graphic drawing called Hermaphrodite be removed from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Center because it is creating a “hostile environment” for workers. Anyone who pays attention… Read more