University of Pittsburgh

Pennsylvania House of Representatives Select Committee on Student Academic Freedom

September 19, 2005

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives brought together a committee to examine allegations that Pennsylvania’s public universities were plagued by liberal ideology and indoctrination. David A. French, at the time president of FIRE, served as a legal adviser to the panel. FIRE released FIRE Report on the First Amendment Responsibilities of Pennsylvania State-Funded Colleges and Universities, explaining that Pennsylvania universities are bound to follow the strictures of the U.S. and Pennsylvania Constitutions, notably to respect the expressive rights of students and faculty members, to protect religious liberty on campus, and to protect freedom of conscience on campus.

Policy 10-02-05: Computer Access and Use- Appropriate Use of University Computer Services

Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: September 10, 2018

The following are considered improper use of University owned computing equipment, networks, services, and resources:

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Using electronic media to harass or threaten other persons, or to display, design, copy, store, draw, print, or publish obscene language or graphics.

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Policy 06-05-01: Sexual Misconduct

Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 10, 2018

Sexual harassment is defined as any unwelcome verbal or non-verbal sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, other verbal, virtual or physical conduct of a sexual nature and/or conduct directed at an individual(s) because of gender or gender stereotypes or identity when:

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c. Such conduct is severe or pervasive and objectively and subjectively has the effect of:

i. Unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work or equal access to education;

ii. Creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive work or academic environment.

d. Such conduct, if repeated, is reasonably likely to meet the standard set forth above.

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Acts that constitute sexual harassment take a variety of forms and may include but are not limited to the following unwelcome actions: …

c. Spoken, written or virtual expressions of a sexual nature, including sexual communications about a person’s body, dress, appearance or sexual activities; the use of sexually degrading language, name calling, sexually suggestive jokes, or innuendoes, and sexually suggestive phone calls.

d. Nonverbal behavior such as suggestive or insulting gestures, sounds or whistles; display of sexually suggestive objects or written materials, pictures, photographs, cartoons, text messages, videos, or DVD’s.

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The Pitt Promise: A Commitment to Civility

Speech Code Category: Policies Restricting Freedom of Conscience
Last updated: September 10, 2018

The University of Pittsburgh is committed to the advancement of learning and service to society. This is best accomplished in an atmosphere of mutual respect and civility, self-restraint, concern for others, and academic integrity. By choosing to join this community, I accept the obligation to live by these common values and commit myself to the following principles:

As a Pitt Student, Staff, or Faculty Member:

• I will embrace the concept of a civil community which abhors violence, theft and exploitation of others;
• I will commit myself to the pursuit of knowledge with personal integrity and academic honesty;
• I will respect the sanctity of the learning environment and avoid disruptive and deceitful behavior toward other members of the campus community;
• I will support a culture of diversity by respecting the rights of those who differ from myself;
• I will contribute to the development of a caring community where compassion for others and freedom of thought and expression are valued;
• I will honor, challenge and contribute to the scholarly heritage left by those who preceded me and work to leave this a better place for those who follow.

By endorsing these common principles, I accept a moral obligation to behave in ways that contribute to a civil campus environment and resolve to support this behavior in others. This commitment to civility is my promise to the University of Pittsburgh and its community of scholars.

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Office of Diversity & Inclusion: Make a Report

Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: September 10, 2018

Bias incidents are actions committed against a person or group that are motivated in whole or in part, by bias against the person’s or group’s sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, race, religion, or disability or other protected class.  Bias incidents may or may not be hate crimes.  Hate crimes are criminal offenses motivated in whole or in part, by bias against the person’s protected class.  All hate crimes are bias incidents, but not all bias incidents are hate crimes.

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We encourage you to report incidents of bias involving a member of the University of Pittsburgh community.

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Student Code of Conduct: Student Rights Within the University Community

Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: September 10, 2018

With the approval of the Board of Trustees, the University affirms the following Student rights and privileges:

To engage in discussion, to make inquiries, to exchange thought and opinion, to publish and exchange findings and recommendations, to speak, write, or print freely on any subject, and to sponsor speakers of their choice, in accordance with the guarantees of our Federal and State Constitutions, subject only to the right of the University to make reasonable rules and regulations related thereto.

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Student Code of Conduct: Offenses Related to Persons

Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 10, 2018

A Violation is committed when a Student or a Student Organization:

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Harasses or attempts to harass a person through repeated, unwanted communications or by putting another person in objective and subjective fear of injury or unreasonably causing severe or pervasive distress by: purposely following another person; communicating in an anonymous manner; or acting in another manner with the intent to harass a person.

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Race and Slurs in the Classroom

October 5, 2015

By Colleen Flaherty at Inside Higher Ed Microaggressions: everyday offenses or digs, sometimes subtle and unintentional, directed at a person based on his or her race. It’s a divisive term which some say has helped enable the “coddling” of college students nationwide. Other still say it’s given a name to the kinds of insidious discrimination that students of color and others have faced in the college classroom for generations. Like it or not, microaggression is now part of the mainstream college climate vocabulary, as a recent, public case at Mount Holyoke College and others like it illustrate. But are such […]

What Donald Trump Taught Me About Incivility

July 19, 2016

Do the words “Donald Trump” and “civility” belong in the same sentence? Regardless of your feelings about the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, it seems safe to say that Trump has not made the topic of civility a cornerstone of his campaign. Quite to the contrary, I’ve seen firsthand the incivility a Trump appearance can provoke—from both his supporters and his detractors. But when Trump made a campaign stop near my school, the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt), in April, an odd dichotomy presented itself: When I heard that Trump was campaigning in southwestern Pennsylvania, I decided check it out. For better […]

The Pitt Promise: A Commitment to Civility over Constitutionality

July 23, 2014

One needs only to flip five pages into the University of Pittsburgh’s Student Code of Conduct and Judicial Procedures to find “The Pitt Promise: A Commitment to Civility” (the “Pitt Promise,” or “the Promise”)—a list of pedagogical principles and values to which students are expected to adhere. In principle, the pledge is morally sound and perhaps desirable, but, as FIRE has explained, mandating civility clauses infringes on students’ First Amendment rights. As a current student at the University of Pittsburgh, a public institution of higher education that is bound by the Constitution, it concerns me that the university has enacted a policy that so clearly infringes on its students’ rights.

Introducing FIRE Summer Intern Zoe Kuenstler

June 16, 2014

Zoe Kuenstler is a rising senior at the University of Pittsburgh, studying the Arabic language and majoring in anthropology and economics. Zoe’s main extracurricular activities include serving on the executive board of the co-ed national honors fraternity Phi Sigma Pi as external secretary and acting as project manager for the Pittsburgh chapter of Students Consulting for Non-Profit Organizations. Zoe writes about her reasons for interning at FIRE: When I was a freshman in high school my African Asian studies teacher taught a three week long lesson on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one week spent on the Israeli side, one week spent on the […]

Universities Must Not Intrude Upon Freedom of Conscience in ‘Values’ Statements

January 16, 2014

This winter, FIRE is running a series of blog posts about what makes a “green light” policy. So far, we have examined how universities can craft policies on harassment, civility, and computer usage that achieve their aims while still respecting students’ right to freedom of speech. Today we are going to talk about policies that infringe on students’ right to freedom of conscience, and about how universities can share their values with students without crossing the line into mandating agreement with those values. Just as the First Amendment protects freedom of speech, it also protects freedom of conscience—the right to keep our innermost thoughts free from governmental […]

The Problem with Mandating Civility

October 11, 2012

FIRE is often referred to as a “watchdog” organization, and that is indeed an important part of what we do. But those who follow our work know that we also love to reward schools for upholding students’ free speech rights. That is why when a university earns a “green light” rating—a distinction currently awarded to just 15 out of the hundreds of schools we survey—FIRE does as much as possible to ensure that good news receives the maximum publicity. For example, we publish an annual list of the best colleges for free speech on The Huffington Post. In the last […]

Fraternities Must Stand Up to Schools’ Squelching Free Speech

October 11, 2004

While there is no shortage of free-speech battles on college campuses, fraternities have the dubious honor of being at the center of many of the least-sympathetic controversies. From Halloween parties where brothers show up dressed as Ku Klux Klan members to fraternity newsletters that graphically relate a brother’s sexual exploits with named co-eds, fraternities sometimes express themselves in ways that are not exactly likely to win the battle for hearts and minds. However, although fraternities later may regret the actions of some of their brothers, they must not allow their rights to be stripped away by overzealous or opportunistic administrators. […]

Practical Advice for Fraternities Caught in the Battle for Free Speech on Campus

September 16, 2004

I. Introduction While there is no shortage of free speech battles on college campuses, fraternities have the dubious honor of being at the center of many of the least sympathetic controversies. From Halloween parties where brothers show up dressed as Ku Klux Klan members to fraternity newsletters that graphically relate a brother’s sexual exploits with named co-eds, fraternities sometimes express themselves in ways that are not exactly likely to win the battle for hearts and minds. However, although fraternities may later regret the actions of some of their brothers, they must not allow their rights to be stripped away by […]