School Spotlight
University of Pittsburgh
Speech Code Rating
Policy AO 10: Computer Access and Use- Appropriate Use of University Computer Services
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: September 22, 2020The following are considered improper use of University owned computing equipment, networks, services, and resources: … Using electronic media to harass or threaten other persons, or to display, design, copy, store, draw, print, or publish obscene language or graphics. Read MorePolicy CS 20: Sexual Misconduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 22, 2020Sexual 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: … c. Such conduct is severe or perva... Read MoreThe Pitt Promise: A Commitment to Civility
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies Restricting Freedom of Conscience
Last updated: September 22, 2020The 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 v... Read MoreOffice of Diversity and Inclusion: Make a Report
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: September 22, 2020Bias 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... Read MoreStudent Code of Conduct: Offenses Related to Persons
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 22, 2020A Violation is committed when a Student or a Registered Student Organization: … Harassment. Harassment may occur through verbal, physical, or electronic means when: 1. The conduct is severe or pervasive and objectively and subjectively has the effect of: a. Unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work or... Read MorePolicy CS 27: Title IX
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 22, 2020Sexual Harassment: Conduct on the basis of sex occurring in the United States and occurring in or related to a University Education Program or Activity that satisfies one or more of the following: … Unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that i... Read MoreStudent Code of Conduct: Student Rights Within the University Community
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: September 22, 2020With 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 o... Read More
University of Pittsburgh: Punishment of Cardiology Professor for Academic Research Paper
January 12, 2021
In August 2020, the University of Pittsburgh revoked Associate Professor of Medicine Norman C. Wang’s teaching privileges following criticism of his paper, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, concerning demographics in the cardiology profession. On January 12, 2021, FIRE wrote to Pitt calling for it to rescind Wang’s punishment, explaining that Pitt,… Read more
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,… Read more
Pitt’s punishment of professor over ‘deep disagreement’ with academic paper merits judicial intervention
January 12, 2021
It’s not too often that FIRE comes across a public university — bound by the First Amendment — that puts in writing that it is motivated to discipline a faculty member merely because it disagrees with their opinions. But at the University of Pittsburgh, the administration made it crystal clear to a professor that his… Read more
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… Read more
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… Read more
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… Read more
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… Read more
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… Read more