School Spotlight
University of South Carolina Columbia
Location:
Columbia, South Carolina
Type:
Public
Speech Code Rating
University of South Carolina Columbia has been given the speech code rating Yellow. Yellow light colleges and universities are those institutions with at least one ambiguous policy that too easily encourages administrative abuse and arbitrary application.
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STAF 3.23 Outdoor Event Registration
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: September 18, 2020University Policy designates four routine outdoor areas for use by individuals wishing to sponsor outdoor events on campus: 1. Designated areas in the front and back patios of Russell House University Union and adjacent Davis Field(s) 2. A designated area within the blocked-off area of Greene Street 3. A designated ... Read MoreOffice of Diversity and Inclusion: Report an Incident
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: September 18, 2020If you feel that you’ve been a victim of a hateful act, please submit a Bias and Hate Incident Form so that we are aware of such incidents and, when necessary, we can enforce appropriate consequences. … A bias incident is a non-criminal act that is motivated in whole, or in part, by a victim’s actual or ... Read MoreSTAF 3.17: Campus Solicitation
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: September 18, 2020Solicitation is defined as contact for the purpose of: 1. Soliciting funds or sales or demonstrations that may result in sales; 2. Distributing advertising or other materials; 3. Compiling data for surveys, programs, or other purposes; 4. Recruitment of members or support for an organization or cause; 5. Providing e... Read MoreSTAF 6.26: Student Code of Conduct- Abusive Conduct or Sexual Misconduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 18, 202020. Harassing Behavior a. Repeated conduct of a harassing nature that reasonably interferes with one’s ability to succeed in an academic setting or major life activity and that persists after such conduct has been requested to stop. Read MoreStudent Affairs and Academic Support: Carolinian Creed
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies Restricting Freedom of Conscience
Last updated: September 30, 2020We oppose intolerance by promoting integrity within our campus community. Our common values are formed upon the foundation of our creed, which emphasizes openness and civility. … As a Carolinian … I will practice personal and academic integrity; I will respect the dignity of all persons; I will respec... Read MoreSTAF 6.24: Student Non-Discrimination and Non-Harassment Policy
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 18, 2020Harassment is a specific type of illegal discrimination. It includes conduct (oral, written, graphic, or physical) which is directed against any student or group of students because of or based upon one or more of the characteristics articulated in Section II above, that is sufficiently severe, pervasive, or persist... Read MoreEOP 1.02: Sexual Harassment
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 18, 2020Sexual harassment is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, sufficiently severe or pervasive that it adversely affects a person’s or group’s ability to participate in or benefit from academic or employment, programs, services or activities of the university. … Examples of conduct that may constitute sexual hara... Read MoreSTAF 3.25: Use of University Facilities
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: September 18, 2020Any outdoor event held on campus involving 150 or more people, or involving the use of amplified sound must receive approval by the Director of Student Life. A detailed written request must be submitted three business days prior to the event. Read MoreOffice of Equal Opportunity Programs: Publications- Title IX Brochure
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: September 18, 2020Under title ix & university policy, the following types of conduct are prohibited: … Unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the University of South Carolina’s education program or activity... Read More
FIRE surveyed roughly 20,000 students at 55 colleges and universities about the climate for free speech at their institutions. In 2020, FIRE released rankings of those schools, based on a number of factors, including openness, tolerance, self-expression, administrative support for free speech, and campus policies, scoring overall speech climate on a scale from -4-100. See the full report on FIRE’s 2020 College Free Speech Rankings for more information.
Rankings / out of 55 colleges surveyed |
|
| Overall Ranking | 45 |
| Ranked by Liberals | 44 |
| Ranked by Conservatives | 37 |
| Ideological Diversity | 8 |
Overall / out of a top score of 100 |
|
| Overall Score | 49.8 |
| Openness | 64.1 |
| Tolerance | 51.2 |
| Administrative Support | 60.1 |
| Self-Expression | 44.1 |
| Speech Code | YELLOW |
University of South Carolina — Stand Up For Speech Lawsuit
February 23, 2016
University of South Carolina’s (USC’s) College Libertarians and Young Americans for Liberty chapters held an outdoor event focusing on free speech, displaying posters illustrating incidents of censorship at colleges and universities throughout the country.
University of South Carolina: Mandated Orthodoxy in the Classroom
June 15, 2004
FIRE protested University of South Carolina Professor Lynn Weber’s imposition of a political litmus test in order to succeed in “Women’s Studies 797: Seminar in Women’s Studies,” which was required of students who sought to earn a graduate certificate in Women’s Studies. Professor Weber’s “Guidelines for Classroom Discussion” required students to “acknowledge that racism, classism, sexism,… Read more
South Carolina legislation would promote ‘orthodoxy’ in the classroom
April 6, 2021
In Keyishian v. Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York, the Supreme Court of the United States declared academic freedom “a special concern of the First Amendment, which does not tolerate laws that cast a pall of orthodoxy over the classroom.” A bill currently pending in South Carolina’s state legislature,… Read more
Supreme Court denies cert in Stand Up For Speech case at University of South Carolina
March 5, 2019
Yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States denied a petition for writ of certiorari by current and former students of the University of South Carolina, asking the high court to hear their appeal from a lower court decision dismissing their First Amendment lawsuit. The case of Abbott v. Pastides — a FIRE-sponsored suit, and… Read more
Coalition of amici urges Supreme Court review in FIRE lawsuit at University of South Carolina
January 4, 2019
Last week, a broad coalition of organizations and several law school First Amendment clinics filed amici curiae briefs urging the Supreme Court of the United States to hear Abbott v. Pastides, a FIRE-sponsored lawsuit challenging the University of South Carolina’s investigation of student groups for holding a free speech event on campus. The case is… Read more
Student groups to appeal after court dismisses lawsuit against University of South Carolina administrators
July 13, 2017
COLUMBIA, S.C., July 13, 2017 — Can the University of South Carolina’s equal opportunity office investigate students for a university-approved free speech event because other students claim they find the event “offensive” and “triggering?” The answer, which should alarm any American who cares about free speech on campus, seems to be “yes” — at least… Read more
FIRE Announces America’s 10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech: 2017
February 22, 2017
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 22, 2017—More than 92 percent of American colleges maintain speech codes that either clearly restrict—or could too easily be used to restrict—free speech. Each year, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) takes a closer look at campus censorship to identify America’s 10 worst colleges for free speech. The 2017 list of… Read more
‘Stand Up For Speech’ Litigation Update: University of South Carolina
February 9, 2017
Last month I had the opportunity to attend an oral argument in our Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project case against the University of South Carolina (USC) with FIRE’s Director of Litigation, Marieke Tuthill Beck-Coon. For those unfamiliar with this case, the plaintiffs are the USC chapters of Young Americans for Liberty and College Libertarians,… Read more
FIRE’s Depressing Commencement Speaker Prediction May Be Coming True: University of South Carolina Announces New President-Only Policy
August 15, 2016
Two years ago, FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff made an unsettling prediction about how colleges might react to the increasing number of protests over controversial campus speakers: by enacting policies forbidding those speakers altogether. In the process, students’ opportunity for intellectual growth by engaging with a diversity of viewpoints would be severely limited. It… Read more
A Walk Down (Bad) Memory Lane: Revisiting FIRE Cases That University of South Carolina Students Got in Trouble for Simply Talking About
March 8, 2016
In FIRE’s most recent Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project lawsuit, students hosting a free speech event at the University of South Carolina (USC) made posters using examples of campus censorship pulled straight from FIRE’s case archives. They hoped to raise free speech consciousness on campus and found themselves the subject of a disciplinary investigation… Read more
No Limits: University of South Carolina Students Fight for Free Speech (VIDEO)
February 26, 2016
The University of South Carolina’s (USC’s) marketing materials claim “No Limits” on the student experience—except, it seems, when it comes to constitutional rights. Two student groups learned this unfortunate lesson in November 2015 when they tried to host an educational outdoor event about free speech rights on college campuses. They researched examples of speech that… Read more
FIRE Q&A: Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project Plaintiff Ross Abbott
February 25, 2016
On Tuesday, FIRE announced its latest lawsuit, this one against the University of South Carolina (USC), as part of its undefeated Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project. One of the suit’s plaintiffs, Ross Abbott, is a USC senior majoring in business management and economics and minoring in psychology and pre-law; he is also president of… Read more
Students Interrogated for Organizing Free Speech Event File First Amendment Lawsuit Against University of South Carolina
February 23, 2016
COLUMBIA, S.C., February 23, 2016—The University of South Carolina’s (USC’s) marketing materials claim “No Limits” on the student experience—except, it seems, when it comes to constitutional rights. That’s why today, student Ross Abbott and the campus chapters of Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) and College Libertarians filed a First Amendment lawsuit against USC with the… 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
Professor to Colleges: Summon the Courage to Defend the Constitution
April 16, 2015
This week, Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor of history and education at New York University, authored an essay for Inside Higher Ed in which he criticizes colleges that have punished students for racist comments. As FIRE has reported, the University of Oklahoma (OU) summarily expelled two members of the now-disbanded chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon… Read more
Colleges Rush to Violate Free Speech, Due Process in Response to Speech Controversies
April 9, 2015
PHILADELPHIA, April 9, 2015—In the wake of the University of Oklahoma’s unconstitutional decision to summarily expel students involved in a racist fraternity chant, colleges and universities across the country are in a “race to the bottom” to violate the rights of students at the center of campus controversies involving speech deemed offensive, heedless of either… Read more
Tornadoes, and Bomb Scares, and Bias! Oh, My!
January 7, 2011
The University of South Carolina has a speech code classifying any "negative or unwanted attention" on the basis of "race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, national origin or other differences" as a "critical incident" equivalent to a suicide attempt, sexual assault, student death, fire, bomb threat, or tornado. The Staff Manual for university housing employees… Read more
‘Guidelines for Classroom Discussion’ Still Stifle Free Speech at the University of South Carolina
November 15, 2007
Five years ago FIRE criticized the University of South Carolina for the presence of a document titled “Guidelines for Classroom Discussion” in the syllabus of “Women’s Studies 797: Seminar in Women’s Studies,” a required class for a certificate of graduate study in Women’s Studies. The “Guidelines” require that students: 1. Acknowledge that racism, classism, sexism,… Read more
Guidelines for Discussion, or Thought Control?
September 27, 2002
Letter to University of South Carolina President Andrew A. Sorensen
September 9, 2002
University of South Carolina Mandates Political Indoctrination and Orthodoxy
May 13, 2002
May 13, 2002 University of South Carolina Mandates Political Indoctrination and Orthodoxy COLUMBIA, SC—The University of South Carolina (USC), in a required course for a degree-granting program, has adopted “Guidelines for Classroom Discussion” that demand adherence to a narrow set of partisan political assumptions—on pain of being graded poorly for honest disagreement. Although USC is… Read more
FIRE’s Letter to USC President John M. Palms
April 25, 2002
April 25, 2002 John M. Palms, President University of South Carolina 206 Osborne Administration Building Columbia, SC 29208 Sent via U.S. Mail and Facsimile (803-777-1220) Dear President Palms, The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) unites leaders in the fields of civil rights and civil liberties, scholars, journalists, and public intellectuals across the political… Read more
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