School Spotlight
University of Southern California
Location:
Los Angeles, California
Type:
Private
Speech Code Rating
University of Southern California has been given the speech code rating Red. A red light university has at least one policy that both clearly and substantially restricts freedom of speech.
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SCampus: Free Expression and Dissent- Guidelines for Campus Demonstrations
Speech Code Rating: Red
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: January 13, 2020All student members of the university community have the right to hold a demonstration (including, but not limited to, a rally, gathering, protest, parade, procession, or hosting of a guest speaker) on campus, subject to and consistent with the guidelines stated in this Section, and the approval of the Director ... Read MoreUSC Student Computer Use Policy
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: January 13, 2020As in all interactions within the University community, engaging in electronic communications brings with it the obligation to do so with respect to the recipients of the message. While the University encourages the exchange and debate of values and ideas, it is expected that this exchange will reflect the high ethi... Read MoreSCampus: Free Expression and Dissent- Reasonable Time, Place and Manner
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: January 13, 2020Coercive disruption is construed to include any activity which, contrary to law, denies the rights of other students, the faculty or the staff of the university and: … Contains “fighting words” where (a) the speech, considered objectively, is abusive and insulting rather than a communication of ideas and (b) i... Read MoreLGBT Resource Center: Bias Incident Reporting
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Bias and Hate Speech
Last updated: January 13, 2020The USC Bias Assessment Response and Support Team receives reports of bias and hate incidents, assesses the incidents and coordinates the response to the incidents for the University community. The response includes supporting those impacted within the community and informing the community about the nature of the in... Read MoreStudent Support and Advocacy: USC Principles of Community
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
Last updated: January 13, 2020We want to make explicit our expectations regarding the behavior of each member of our community. As adults, we are responsible for our behavior and are fully accountable for our actions. We each must take responsibility for our awareness of racism, sexism, ageism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, ableism and ot... Read MoreStudent Misconduct – Sexual, Interpersonal and Protected Class Misconduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: January 13, 2020No student may commit harassment based on a protected characteristic. Harassment is verbal or physical conduct based on a protected characteristic which: (a) Creates a hostile environment. A “hostile environment” exists when such conduct is sufficiently severe, persistent or pervasive that it unreasonably (i) interf... Read MoreSCampus: General Policy Statements- Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: January 13, 2020Every member of the academic community shall enjoy the rights of free speech, peaceful assembly and the right of petition. Read MoreSCampus: Free Expression and Dissent- Policy
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: January 13, 2020The University of Southern California is committed to fostering a learning environment where free inquiry and expression are encouraged and celebrated and for which all its members share responsibility. Dissent (defined as disagreement, a difference of opinion, or thinking differently from others) is an integral asp... Read More
Policies are rated on their inclusion of 10 due process safeguards. Each policy may receive 2 points for fully including that safeguard, 1 point for partial inclusion, and 0 points for no meaningful inclusion. Most, but not all, institutions have separate policies for sexual misconduct and all other misconduct. See FIRE’s Spotlight on Due Process report for more information.
Grades
University of Southern California: Unconstitutional Restrictions on Spontaneous Student Expression
July 17, 2020
In 2019, FIRE warned USC that its “Free Expression and Dissent” policy restricts student expression, imposing an approval process requiring students to receive official approval weeks before they can engage in expressive activities in open, outdoor areas of campus. This effectively bans all spontaneous expressive activity, including demonstrations. After FIRE first wrote to USC, pointing… Read more
University of Southern California: Student Journalists Faced With Reporting Restrictions
September 14, 2018
Student journalists associated with student news outlets at the University of Southern California were told they couldn’t record or take notes during a “public forum” hosted by the university.
University of Southern California: Censorship of Performance and Protest
February 22, 2006
The University of Southern California (USC) has declared its dedication to upholding the First Amendment and has announced that it will review its speech code after FIRE denounced its recent censorship of both a campus performance and signs that it deemed offensive. FIRE intervened after a member of USC’s student affairs department shut down a… Read more
USC finally updates free expression policy it promised to fix. It’s even worse now.
July 17, 2020
FIRE has been warning the University of Southern California for the better part of two years that its “Free Expression and Dissent” policy improperly restricts student expression. Under the policy, students are required to notify the university weeks in advance and receive approval to speak in some open areas of campus. USC has said it… Read more
The evidence is clear and convincing: universities’ approaches to Title IX are broken
July 26, 2019
On Jan. 2, 2017, University of Southern California student-athlete Matt Boermeester walked onto the football field to attempt what would ultimately become the game-winning field goal in USC’s 52-49 victory over Penn State in the Rose Bowl. Four months later, he found himself expelled from school following a Title IX investigation into his alleged domestic… Read more
Deferred recruitment: The latest blemish to student organizational rights
June 26, 2019
For years, college administrations across the country have restricted student organizational rights on campus. Whereas the percentage of schools with severely restrictive policies for individual rights such as free speech has fallen sharply over the last decade, administrators at public schools seem to have forgotten their obligation to uphold the constitutional rights of student organizations…. Read more
California appellate court revives Greek orgs’ suit over USC’s deferred recruiting policy
May 9, 2019
A California appellate court has reinstated the lawsuit brought by several University of Southern California fraternities and a sorority over USC’s restrictions on their recruiting practices. The May 1 ruling allows the Greek organizations to argue that USC’s pledging restrictions violate their expressive associational rights under California state law. The decision involves the Leonard Law,… Read more
Speech Code of the Month: University of Southern California
January 9, 2019
Each of the over 450 colleges and universities in FIRE’s Spotlight database is updated annually for a reason — policies frequently change from year to year, and not always for the better. During a recent update of the University of Southern California’s entry, we found that the school changed a policy over the summer… Read more
University of Southern California bars student journalists from recording public forum about “transparent” search for new president [UPDATED]
September 14, 2018
Yesterday, the University of Southern California (USC) held a “listening session” with members of the committee formed to consider candidates to replace the university’s former president, who resigned under a cloud of scandals. The university has repeatedly emphasized its commitment to a transparent process. In glaring contradiction of that commitment, however, the university first sought… Read more
Speech Code Countdown: Most of America’s ‘Best Colleges’ Restrict Speech
October 5, 2016
U.S. News & World Report recently released its annual rankings of the “Best Colleges” for 2017. The rankings are based on a multitude of “indicators of academic excellence” that prospective students use to narrow down their college application lists, including graduation and retention rate, financial resources, the institution’s reputation, and student selectivity. But U.S. News’… Read more
Due Process Legal Update: More Students’ Lawsuits Move Forward
April 11, 2016
Since OCR issued its April 4, 2011, “Dear Colleague” letter, more than 90 students have brought lawsuits alleging they were denied a fair hearing in campus sexual assault proceedings. When I wrote my first update on how these lawsuits were faring, I characterized them as an “uphill battle” for plaintiffs. While the atmosphere for these… Read more
Yiannopoulos Invitation Leads USC Student Government to Strip Senator of Stipend
March 31, 2016
University of Southern California (USC) student senator Ellenhorn defeated an attempt to impeach him for his role in arranging a campus lecture featuring Milo Yiannopoulos, Breitbart’s controversial tech editor, but was stripped of his final stipend payment by a 9–2 vote by his fellow student senators. Ellenhorn faced three impeachment charges as result of inviting… Read more
USC Student’s Pro-Life Display Vandalized, Still Leads to Discussion
January 24, 2014
It’s a story as familiar as it is frustrating: students censoring other students by destroying their displays on campus. The College Fix reports that on Tuesday, University of Southern California (USC) student and USC Students For Life President Lisa Ebiner Gavit caught two of her peers in the act as they were ripping up her display consisting of four posters and… Read more
‘Daily Trojan’ Highlights USC’s ‘Red Light’ Policies
October 10, 2012
The University of Southern California’s (USC’s) student newspaper, the Daily Trojan, recently published an article discussing the school’s "red light" rating for speech codes from FIRE and its effect on campus discourse. In particular, the school’s prohibition of "fighting words" and "insulting" speech makes USC’s speech codes some of the worst in California, a state… Read more
Speech Code of the Month: University of Southern California
January 9, 2012
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for January 2012: the University of Southern California (USC). USC’s policy on “Advertising, Promotion, and Literature Distribution” prohibits the posting or distribution of any printed materials that contain “derogatory language or material that is aimed at harming a specific person or an organization’s reputation.” This policy prohibits… Read more
Discussion at USC Ignores Serious Free Speech Concerns on Campus
March 14, 2011
Rachel Bracker of the University of Southern California’s (USC’s) student newspaper the Daily Trojan reported on a “campus conversation” on “free speech,” held at USC last Tuesday and led in part by University Counsel Stephen Yamaguchi. Unfortunately, Bracker’s report suggests that many students left disappointed because they still didn’t possess a clear understanding of their free… Read more
The Danger of Policies
March 28, 2007
A year ago, FIRE became involved in a case at the University of Southern California when a performer and later protestors were censored for speaking and displaying the word ‘fuck.’ Ironically, the performer and students were silenced while standing in USC’s free speech zone. Not only did USC maintain a free speech zone policy, but… Read more
USC Blocks Election of Editor-in-Chief
December 6, 2006
Today, eighteen college newspapers published editorials protesting USC Vice President Michael L. Jackson’s decision to block the re-election of the current editor-in-chief of the Daily Trojan, USC’s student newspaper. Zach Fox, current editor-in-chief of the Daily Trojan, was elected by the newspaper’s staff to serve next semester as editor-in-chief, but USC Vice President for Student… Read more
Silence Speaks Volumes at NYU
May 24, 2006
New York University prides itself on being a “private university in the public service,” but talk is cheap—that is, when it isn’t silenced altogether. Despite the lofty aspirations of the school’s motto, in late March NYU decided that certain types of speech on campus just aren’t entitled to the core First Amendment protections relied upon… Read more
USC Prof’s Topless Photos Raise Eyebrows
May 11, 2006
The University of Southern California recently came to FIRE’s attention when it shut down a play and a protest because of the use of profanity. FIRE wrote USC in protest, and to its credit, USC wrote back that the censorship was not authorized, saying, “Please know that the university does not in any way endorse… Read more
The Need for Vigilance
April 11, 2006
FIRE’s Spotlight: The Campus Freedom Resource details written restrictions on speech at colleges and universities across the country. Yet we at FIRE often see administrators stray from official policy and censor students with unwritten policies or arbitrary actions. Therefore, students must be vigilant not only about the written policies governing speech on campus but also… Read more
Victory for Freedom of Speech at the University of Southern California
April 10, 2006
LOS ANGELES, April 10, 2006—The University of Southern California (USC) has publicly reaffirmed its commitment to freedom of speech and repudiated two instances of censorship. USC’s renewed embrace of liberty came after the intervention of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). “We are impressed with USC’s response,” said FIRE President Greg Lukianoff. “While… Read more
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