School Spotlight
University of Tulsa
Speech Code Rating
Policy on Harassment
Speech Code Rating: Red
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: December 5, 2018Any form of inappropriate conduct that constitutes Prohibited Harassment (see following definition) of or by any participants in the Campus Community is prohibited by this policy. … Verbal Prohibited Harassment may occur in person, by telephone or other audio means. Physical Prohibited Harassment may be conduc... Read MorePolicy on Sexual Misconduct
Speech Code Rating: Red
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: December 5, 2018Sexual harassment is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, including but not limited to unwelcome sexual advances; requests for sexual favors; or other verbal or nonverbal conduct of a sexual nature, including rape, sexual assault, and sexual exploitation. In addition, depending on the facts, dating violence, domest... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Use of Facilities
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: December 5, 2018Two types of events require the appropriate Vice President’s approval. These are: 1) In the case of an event which a reasonable person would understand to be a protest or demonstration defined as a person or assembly of persons engaged in a rally, march, sit-in, fast or other public manifestation of welcome, a... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Ethics Code and Policy for Computer Use
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Internet Usage Policies
Last updated: December 5, 2018The electronic communication facilities are not to be used for the transmission of commercial or personal advertisements, solicitations, promotions, destructive programs, political material, or any other unauthorized or personal use. … Use of the electronic communication facilities (such as electronic mail, te... Read MoreStudent Handbook: Student Code of Conduct- General Standard of Conduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
Last updated: December 5, 2018Examples of violations of the General Standard of Conduct may include, but are not limited to, the following: … The use of threatening or obscene language toward another. Read MoreStudent Handbook: Public Disturbances
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: December 5, 2018The University recognizes that students have the rights and privileges granted to all citizens in the Bill of Rights – specifically freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of dissent. Read MoreStudent Handbook: Statement on Rights, Freedoms, and Responsibilities
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Advertised Commitments to Free Expression
Last updated: December 5, 2018The University of Tulsa exists to promote the academic and social development of its students, the transmission of knowledge, the pursuit of truth, and a sense of responsibility toward self and society. A deep respect for the fundamental rights of expression, assembly and petition is indispensable to the attainment ... Read More
University of Tulsa: Student Suspended for Husband’s Facebook Posts
February 12, 2015
The University of Tulsa suspended Trey Barnett and banned him from from the TU campus until 2016 because of Facebook posts written by his husband.
FIRE Announces 10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech: 2016
February 17, 2016
PHILADELPHIA, February 17, 2016—Nearly half of America’s top colleges maintain speech codes that blatantly violate First Amendment standards. But every year the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) takes a closer look at the past year’s incidents of college censorship to determine the nation’s 10 worst abusers of student and faculty free speech rights…. Read more
Student Unjustly Suspended by University of Tulsa Announces Lawsuit
January 25, 2016
Nearly a year ago, FIRE brought attention to the University of Tulsa’s (TU’s) unjust suspension of student George “Trey” Barnett. Now, Barnett, who was only two months away from graduation when he was suspended, is suing TU for violating its policies. In 2014, Barnett’s then-fiancé—who was not a TU student—criticized two TU professors and a… Read more
FIRE Explains Student Journalists’ Rights (VIDEO)
December 1, 2015
[iframe src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/om76_l81vHc”] In light of recent high-profile threats to a free student press on college campuses nationwide—including threats to defund student publications for publishing controversial material and banishment of student reporters from public events—FIRE wants to ensure that student journalists know their rights. So today, we’re proud to launch a new video designed to do… Read more
University of Tulsa and the Troubling Demise of Campus Disciplinary Hearings
March 5, 2015
Imagine, for a moment, being accused of a serious offense and then finding out that the detective in charge of investigating your case would also be prosecuting it. Not only that, that same individual would also be deciding whether you are guilty and determining your sentence. You’d probably think that was a bit unfair. Unfortunately,… Read more
Despite Administrative Pushback and Theft, University of Tulsa’s ‘Collegian’ Produces Exceptional Reporting
February 18, 2015
FIRE often celebrates examples of impressive student journalism, especially by student newspapers that face threats from their university administration or other students because of their reporting. During this year’s Free Press Week celebration, we’d like to focus on the University of Tulsa’s (TU’s) student paper, the Collegian, which has produced outstanding journalism in its coverage… Read more
Unable to Suspend Non-Students, University of Tulsa Settles for Hiding Facebook Posts
February 17, 2015
Administrators at the University of Tulsa (TU) have remained notably quiet since FIRE issued a press release last week covering the school’s vindictive treatment of student Trey Barnett, suspended for another person’s Facebook posts, and TU’s threats to the Collegian student newspaper for reporting on the story. Now it looks like TU wants everyone else… Read more
New Study from Reporters Without Borders: Freedom of Press Declining Worldwide
February 16, 2015
As we begin Free Press Week here at FIRE, a study released last week by Reporters Without Borders brings some sobering news about the state of freedom of the press worldwide. According to the nonprofit organization’s “2015 World Press Freedom Index,” two thirds of the 180 countries examined for the report fared less well than… Read more
U. of Tulsa Suspends Student for Someone Else’s Facebook Post
February 12, 2015
TULSA, Okla., February 12, 2015—In a triple blow to free speech, due process, and freedom of the press, the University of Tulsa (TU) arbitrarily banned a student from campus until 2016 for Facebook posts that someone else admitted to writing and then attempted to intimidate student journalists who were trying to cover the story. “The… Read more
March 2009: University of Tulsa
March 4, 2009
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for March 2009: the University of Tulsa. While the University of Tulsa is a private institution, it promises its students all of the same free speech rights they would have at a public university: "The University recognizes that students have the rights and privileges granted to all… Read more
Surprise, Surprise: Another Student Newspaper Theft
November 17, 2006
Student Press Law Center (SPLC) reports another student newspaper theft, this time at University of Tulsa. Copies of The Collegian were taken from newsstands and then redistributed with unauthorized inserts. The additions to the paper included a picture of the paper’s managing editor extending her middle finger, as well as the website address of… Read more
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