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Location: Logan, Utah
Website: http://www.usu.edu
Type: Public
Federal Circuit: 10th Circuit
Utah State University 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. Read more here.
Red Light Policies
Housing and Residential Life: Residential Support Principle
Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
Last updated: May 22, 2017A member of the Utah State University Housing community supports, practices, and respects:
1. Personal and academic integrity through elimination of deceit, plagiarism, lying, and disloyalty.
2. Dignity of all persons, by not demeaning, teasing, ridiculing, or insulting individuals or groups.
3. Rights and property of others, by demonstrating concern for them and asking first before borrowing or using items and property.
4. Discouraging bigotry, by striving to learn from and accept the inherent differences in people, ideas, and opinions which contribute to an academic community.
5. Keeping the living environment clean and attractive, knowing that such an environment is essential to positive physical, mental, and academic health.
6. Refraining from and discouraging all behaviors which threaten the freedom and respect all residents deserve, by challenging friends and neighbors within the housing community to abide by these fundamental expectations and personally confronting those who do violate them in an appropriate manner.The Code of Policies and Procedures for Students at Utah State University: SECTION II-1 Responsibilities of Students
Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
Last updated: May 22, 2017All interactions with faculty members, staff members, and other students shall be conducted with courtesy, civility, decency, and a concern for personal dignity.
The Code of Policies and Procedures for Students at Utah State University: SECTION III-2 Posters and Bulletin Boards
Speech Code Category: Posting and Distribution Policies
Last updated: May 22, 2017The Vice President for Student Services shall ensure that space is available on campus for posters. Students desiring to display posters in the Taggart Student Center shall confer with the Director of the Taggart Student Center (Room 326), who shall issue approval and specify the location for such display.
The Code of Policies and Procedures for Students at Utah State University: SECTION V-3 University Standards of Student Conduct
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: May 22, 2017Sexual harassment is defined under the Utah State University Policy Number 339, Utah State University Policy Manual, as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, when: … such conduct unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work or academic performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working or learning environment. Sexual harassment may include, but is not limited to: (1) continued or repeated verbal abuse of a sexual nature; (2) repeated offensive sexual flirtations, advances, propositions; (3) graphic verbal commentaries about an individual’s body; (4) sexually degrading words used to describe an individual; and (5) sexual assault/violence.
The Code of Policies and Procedures for Students at Utah State University: SECTION V-3 University Standards of Student Conduct
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: May 22, 2017Wrongfully inflicting physical or mental duress, harm, or abuse upon another person, including but not limited to verbal abuse, threats and intimidation, stalking, sexual violence, arson, and murder.
Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity: Examples of Sexual Harassment
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: May 22, 2017Sexual Harassment may include but is not limited to:
Verbal
- Whistling or making cat calls at someone
- Making sexual comments about a persons clothing or body
- Telling sexual jokes or stories
- Asking personal questions about an individuals sex life, fantasies, preferences or history
- Repeatedly asking a person out who has clearly expressed a lack of interest
- Turning work discussions to sexual topics
- Referring to an adult woman or man as a hunk, doll, babe, honey or other demeaning words or phrases
- Telling lies or spreading rumors about a person’s personal sex life
- Direct or indirect threats or bribes for unwanted sexual activity
Non-Verbal
- Paying unwanted attention to someone (i.e., staring, following, or blocking a persons path)
- Displaying sexually suggestive visuals (includes emails, text messages, social media, blogs, websites or other electronic mediums)
- Making facial expressions such as winking, throwing kisses or licking
- Giving letters (emails, text messages, etc.), personal gifts and/or materials of a sexual nature
- Making sexual gestures with hands or through body movement
- Invading a persons body space (standing closer than appropriate or necessary for the work being done)
- Looking a person up and down (elevator eyes)
The Code of Policies and Procedures for Students at Utah State University: SECTION III-1 Demonstrations and Distribution of Literature
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: May 22, 2017A. Students, student organizations, and nonstudent individuals or groups sponsored by students/student organizations desiring to demonstrate, picket, or distribute literature on the campus are encouraged to file a written request with the Vice President for Student Services indicating the preferred time, place, and manner of such activity. The request may be filed at least 24 hours before the activity commences. Those involved shall abide by the regulations listed in paragraph B. Where it is deemed necessary, the Vice President for Student Services shall provide for security.
B. Students, student organizations, and nonstudent individuals or groups sponsored by students/student organizations, may demonstrate, picket, or distribute literature on the campus in areas generally available to the public; provided that such demonstrators, picketers, or distributors do not or do not attempt to:
- Breach the peace.
- Physically obstruct pedestrian traffic.
- Physically obstruct vehicular traffic.
- Interfere with classes or other scheduled meetings.
- Damage University property.
- Discard banners, placards, picket signs, leaflets, pamphlets, handbills, or other literature or materials in a manner which litters University property.
- Permanently occupy land areas or permanently locate signs and posters.
- Erect structures, shelters, or camps.
- Sleep overnight on University property.
- Threaten or endanger the health or safety of any person.
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Activism on campus: Recent protests, pending policy review bring USU issues to fore
April 10, 2011
By Kevin Opsahl at The Herald Journal Days before the end of the 2011 general legislative session, Utah State University student Justin Hinh had crossed the T’s and dotted the I’s on his plan to hold a rally for Senate Bill 288. The bill would have created a guest worker program in which undocumented workers could pay and apply for guest workers permits, and Hinh thought he would march with his friends with the USU College Democrats/Libertarians, the Latino Student Union and the USU Access and Diversity club. Hinh would find out that he was not able to march with […]
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Threats of Violence Lead Feminist Critic to Cancel Speech at Utah State
October 27, 2014
Most often, when FIRE talks about “disinvitations,” the conversation revolves around colleges formally rescinding invitations to speakers because of something controversial associated with the speaker, or students protesting the speaker so much that the school either withdraws its invitation or the speaker backs out “voluntarily.” In more extreme cases, sometimes students will shout down the speaker on stage. However, a different type of disinvitation happened last week at Utah State University—thanks to a heckler’s veto of the worst kind. Feminist video game critic Anita Sarkeesian was slated to speak at Utah State until the university received an anonymous terrorist threat […]
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Student Papers at UGA, Utah State on Schools’ ‘Red Light’ Ratings
February 8, 2012
Coverage of FIRE’s most recent speech code report, Spotlight on Speech Codes 2012: The State of Free Speech on Our Nation’s Campuses, keeps rolling in. Recently, student newspapers at the University of Georgia (UGA) and Utah State University (USU) joined those campus outlets that have drawn attention to FIRE’s review of their institution’s policies on student speech. At UGA, The Red & Black took note of the university’s “red light” rating, interviewing FIRE’s Samantha Harris: “UGA received a ‘red light’ rating mainly because of its email policy,” said Samantha Harris, director of speech code research at FIRE. “It prohibits any […]
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‘Herald Journal’ Examines Utah State’s Red-Light Rating
April 14, 2011
Azhar was recently quoted in an article in The Herald Journal (Logan, Utah) about free speech restrictions at Utah State University (USU). Unfortunately, like 260 other schools in our Spotlight database, USU possesses a red-light rating, meaning that it has at least one policy that clearly and substantially restricts freedom of speech. While USU in fact has two red-light policies, the article focuses on just the “Responsibilities of Students” policy as outlined in the Code of Policies and Procedures for Students, which states that “All interactions … shall be conducted with courtesy, civility, decency, and a concern for personal dignity.” […]
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