School Spotlight
Utah State University
Location:
Logan, Utah
Type:
Public
Speech Code Rating
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.
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The Code of Policies and Procedures for Students at Utah State University: SECTION II-1 Responsibilities of Students
Speech Code Rating: Red
Speech Code Category: Policies on Tolerance, Respect, and Civility
Last updated: July 22, 2022All interactions with faculty members, staff members, and other students shall be conducted with courtesy, civility, decency, and a concern for personal dignity. Read MoreThe Code of Policies and Procedures for Students at Utah State University: SECTION III-2- Posters and Bulletin Boards
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Posting and Distribution Policies
Last updated: July 21, 2022The Vice President for Student Affairs 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. Read MoreThe Code of Policies and Procedures for Students at Utah State University: SECTION V-3 University Standards of Student Conduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: July 22, 2022Sexual 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... Read MoreThe Code of Policies and Procedures for Students at Utah State University: SECTION V-3 University Standards of Student Conduct
Speech Code Rating: Yellow
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: July 22, 2022Wrongfully 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. Read MoreThe Code of Policies and Procedures for Students at Utah State University: SECTION III-1 Demonstrations and Distribution of Literature
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Protest and Demonstration Policies
Last updated: July 21, 2022A. 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 Affairs indicating the preferred time, place, and m... Read MoreOffice of Equity: Sexual Misconduct Policy Terms
Speech Code Rating: Green
Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies
Last updated: July 22, 2022Hostile Environment is unwelcome sex-based conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to an Employment or Education Program or Activity. Read More
FIRE surveyed roughly 37,000 students at 154 colleges and universities about the climate for free speech at their institutions. In 2021, 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 0-100. See the full report on FIRE’s 2021 College Free Speech Rankings for more information.
Rankings |
|
| Overall Ranking | 147/154 |
| Ideological Diversity | 68/159 |
Overall / out of a top score of 100 |
|
| Overall Score | 53.41 |
| Openness | 9.5 |
| Tolerance (Liberals) | 8.49 |
| Tolerance (Conservatives) | 8.79 |
| Administrative Support | 5.91 |
| Comfort | 15.73 |
| Disruptive Conduct | 10.99 |
| Speech Climate | |
| Supported Scholars | |
| Sanctioned Scholars | |
| Successful Disinvitations | |
| Speech Code | RED |
Utah State University: Students Blocked By Official University Social Media Accounts
January 28, 2021
On Dec. 9, 2020, USU student Zachary Grant Bess chided his public university on Twitter, ending his tweet with “you bastards.” Staff blocked (and later unblocked) Bess from accessing USU’s official Twitter account. FIRE wrote USU on Jan. 28, 2021, urging it to rescind a social media policy allowing the university to delete comments or… Read more
Nine months after FIRE letter, Utah State University revises social media policy
October 21, 2021
Today’s students are constantly using social media. From watching TikTok videos to scrolling through Instagram, social media is how many students stay connected with the world around them. So when universities block their students on social media, they inhibit students’ knowledge about campus happenings — and violate students’ expressive rights in the process. That’s exactly… Read more
FIRE calls on Utah State to drop policy used to block student critics on social media
January 28, 2021
When Zachary Grant Bess used the word “bastards” in a tweet criticizing the lack of exits in Utah State University’s library, he was surprised by the university’s reaction. As The Utah Statesman — USU’s student newspaper — reports, the official Utah State University account responded by blocking Bess’ account on Twitter. Today, FIRE wrote a… Read more
Speech Code of the Month: Utah State University
December 18, 2017
FIRE announces our Speech Code of the Month for December 2017: Utah State University. Utah State’s Student Code requires that “[a]ll interactions with faculty members, staff members, and other students shall be conducted with courtesy, civility, decency, and a concern for personal dignity.” On the surface, this might sound reasonable: what’s wrong with asking for… Read more
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… Read more
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… Read more
‘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… Read more