Winthrop University
Location: Rock Hill, South Carolina
Website: http://www.winthrop.edu
Type: Public
Federal Circuit: 4th Circuit
Speech Code Rating
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Winthrop University: Student Faced With Spurious Charges, Threats of Expulsion or Suspension for Anti-Lynching Art Installation
December 8, 2016
On the afternoon of November 13, 2016, the Winthrop University Police Department discovered figures—made of nylon stockings stuffed with dirt, spray-painted black, and shaped like bodies—placed in the trees outside Winthrop’s Tillman Hall, and a piece of paper that said “Tillman’s Legacy” taped over the sign outside the hall. For months, Tillman Hall had been at the center of student protests over its namesake Benjamin Tillman, who was governor of South Carolina from 1890-1894, during which time the state saw an increase in the number of lynchings of African Americans. Association of Artists for Change, an unrecognized group made up […]
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Winthrop University Student Cleared Of Charges After Black Objects Found Hanging From Tree On Campus
December 19, 2016
By Caryn Little at WCCB Charlotte A Winthrop University student was found not responsible for violating two university speech codes after her involvement with a controversial art display on campus, according to a news release… Read more here.
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Winthrop Criticized for Reaction to Protest Art
December 9, 2016
By Scott Jaschik at Inside Higher Ed The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education and the National Coalition Against Censorship have written a joint letter to Winthrop University urging that the institution drop disciplinary charges against a student, Samantha Valdez, who participated in creating an art exhibit that was an act of protest over the university maintaining the name Tillman Hall on a campus building. The hall in named for Benjamin Tillman, a 19th-century governor of South Carolina known for his support of racism and lynchings. Valdez and others created an art display, “Tillman’s Legacy,” in which black objects were put on […]
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NCAC & FIRE Defend Winthrop University Student Threatened With Expulsion for Anti-Lynching Art
December 8, 2016
By Joy Garnett at The National Coalition Against Censorship South Carolina’s Winthrop University is threatening one of its students with expulsion or suspension for her involvement in an art installation protesting a university building’s controversial name. The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) are defending the student’s free expression rights… Read more here.
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REPORT: Artists clash with campus censors
July 10, 2018
Art purged for being “one-sided,” among other excuses Censors, often not understanding the message, ban art rather than grapple with its meaning PHILADELPHIA, July 10, 2018 — Art censorship is nothing new. Spanish conquistadors smashed ceramics of ancient Peruvian cultures that portrayed gay and lesbian sex. The Roman Catholic Church of the 15th century was so intent on covering up penises that for decades even Michelangelo’s David wore a garland of leaves around his waist. But a new report from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education shows that art censorship remains alive and well, even on today’s college campuses, […]
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Victory: Student Cleared of Baseless Charges from Anti-Lynching Art Display
December 19, 2016
ROCK HILL, S.C., Dec. 19, 2016—A Winthrop University student was found not responsible for violating two university speech codes after her involvement with a campus anti-lynching art installation. This outcome comes six days after the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) wrote to the university president to ask that the charges be dropped. “The art display was intended to create a conversation on campus about racism and lynching and it did exactly that,” said FIRE Program Officer Sarah McLaughlin. “We are hopeful that the result of this ordeal is more speech, not […]
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Public University Threatens Student with Expulsion for Anti-Lynching Protest
December 8, 2016
A Winthrop University student allegedly participated in protest of campus building’s name The South Carolina public university charged the student with “disturb[ing] the public order and peace” The university president sent an email suggesting that “hurtful” art is punishable Rock Hill, S.C., Dec. 8, 2016—Winthrop University is threatening a student with expulsion or suspension for her alleged involvement in an art installation criticizing the name of a campus building. Today, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and the National Coalition against Censorship (NCAC) wrote to the university president to ask that he immediately drop the charges against the […]
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Winthrop Student Newspaper Criticizes Administration’s Lack of Respect for Freedoms of Speech, Press
April 16, 2013
The Johnsonian (TJ), a student newspaper at Winthrop University in South Carolina, recently published a blistering editorial criticizing the Winthrop administration for its lack of respect for freedom of speech. The Johnsonian staff writes: The official motto of Winthrop is “Live, Learn, Lead.” If we pay attention enough on campus and in our classes we can hear that motto reiterated so many times until it becomes practically redundant. However, there is another less official theme that tends to resonate around Winthrop’s campus. This whispered motif seems to flit around the campus green, curl around the halls of the arts and […]
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‘Free Speech Week’ Celebrated on Campuses Nationwide
April 13, 2012
FIRE celebrated Free Speech Week last week by teaming up with Students For Liberty to send FIRE speakers and materials to student groups across the country. We’re pleased to announce it was a great success! To mark the occasion, 72 student groups distributed FIRE materials and pocket-sized Constitutions on campus. More than 20 student groups also organized expressive events. Many decided to build Free Speech Walls at schools including American University, Boston University, Harvard University, Kansas State University, Winthrop University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Texas San Antonio. FIRE’s Campus Freedom Network (CFN) also worked with […]
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