A yellow light institution's policies restrict a more limited amount of protected expression or could too easily be used to restrict protected expression.
A policy banning "verbal abuse" could be applied to prohibit a substantial amount of protected speech but could also refer to unprotected speech.
If a college or university's policies do not seriously imperil speech, that college or university receives a "green light."
A green light does not indicate that a school actively supports free expression. It simply means that FIRE is not currently aware of any serious threats to students' free speech rights in the policies on that campus.
When a private university expresses its own values by stating both clearly and consistently that it holds a certain set of values above a commitment to freedom of speech, FIRE does not rate that university.