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Speech codes: Still pervasive, still unconstitutional
From our friends at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education comes this damning report of the state of free speech on American campuses. According to FIRE's latest, a survey of over 300 colleges and universities from across the country showed that nearly three-fourths of schools have unconstitutional speech codes--restrictions on student expression that have been overturned in every court case in which they have been challenged. Even more alarming, FIRE shows that this problem is more acute at public universities, institutions directly supported by the government and thus legally obligated to protect First Amendment rights. Another problematic trend is the emergence of "bias-reporting" systems which allow students to lodge complaints anonymously about bias with campus authorities, with little or no accountability or standards of evidence.
Just as we did in our earlier publication Intellectual Diversity: Time for Action, ACTA urges trustees to review their student codes of conduct and harassment policies and to eliminate policies that infringe on students' First Amendment rights. Trustees should take note of a growing list of court cases that have struck down speech codes at schools such as Temple University, Texas Tech, and others. As they are entrusted with the well-being of their institutions, trustees must work to ensure that Universities are places where the free exchange of ideas thrives.
Posted by Sandra E. Czelusniak on December 16, 2008 at December 16, 2008 05:39 PM
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