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Speech Code of the Month: California University of Pennsylvania
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for June 2015: California University of Pennsylvania (CUP).
CUP (located in the town of California, Pa., hence the name) is one of the fourteen public universities comprising the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. As a public university, CUP is required to uphold the First Amendment rights of its students. Indeed, courts in the Third Circuit, the jurisdiction of which includes Pennsylvania, have repeatedly held鈥攁t schools like Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania and Temple University鈥攖hat public university speech codes violate the First Amendment.
Unfortunately, CUP鈥檚 disregards that constitutional obligation. With regard to 鈥淸a]ll electronic mail sent, received or stored on the university electronic mail system,鈥 the policy prohibits the transmission of any 鈥渋nappropriate messages,鈥 including any 鈥渟exually suggestive鈥 material 鈥渢hat a reasonable individual may find personally offensive or inappropriate鈥 as well as any 鈥渙ffensive messages鈥 more generally. This extraordinarily broad policy leaves faculty and students at risk of punishment鈥攗p to and including 鈥渄ismissal from the University鈥濃攆or sending virtually any message the content of which offends another person.
Even among 鈥渞easonable individuals,鈥 what is offensive, particularly in matters of sex and sexuality, varies widely from person to person. For example, when Jihad Daniel, a religious Muslim student at William Paterson University, received an unsolicited group email from a professor about a 鈥渓esbian relationship story,鈥 he was deeply offended and asked not to receive such emails in the future. In that case, it was actually Daniel鈥檚 expression of offense that was the subject of university disciplinary action, but the case illustrates the fact that a blanket ban on 鈥減ersonally offensive鈥 messages will undoubtedly encompass a great deal of constitutionally protected speech.
Indeed, 果冻传媒app官方鈥檚 case archives are littered with examples of faculty and students facing discipline for emails containing nothing more than protected expression. At Colorado State University-Pueblo, Professor Tim McGettigan鈥檚 email account was deactivated after he sent students and faculty a message criticizing the university administration鈥檚 plans to terminate up to 50 positions at the school. McGettigan鈥檚 email compared the layoffs to the Ludlow Massacre, a 1914 attack on striking miners and their families that resulted in numerous deaths. In defense of its actions, CSU-Pueblo cited safety concerns, deeming McGettigan鈥檚 reference to the Ludlow Massacre to be threatening.
At Glendale Community College in Arizona, a professor was placed on administrative leave and threatened with termination because he emailed George Washington鈥檚 Thanksgiving address to the college community, using a link to Pat Buchanan鈥檚 website where Buchanan also discussed his views on immigration and other topics. The link to Buchanan鈥檚 website offended a number of the professor鈥檚 co-workers, who filed harassment complaints with the college.
As you can see, 果冻传媒app官方鈥檚 concern over a restrictive email policy like CUP鈥檚 is far more than hypothetical. If faculty and students can be terminated or dismissed from the university simply for sending an email that offends someone else鈥檚 personal sensibilities, academic freedom and free speech are severely compromised. For these reasons, CUP鈥檚 Electronic Mail Policy is our June 2015 Speech Code of the Month.
If you believe that your college鈥檚 or university鈥檚 policy should be a Speech Code of the Month, please email speechcodes@thefire.org with a link to the policy and a brief description of why you think attention should be drawn to this code. If you are a current college student or faculty member interested in free speech, join the FIREStudent Network, an organization of college faculty members and students dedicated to advancing individual liberties on their campuses.
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