Red Light School

Dickinson College

A red light university has at least one policy that both clearly and substantially restricts freedom of speech. Read more here.

Public or Private: Private
Federal Circuit: Third Circuit
Head of Institution: President William G Durden
Dickinson College
Office of the President
West College
Carlisle, PA 17013
717-245-1322
durden@dickinson.edu
Website: http://www.dickinson.edu

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On this page, FIRE has excerpted policies that address speech and expression. You may download the full policy in .pdf form, below.

Restrictions on Expressive Rights

Harassment Policies (Learn More)

Green light: Sexual Misconduct Policy 12-13

Harassing Conduct : Intentionally targeting an individual or group with conduct that (1) is unrelated to any legitimate educational purpose, (2) could reasonably be regarded as so severe, persistent, or pervasive as to interfere with or limit the victim's ability to participate in or benefit from the experience of being a student at Dickinson, and (3) is related to the targeted individual or group's sex, sexual orientation, or gender presentation.
View full policy (PDF, 820 KB).

Yellow light: Community Standards: Social Misconduct 12-13

Conduct that is disorderly, annoying, disruptive, overly
aggressive, obscene or which causes a public alarm.
Physical, verbal or psychological abuse, harassment,
intimidation or other conduct that threatens or endangers the health, well being or safety
of oneself or of any person.
View full policy (PDF, 503 KB).

Yellow light: Community Standards: Social Misconduct 12-13

Engaging in conduct that has the purpose or effect of creating a hostile environment or which deprives another person of the ability to fully participate in the programs or opportunities of the college based on that person’s race, color, religion, ethnicity, national origin, disability or other characteristic protected by law or College policy and not addressed in a separate policy such as the College's Sexual Misconduct Policy. Discriminatory Conduct may occur in a single egregious instance or may be the cumulative result of a series of incidents and may include, but is not limited to, acts of verbal, nonverbal or physical aggression, intimidation, or hostility.
View full policy (PDF, 503 KB).

Internet Usage Policies

Red light: Student Handbook: Policy for Responsible Use of Electronic Communications and Network Services 12-13

Employees and students are prohibited from using College-owned computers and/or College-provided computer/network services to:

* Download offensive or derogatory material from the Internet.
... * Send harassing or offensive communications over computer lines, including initiating or forwarding electronic chain letters.
View full policy (PDF, 123 KB).

Policies on Bias and Hate Speech

Red light: Student Handbook: Bias Incident Protocol 12-13

Bias incident is defined as a pejorative act or expression that a reasonable person would conclude is
directed at and/or impacts a member or group based on but not limited to those characteristics
outlined above. A bias motivated incident can occur whether the act or expression was intentional
or unintentional.
In cases where bias incidents are not violations of the Community Standards, the Sexual Misconduct
Policy, the Grievance Policy or any other applicable policy of the College, the Bias Education & Response
Team (B.E.R.T) will serve as primary coordinators for seeking resolution. Approaches to resolving
incidents may include but are not limited to: conflict resolution sessions between target/witness and
perpetrator(s), organizing community forums, community service requirement, etc.
View full policy (PDF, 1067 KB).

Advertised Commitments to Free Expression

Green light policy: Student Handbook: Student Rights and Responsibilities- Preamble 12-13

Dickinson College exists for the pursuit of truth, the transmission of knowledge, the
development of students and the well-being of society. Free inquiry and free expression by all
members of the academic community are indispensable to the attainment of these interrelated
goals.
View full policy (PDF, 282 KB).

Green light policy: Student Handbook: Students' Rights as Citizens 12-13

College students are both members of the academic community and citizens. As citizens, students should enjoy the same freedom of speech, peaceable assembly, and right of petition that other citizens enjoy. The college shall not inhibit such intellectual and personal development of students as may be prompted by their exercise of these rights both on- and off-campus.
View full policy (PDF, 282 KB).

NOTE: You must have Adobe Acrobat installed to view policies in PDF format.

The speech codes and policies above were last fully checked via internet and other research means by FIRE in December 2012. According to FIRE’s research the substantive policies are current at least until this date. Directory information, including the name of the president of the college or university, may have been updated more recently. If any policy has been revised, or if you believe that we are in error, please contact us.