Yellow Light School

University of Rhode Island

Yellow light colleges and universities are those institutions with at least one ambiguous policy that too easily encourages administrative abuse and arbitrary application. Read more here.

Public or Private: Public
Federal Circuit: First Circuit
Head of Institution: President David M Dooley
University of Rhode Island
Office of the President
35 Campus Ave
Kingston, RI 02881
401-874-1000
muskrat@uri.edu
Website: http://www.uri.edu

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Do you have any information, updates, or changes regarding the policies at this institution? Let us know!

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)

Yellow light: Student Handbook: Community Standards of Behavior- Information About Sexual Harassment and Assault 12-13

Verbal sexual harassment may include, but is not limited to sexual remarks, comments, jokes and innuendoes, whistles and cat calls, crude and offensive language, comments on physical attributes, use of demeaning or inappropriate terms, discussion of sexual activities, the posing of personal questions, the spreading of stories about someoneʹs social or sexual life, and propositions or pressure for social or sexual contact.
Sexual harassment includes verbal and physical behaviors that range from sexual gestures or teasing to sexual assault.
Peer sexual harassment is a form of prohibited sex discrimination where the harassing conduct creates a hostile environment when it is unwelcome and when the conduct is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive to limit a student's ability to participate in or benefit from the educational program, or to create a hostile or abusive educational environment.
View full policy (PDF, 131 KB).

Green light: Student Handbook: Community Standards of Behavior- Harassment 12-13

Harassment. Repeated unwanted contact or communication by any means and behavior or verbal abuse that threatens to injure or endangers the health, safety, or welfare of oneself or another person is unacceptable. Harassment is conduct that has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment.
View full policy (PDF, 65 KB).

Policies Restricting Freedom of Conscience (Learn More)

Yellow light: Student Handbook: Cornerstones 12-13

As members of this community, we subscribe to the following principles which form the foundation of our endeavors:
...
We respect the rights and dignity of each individual and group, we reject prejudice and intolerance, and we work to understand differences.
View full policy (PDF, 239 KB).

Free Speech Zones

Yellow light: Student Handbook: Public Speaking 12-13

Visitors to the campus, students, staff, or faculty wishing to publicly address the University community at other than a University-sponsored event must first check with the Memorial Union scheduling office to insure that the time, place, and manner of the address does not interfere with normal University functioning.
View full policy (PDF, 66 KB).

Green light: Student Handbook: Student Activities- Protests and Demonstrations 12-13

If a formal protest or demonstration is
held, it will not be confined to a specified area, but persons, or signs of
other devices used to express the protest will not block sight, hearing, access or egress, or otherwise interfere with the orderly conduct of the
event being protested or of normal University activities. In order to attain
the latter objective, certain areas in which protest activity is to be
prohibited may be defined in advance by mutual agreement between the
University and the protesting parties defining time, place, and manner.
View full policy (PDF, 119 KB).

Policies on Bias and Hate Speech

Yellow light: Student Handbook: Community Standards of Behavior- Bias-Based Incidents 12-13

A bias-based incident is one which has a negative effect on an individual or group and which is based on or motivated by bias against race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, disability or age. The incident is experienced as hurtful by one or many and may involve harassment, the creation of a hostile environment, property damage, verbal threats of violence, or physical violence. The incident may or may not involve breaches of University Policies or state or federal law.

...
In response to such incidents, the University may plan campus programs or enhance educational efforts to help prevent future incidents. If the perpetrator of the incident can be identified and if established policies or laws are violated, disciplinary or criminal action will be taken.
View full policy (PDF, 209 KB).

Advertised Commitments to Free Expression

Green light policy: Student Handbook: Statement of Students' Rights 12-13

Students have the right to freedom of expression, freedom of association, freedom of inquiry and peaceful assembly.
View full policy (PDF, 74 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 March 2013. 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.