Haverford College: Amendments to Social Honor Code Restrict Student Expression

On May 3, 2021, Haverford’s student body passed a resolution amending the Social Honor Code to impose new restrictions on speech, including “political beliefs” that “perpetuate discrimination.” The resolution then proceeded to the administration for review. FIRE wrote to Haverford on May 7, calling on the administration to reject the proposed amendments and to revise the existing code to make it consistent with the college’s promises of free expression. On June 15, Haverford responded to FIRE’s letter and indicated that the president had approved the resolution.