Stanford University: University Declares Calls for Genocide a Violation of Policy

On December 8, 2023, Stanford issued a statement via X (formally Twitter) declaring that calls for genocide categorically violate its student code of conduct. Stanford’s statement came in the wake of widespread criticism of congressional testimony in which presidents of three similar universities accurately noted that whether statements that could be understood as calls for genocide violated their respective university policies was context-dependant. FIRE wrote Stanford on December 13 urging it to uphold its strong commitments to free speech by respecting students’ right to engage in protected political speech. Stanford failed to respond to our letter.