FIRE's video: New policy at Vanderbilt requires adherence to university s values

TAKE ACTION: https://p2a.co/Sc49URd Vanderbilt University just changed its student discrimination policy. There’s now a section in it that says the university can take action against conduct it finds didn’t violate the policy, but that is “inconsistent with the University’s values,” whatever that means. Because this policy could be applied to restrict speech that is protected under First Amendment standards, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education has named it our Speech Code of the Month for January. The basic point of having a written policy is to inform students of what conduct is prohibited, so they can either modify their behavior or face consequences. But this policy reserves the right of the university to take action against conduct, including speech, that doesn’t meet the vague criterion of conforming to university values. Worse still, the policy explicitly says these decisions can’t be appealed. Vanderbilt promises to “maintain the conditions of freedom of inquiry, thought, and discussion on campus,” but this policy threatens those conditions. Please join us in urging Vanderbilt to reconsider this policy change.