Table of Contents
Speech Code of the Month: Florida Gulf Coast University
FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for April 2007: Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU).
FGCU is a public institution, bound by the First Amendment. prohibits “lewd, indecent, racist, prejudice [sic], obscene, or expressions deemed inappropriate.” This policy is unconstitutional on so many levels that it is almost hard to know where to begin. Let’s start with what is perhaps the most obvious problem: “expressions deemed inappropriate.” Who gets to do the deeming? Is it university administrators? If so, that’s an awful lot of discretion just waiting to be abused. Is it the listener, such that the university is willing to punish anything that a particularly sensitive listener deems inappropriate? You get the point. This policy is so vague and so broad that it cannot be enforced across the board, so it will necessarily be enforced arbitrarily. Moreover, even most speech that a reasonable person would deem “inappropriate” is nonetheless constitutionally protected, and cannot be prohibited by a public university like FGCU.
The ban on racist and prejudiced expression is equally problematic. First, these terms are not defined. What exactly constitutes racist expression at FGCU? Many people consider opposition to illegal immigration or affirmative action to be racist; could discussing those timely and important issues get you in trouble at FGCU? “Prejudiced” is vaguer still. A person can be prejudiced against anything and everything, since all that “prejudiced” means is “.” I for one am prejudiced against child molesters—could I get in trouble for expressing this opinion at FGCU? Again, the problem with prohibiting extremely broad categories of expression is obvious: who knows exactly what is banned? Who gets to decide how these extremely vague terms are defined? And, as with most “inappropriate” expression, the fact is that most “racist” or “prejudiced” expression, unpleasant as it may be, is still protected by the Constitution.
FGCU should repeal this repressive and unconstitutional policy immediately.
If you believe that your college or university should be a Speech Code of the Month, please email speechcodes@thefire.org with a link to the policy and a brief description of why you think attention should be drawn to this code.
Recent Articles
FIRE’s award-winning Newsdesk covers the free speech news you need to stay informed.
To speak or not to speak: Universities face the Kalven question
As political pressure mounts, Dinah Megibow-Taylor explores whether recent institutional statements defend academic freedom — or quietly erode it.
ݮƵAPP statement on Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton upholding age verification for adult content
Today, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to uphold Texas's age-verification law for sites featuring adult content, effectively reversing decades of Supreme Court precedent that protects the free speech rights of adults to access information without jumping over government age-verification hurdles.
Orchestrated silence: How one of America’s most elite music schools expelled a student for reporting harassment
Rebecca Bryant Novak earned her spot at one of the world’s top music schools. But after reporting her advisor for harassment, she says the school turned on her. Now ݮƵAPP is demanding answers.
ݮƵAPP to court: AI speech is still speech — and the First Amendment still applies
Is AI-generated speech speech? In a new amicus brief, ݮƵAPP says yes — and warns that when it comes to free speech and emerging tech, early missteps can echo for decades.