Dakota Universities: Not as Liberal as You Might Think

By Nathan Hansen
Contributing Writer

When most people think of college campuses, they think of places where debate, discourse, and argument run freely. Images of protest and dissent are etched across the national landscape from the 1960s; images of students protesting the war, and fighting for the ability to speak and act freely. Yet college campuses today bear little resemblance to the college campuses of the 60s even though the protesters of that era are now the administrators and faculty of today’s universities.

For over ten years, the volunteers and staff of the Foundation for Individual Rights In Education (FIRE), a nonpartisan group dedicated to the ideas of free expression and thought has monitored speech codes and violations of the first amendment on college campuses nationwide. They have a three tier rating for schools, where green light ratings mean that the school is a haven for free thought and expression, and a red light means that the school has rules or practices that severely disrupt or punish protected speech and thought on campus.

FIRE has rated NDSU and UND, and both received FIRE’s lowest rating, the red light rating for violating students’ right to free speech on campus. South Dakota has four ranked universities, two of which have received green light ratings, one yellow, and one red light rating.

North Dakota universities are more restrictive of speech, thought, and assembly than their southern cousins. NDSU has the greatest number of restrictive policies and speech codes regarding students’ first amendment protections. All told, NDSU has two red light policies and five yellow policies that unconstitutionally violate first amendment protections.

Some examples of NDSU’s policies that restrict speech include a ban on “fighting words” or statements that are provocative enough to instigate a physical response. These kinds of policies were deemed unconstitutional over fifty years ago and the ruling has been upheld ever since.

Then there is the hypocritical policy on protests and parades that says on the one hand that NDSU is a university that fosters freedom of assembly but on the other hand NDSU can limit or stop a parade or demonstration as it sees fit. Oh and demonstrations need to be registered 24 hours in advance.

NDSU is not alone in the Dakotas with restrictive policies; it is just the leader in squashing freedom of expression and speech. UND has a whopper of a speech code that defines sexual harassment and harassment so broadly that if you make someone mad you are guilty of harassment no matter what. UND even lists a breakup as a possible example of sexual harassment, and the policy states that ignoring someone in work or study is harassment.

This speech code clashes greatly with the green light policies UND has that affirm the university as a haven for free thought and expression, which is the same position that SDSU is in. South Dakota State University has several policies that state that the university is a place where free thought, expression, and debate are welcome and desired, but the university is given its red light rating for a severe and overly broad definition of harassment that makes it almost impossible to debate even non-controversial topics without ‘harassing’ someone.

The University of South Dakota, however, is a great example of a university committed to free thought, expression, and speech, of its students and faculty. The university has several policies like the following one in its policy manual to the board of regents that show its commitment to the first amendment: “The institutions shall ensure the rights of free speech and expression and shall encourage the timely and rational discussion of topics whereby the ethical and intellectual development of the student body and general welfare of the public may be promoted.”

In the Dakotas, free thought and expression seem to be the domain and purview of the South Dakota universities. NDSU sorely needs to revise and update its policies and codes in order to claim that the university is following its mission as a liberal arts institution.

This urgency is compounded by the fact that NDSU and UND are becoming bigger players on the world and national stage and having these policies makes a bad impression. And who can forget the fumbles and blunders of the previous year at NDSU? That university doesn’t need any more black eyes to show to the world and prospective students.

You can look up your university and the speech codes it has from the FIRE web site at http://www.thefire.org.

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