I somehow doubt the writers of the US Constitution were thinking about “non-negotiable” codes of civility and diversity as they crafted the First Amendment. But then, what do I know? I don’t work for Illinois State.

Linnie Leavines of Campus Reform reports.

Illinois State University (ISU) is under fire from a student’s rights group for language in its student code that demands student conform their behavior  to “the needs of the university” including an “appreciation of diversity.”

ISU’s student code describes certain “non-negotiable” standards to which student are required to take on the “values of the university.”

“When individual behavior conflicts with the values of the University, the individual must choose whether to adapt his or her behavior to meet the needs of the community or to leave the University,” it reads.

These values are described as “civility, and appreciation of diversity, and individual and social responsibility.”

Student rights group, FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights in Education), flagged that code as September’s “speech code of the month” suggesting its language could actually lead to the stamping out of true diversity of thought and action on campus.

“If a student’s expression or behavior deviates from the university’s definition of what it means to appreciate diversity or be socially responsible, that student may be asked to leave the university,” FIRE warned on it its website.

A ISU spokesman told Campus Reform last week, however, that the language is harmless, because it “is really speaking to what are the enforceable parts of the code,” which are based on regular laws.


 
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Illinois State University under fire for restrictive speech code (Campus Reform)
 
 
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