Clemson has some pretty tough sexual harassment rules.

The FIRE blog reports.

Speech Code of the Month: Clemson University

FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for April 2016: Clemson University.

At Clemson, sexual harassment is defined as “unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature,” including “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature . . . .” This definition includes a vast amount of protected speech, as a single joke or comment that someone subjectively finds to be unwelcome “verbal . . . conduct of a sexual nature” would fall under its breadth. As such, the policy is a clear violation of students’ rights under the First Amendment, which Clemson—as a public university—is legally required to uphold.

Clemson’s policy is yet another troubling example of the adoption of the overbroad “blueprint” sexual harassment standard set forth by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in 2013.

Torch readers may recall that in May 2013, OCR and the Department of Justice issued a findings letter announcing a settlement agreement with the University of Montana, ending an investigation into its policies and procedures addressing sexual harassment and sexual assault. The findings letter said the agreement would “serve as a blueprint for colleges and universities throughout the country to protect students from sexual harassment and assault.” In turn, it defined sexual harassment as “any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature,” including “verbal conduct.” The agreement even instructed that such harassment need not be “objectively” offensive, meaning that a person’s subjective feeling about what constitutes harassment is sufficient to meet the standard. Under this broad definition, just about any sex- or gender-related speech that an individual finds to be offensive could be punishable and the subject of a university investigation.