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BY: Rachel Frommer August 15, 2017 4:45 pm

A North Carolina paper has called on a private college to institute free speech reforms by "purging its problematic policies" from the student handbook, following the passage earlier this month of a bill protecting First Amendment rights at the state's public universities.

Barton College was urged to give its students "the right to express themselves freely without fear of punishment" in an editorial by the Wilson Times, after a new state law was adopted allowing for sanctions on students who disrupt the free speech of others and prohibiting administrators from disinviting campus speakers.

"Adult college students needn't be treated like fragile children," wrote the paper. "They deserve robust free speech protections like the ones they'd enjoy in society at large and on campus at a public university."

The Wilson Times called on Barton to set an example for North Carolina's other private institutions of higher education by adopting the "Chicago principles," as the commitment to free speech outlined in 2014 by the University of Chicago has come to be known.

The paper took issue with a number of specific policies in the college handbook that it said "limit student expression," including the code of conduct's requirement that students "express opinions with civility," "show consideration for the opinions of others," and "respect the sanctity and dignity of ideas."

"While we all prefer politeness, there is no objective standard for civility, and we suspect students could be in hot water simply for voicing a viewpoint others may find unwelcome or offensive," wrote the Wilson Times.

The handbook, the most recent available online being from 2016-2017, also gives the vice president for student affairs the power to determine if materials student groups wish to display or distribute are "degrading to segments of the population due to profanity, racism, chauvinism, etc."

"Student groups are encouraged to seek prior approval of questionable designs," according to the handbook.

The Wilson Times said that "et cetera' can cover whatever a college official wants it to. Could political club fliers be banished because members of another party consider them degrading?'"

The paper also took issue with the college's "bizarre" definitions of bullying and cyberbullying, calling them "so broad that they can be contorted to fit any written or spoken slight."

According to the handbook, "bullying' means deliberate hurtful behavior to someone as a single incident or over a period of time. It can be either physical, verbal, or indirect or a combination of any of these forms."

"Cyberbullying' means, when one person uses digital technology to hurt another person," including "texting or emailing unpleasant, scary or rude mobile phone messages" and "posting abusive or demeaning comments on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, or in chat rooms."

The Times posited that under these guidelines, even a "simple argument via text or a heated Facebook debate can result in a student being forced into a disciplinary conference under threat of sanction."

"That should alarm every single member of the Barton community," wrote the paper.

Kathy Daughety, the director of public relations at Barton College, told the Free Beacon that the college would strive to uphold the University of Chicago principles.

"The College affirms the importance of the freedom of public speech," Daughety said. "In this, we agree with the University of Chicago principles."

"The College also affirms the importance of people treating each other with decency and respect," she added. "And, it's our responsibility as an institution to encourage interaction that will further clarity and engagement over topics of interest. And, we affirm the vibrancy of intellectual debate and exchange within our academic community."

Barton did not respond to questions about specific items in the handbook.

Excerpt from:

Barton College Urged to 'Purge Problematic Policies' on Free Speech From Handbook - Washington Free Beacon