¶ … college or university with a "speech code." Would this code stand up to a constitutional test? Why or why not? According to your understanding of the First Amendment, are speech codes constitutional?

Speech codes at private universities such as Emory University are clearly constitutional given that a private institution has discretion when defining the behaviors that are acceptable for individuals who voluntarily agree to become part of the community. First Amendment rights are not infinite: harassment, for example, that intimidates another individual and makes a student fear for his or her safety is not permitted under the Constitution. Emory's speech code was created so that all students are able to fully benefit from the educational opportunities available on campus. The code prohibits speech or conduct that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive educational environment and is designed to ensure that students do not feel threatened or discriminated against in a way that could cause them psychological distress and impact their education (Uelmen 1992). While all students will eventually leave the campus and be subject to 'real world' pressures, Emory believes that a certain extra level of protection within the university environment can be beneficial for a student's education. The types of speech prohibited by the Emory speech code are not those pertaining to rational discourse, but the type of speech designed to make students feel inferior and unsafe while they pursue a (very expensive and time-consuming) education. The student's right to an education cannot be 'trumped' by another student's right to say hateful things designed to make another student feel as if he or she has no right to attend class, to be on campus, or to speak his or her own opinion.

Of course, some may disagree with Emory's educational philosophy. Those who do are free to seek their higher education elsewhere: "Court rulings have prohibited public (state-run) colleges and universities from enacting codes that restrict the constitutional right to free speech based on content. Private institutions, in contrast, are not subject to these decisions. Emory, for example, as a private university, can ignore public law rulings and draft whatever hate speech policy it chooses" (Uelmen 1992).

Work Cited

Uelmen, Gerald. "The Price of Free Speech: Campus Hate Speech Codes."

Issues in Ethics. 5. 2. Summer 1992. January 2, 2010.

http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v5n2/codes.html