To call the University of West Alabama’s definition of harassment “broad” would be an understatement.
Per a Friday report in The College Fix:
If harsh emails constitute cyber-bullying, my editors owe me a number of heartfelt apologies.
As descriptors, “harsh” and “embarrassing” are enormously subjective. The definition of a “rumor” isn’t exactly narrow either. The speech that could easily be forbidden by this language is staggering.
As a consequence of the school’s policy, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education rates UWA in its lowest possible speech code category, calling the policy “a clear and substantial restriction on constitutionally protected expression.”
Laura Beltz, a policy reform program operator for the group, explained the problems with UWA’s rules in a statement to the Fix. “Online messages do not lose First Amendment protection simply because they’re subjectively viewed as harsh, embarrassing, or as an unverified rumor. For example, a single tweet that criticizes the university administration would be punishable under this policy, but would typically be protected by the First Amendment.”
That’s only one egregious but plausible example among many other possibilities, courtesy of the school’s broad and subjective language. Just be careful before emailing any complaints about this policy to the university, lest your sentiments sound too harsh.
