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Nov. 1, 2005

Troy U. Sued Over Speech Code and Art Censorship

Be careful what you joke about — or photograph — at Troy University. That’s the word from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which sued the university in federal court Monday, charging that the Alabama institution’s anti-harassment rules amount to unconstitutional speech codes.

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FIRE, a civil liberties group, is strongly critical of speech codes in higher education and has been suing or threatening to sue public colleges with codes that the group considers particularly offensive. To date, four colleges and universities have changed their policies following such suits.

In the Troy case, FIRE also is suing on behalf of an art student, several of whose nude photographs were removed from a campus show even though the student had received an A from his professor for the work involved in producing the photographs. FIRE said that the photographs were clearly artistic in nature and that a sign alerted people that they were entering an exhibit with nudity.

Troy officials released a statement Monday evening saying that because of the litigation, they could not make any general comment about the issues in the suit. However, the statement said that the photographs that were removed “displayed male full frontal nudity,” which is not “consistent with our community’s standards.”

FIRE posted on its Web site details about Troy’s policies, such as a ban on “indecent expression,” limits on the use of the phone or e-mail to insult others, and a ban on jokes or gossip related to age, sex, gender, race and other factors.

“If insulting or demeaning is grounds for expulsion at Troy, I am surprised there are any students left on the campus,” said Greg Lukianoff, director of legal and public advocacy for FIRE.

— Scott Jaschik

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Comments

So much for Tory U. outsourcing their dining operations to Hooters.

David, at 8:41 am EST on November 1, 2005

Troy State

Sorry, David, you are expelled.

Les, at 9:18 am EST on November 1, 2005

oh, what a wonderful “community standards” argument

Kudos to FIRE for taking on the cause of something that isn’t “Kids for Christ.” I also note that many of Troy’s “students” are “distance learning” via the internet, and I wonder if the community standards of the internet are such that nobody ever sees male frontal nudity.

Also, female nudity is definitely acceptable in Alabama.

Larry, at 11:33 am EST on November 1, 2005

Evolution of thought occurs for the benefit of mortalkind when there is a free exchange of ideas, no matter how offensive—if moderated. Troy University is a public institution and therefore must be open to all of the public—not just a few who hold its administration’s evangelical prudery standards. Since many of its students learn online, it is absurd to claim that any work of artistic expression is offensive to the student body (not all students can see the photographs). The AAUP should censor the university.

Arthur Ide, PhD, at 8:13 am EST on November 2, 2005

Of course, this raises the question as to why universities which care so much about community standards have art departments in the first place. They could probably eliminate the entire department without raising a single first amendment problem, and, as an added bonus, they wouldn’t have to see nude images !

Instead, art departments exist and most colleges to, unfortunately, provide a home for wives of faculty members and to provide a place to host fund-raisers, because the physics lab is too cluttered.

Larry, at 11:05 am EST on November 2, 2005

Troy State

Larry — was the comment about “wives of faculty members” a slip of the keyboard? I certainly hope so.

BG, Hoosier Prof, at 1:21 pm EST on November 10, 2005

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