With conversations regarding the recent suspension and expulsion of two CC students following a thread of racial slurs posted on Yik Yak already bursting onto the national scene, the college is now even more in the spotlight after the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) challenged the validity of President Jill Tiefenthaler’s campus-wide commitment to diversity.
The commitment, sent out in an email to the campus following the thread of Yik Yaks, read, “Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is interwoven with our commitment to discourse and liberal learning.”
FIRE, a nonpartisan, nonprofit educational foundation that works on behalf of individual rights, freedom of expression, academic freedom, due process, and rights of conscience at our nation’s colleges and universities, published an article titled “Colorado College Suspends Student for Two Years for Six-Word Joke on Yik Yak” on Monday, Dec. 7. In it, the author details the suspension of CC junior Thaddeus Pryor in response to his comment on the #blackwomenmatter Yik Yak post that read, “They matter, they’re just not hot.”
FIRE Senior Program Officer Ari Cohn was quoted ridiculing the college, which was already considered a “red light university” due to a violation in 2008, for its lack of judiciary discretion in suspending Pryor.
“Colorado College’s disciplinary action toward Pryor—a 21 month suspension—for posting what was intended to be a joke on social media completely contradicts the school’s promises of freedom of speech,” said FIRE Senior Program Officer Ari Cohn. “The college’s punitive and heavy-handed overreaction to Pryor’s social media post will have a chilling effect on campus discourse.”
The article cites the section of Colorado College’s Student Guide, The Pathfinder, that reads, “All members of the college community have such basic rights as freedom of speech….”
“Colorado College may not claim to respect freedom of expression while throwing a student out for two years for making a six-word joke,” said Cohn.
In the FIRE article Pryor remains adamant about the injustice of his suspension.
“I made a six word comment that I freely admitted to authoring, thinking honesty was the first step to helping the community get past the incident,” said Pryor.
He continues. “I support constructive discipline, but I believe the school’s reaction neither educates me on my act of insensitivity, nor benefits the community, nor consoles offended students, to whom I am extremely sorry.”
Most recently, Pryor and junior Lou Hendriques, who was expelled for two posts in the Nov. 9 Yik Yak thread, created a petition arguing against the sanctions.
It reads, “We protest the punishments of Lou Hendriques and Thaddeus Pryor as deeply inappropriate. We urge President Tiefenthaler to accept their apologies, to show mercy, and to restore them quickly to the student body so that they may be part of the necessary campus dialogue…”
So far, the petition has amassed 387 signatures (their goal is 500 signatures) and 66 comments.
In an email Tiefenthaler wrote, “As I’m sure you understand, students’ disciplinary records are protected by federal privacy laws. Therefore, the college cannot discuss specifics about particular cases.”
She continues. “Our student code of conduct clearly states, “The college prohibits abusive behavior, which is any act that endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student or group, or which destroys or removes public or private property, or which produces ridicule, embarrassment, harassment, intimidation or other similar result.”
According to FIRE, Colorado College’s first violation took place on March 31, 2008 when two male students were found responsible for violating the CC’s “violence” policy for posting a flyer that parodied a flyer from the Feminist and Gender Studies program. They recreated a flyer entitled “The Monthly Bag” mocking the “The Monthly Rag.” After an hours-long hearing they were found responsible because of their “juxtaposition of weaponry and sexuality” on their flyer. Disciplinary letters were placed in their official files.
Additionally, FIRE named the college’s Abusive Behavior policy FIRE’s Speech Code of the Month in Nov. 2011.
The policy, according to an email from President Tiefenthaler, states, “Sanctions for violating the student code of conduct vary and depend on many factors, including a student’s conduct history, willingness to take responsibility for one’s actions, impact of one’s actions on others, and remorse.”