The University of Louisville was among a number of schools that received the worst rating from a national free speech organization: Cardinal Red. The "Red Light" rating came from The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, whose report, "Spotlight on Speech Codes 2007" rates schools for the prevalence of student speech codes.
The report doesn't detail what infractions U of L committed to receive the rating, but it's hard to believe that it doesn't come from the increasing intolerance on the U of L campus for expression that might reflect negatively on gays. U of L's "Safe Zone" program has come under fire for, among other things, treading on the freedom of expression.
The "Red Light" rating is given as follows:
A school is rated as a “red light” if it has at least one policy that both clearly and
substantially restricts freedom of speech. A “clear” restriction is one that unambiguously infringes on protected expression. In other words, the threat to free speech at a red-light institution is obvious on the face of the policy and does not depend on how the policy is applied. A “substantial” restriction on free speech is one that is broadly applicable to important categories of campus expression. For example, a ban on “offensive speech” would be a clear violation (in that it is unambiguous) as well as a substantial violation (in that it covers a great deal of what would be protected expression in the larger society). Such a policy would earn a university a red light.
Congratulations U of L.
