Georgia’s largest universities are missing the mark when it comes to permitting free speech on campus and transparency about its policies.
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, based in Philadelphia, Pa., released its annual ratings early Wednesday of several hundred of colleges and universities nationwide on a scale of green (the top rating), yellow (needs improvement) and red (the lowest).
None of the 10 Georgia universities surveyed were rated green. FIRE handed out red ratings to two schools: Emory and Georgia Southern.
Emory, which received a green rating in December 2017, got a red for a website portal FIRE says conceals university policies from the public and prospective students. Emory is a private university. FIRE has criticized Georgia Southern for policies it believes makes it difficult for students to file sexual misconduct complaints.
Eight Georgia universities received yellow ratings, which FIRE describes as policies that “restrict expression that is protected under First Amendment standards and invite administrative abuse.” Those schools are Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State, Middle Georgia State, Valdosta State and the universities of Georgia, North Georgia and West Georgia.
Campus speech rights have been a concern for many political leaders, particularly Republicans, in recent years who feel colleges and universities have shown bias in limiting where and when students and organizations can speak or hold events.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March threatening to cut research funding to schools determined to have limited or prevented students, guest speakers and organizations from expressing their views on campus. The federal government awards an estimated $35 billion annually in research funding, Trump said. About $1 billion of those dollars comes to Georgia's public and private colleges and universities.
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