TIL my university had a 'speech code' hidden in the student handbook for over a decade

Honestly, I never read the fine print when I signed up for classes back in 2019. Then last semester, I posted a meme about a professor's grading being unfair on a group chat. Next day I got an email from the dean saying I violated a rule against 'disruptive communication' that's been in the handbook since 2011. Nobody told us about it during orientation, and now I check every single policy before I say anything online. Has anyone else found weird rules buried in their school's paperwork?

2 comments

2 Comments

hannaht295d ago

My niece had something similar happen at her college a few years back. She shared a funny but harmless photo from a party on her private Instagram and the school called her in for a meeting about "digital citizenship violations." Nobody could even find it in the handbook when they looked.

alex5245d ago

Yeah, "couldn't even find it in the handbook" is exactly the issue. Schools make up these vague rules on the fly so they can punish whatever they want. My advice is to never agree to a meeting about this stuff without a parent or lawyer present... even for a "casual chat." Tell your niece to screenshot everything - the original post, the notice from the school, and any communication after. If they try to push a violation that isn't written down, she should fight it through proper channels. Usually they just back off if you push back.