Washington College Principles of Free Expression

Washington College is steadfast in its commitment to academic freedom and free expression.  As an institution of higher learning, Washington College is a place in which a broad spectrum of ideas can be voiced, heard, engaged, and debated without fear of suppression or personal harm. Political, religious, economic, and cultural viewpoints seem to divide our world, yet learning proceeds by exploring and understanding them. We harmonize with the world through our encounters with multiple perspectives and people whose life experiences are different from our own. As an educational experience, this encounter should be free from indoctrination or the censorship of ideas that challenge conventional views. At the same time, we recognize that the means of expression and its impacts upon us are not the same for all. We understand the need for equitable access and resources to strengthen the diversity of perspectives and people that expressive freedom requires in our community.

With this in mind, we, the members of the Washington College community, commit to the following principles of free expression on our campus. They are principles for cultivating and guiding expressive freedom, not policies or codes for regulating speech:

1. Academic Freedom. The advancement of knowledge requires freedom to study, learn, and disseminate one’s ideas. 
2. Inclusion. Free expression occurs in conversation with a diversity of perspectives. 
3. Engagement. A robust exchange of ideas is achieved through the respectful engagement of the whole community. 
4. Generosity. Free expression must be nurtured by the community. 
5. Responsibility. Everyone is responsible for supporting healthy campus expression.
    

Discussion of the Principles of Free Expression

Academic Freedom. The advancement of knowledge requires freedom to study, learn, and disseminate one’s ideas.   

• The concept of academic freedom develops from a tradition that traces back to the philosopher Immanuel Kant and was articulated in the 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom (AAUP), cited in the Faculty Handbook and endorsed by the Board of Visitors and Governors. Informed by this tradition, we define academic freedom as the right of scholars to study, inquire, revise, expand, question, create, experiment with, and express views and ideas that may be illuminating or engaging to some and yet objectionable to others. We advance learning and knowledge by exploring beyond what is already known, familiar, or accepted. 

• At the same time, we acknowledge that academic freedom does not license discrimination, harassment, or other antagonistic conduct that is prohibited by existing policies or laws or contrary to our educational norms.  When we “confront and challenge attempts to dehumanize others through prejudiced attitudes, behaviors, and practices that exclude, demean, or marginalize any individual or group,” as we pledge in our Diversity Statement, we strengthen academic freedom since inquiry and creative expression do not thrive under intimidation or in isolation. 

 

Inclusion. Free expression occurs in conversation with a diversity of perspectives. 

• Expressing our views places us in dialogue with the voices and views of others. We welcome a broad range of ideas and perspectives and see encouraging such diversity as key to ensuring a robust education grounded firmly in the liberal arts and the tradition of academic discourse. In classroom discussions, faculty and staff meetings, student clubs and organizations, guest lectures, conversations during and after campus events, and many other spaces where we engage with one another, all should feel empowered to express themselves freely.  

• To value inclusive expression does not mean that all speech must necessarily be permitted without restriction. Campus expression can be limited by the time, manner, and place of its occurrence, as well as its purpose and impact. We accept academic standards of inquiry by which arguments based on reason and evidence are worthy of more serious consideration than those that do not meet such criteria. Such limits on expression, consistent with our educational practices and norms, support rather than restrict the freedom of expression for all in the community.    

 

Engagement. A robust exchange of ideas is achieved through the respectful engagement of the whole community. 

• A true liberal arts education affords and encourages the opportunity to engage with new ideas, question assumptions, and participate in dynamic discussions. These opportunities may involve testing boundaries and experimenting with forms of speech and activism that include dissent and protest. Unsettling our preconceptions, encountering different perspectives, and expanding or reconsidering views are experiences fundamental to education and civic engagement. 

• We acknowledge that discomfort and disturbances may accompany this engagement and may have an emotional impact on participants. As a serious and caring community of teaching and learning, we must be prepared to explore discomfort rather than avoid or reject it outright. However, when such encounters demean members of our community, deny their dignity, or threaten their safety, they are not consistent with our values. Hate speech, defined by the Washington College Bias Policy, should not be misunderstood as robust engagement. 

 

Generosity. Free expression must be nurtured by the community. 

• In an academic community, we aspire to be generous and thoughtful in expressing and responding to ideas since we respect and learn from what we do not know. Following our traditions of liberal education and scholastic inquiry, we listen to understand, value uncertainty, and raise more questions than we answer.   

• Our speech, whether an individual expression or institutional voice, might protest or challenge another’s speech but should not be the means for excluding or silencing it. As a learning community, our aim should be personal and intellectual growth, not summary judgment. When responding to controversy or a mistake, as will happen with learning, we should call on these values of free expression to be deliberate and restorative in our actions, not punitive or hasty. Consequences for errors of judgment should be commensurate and geared toward the possibility of learning and improvement. 

 

Responsibility. Everyone is responsible for supporting healthy campus expression. 

• Each of us is responsible for our expression, which means that we are also responsive to the community, not just while we express ourselves but also before and after the expression. As a foundational and not a final statement about our values, these principles should encourage dialogue in support of healthy campus expression. 
• The Principles of Free Expression for Washington College should be available for public conversation, circulated through Washington College communication channels and in faculty, staff, and student orientations, referenced in classrooms, meeting rooms, and residence halls, and acknowledged by all as our responsibility for the community. Furthermore, these principles should guide campus leaders in developing policies and programs consistent with healthy campus expression. 
  
  

Acknowledgments 

Charged by President Mike Sosulski, the Presidential Task Force on Free Expression drafted these Principles of Free Expression for Washington College in 2024. The Task Force gratefully acknowledges feedback received from faculty, staff, and students throughout the process as well as ideas generated in consultation with numerous resources including “Advancing Academic Freedom” (American Association of University Professors), “An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment” (1784) by Immanuel Kant, Campus Free Expression: A New Roadmap (Bipartisan Policy Center), Campus Free Speech Guide (PEN America), the Chicago Principles (University of Chicago), Try to Love the Questions: From Debate to Dialogue in Campus and Life (2024) by Lara Hope Schwartz, and the Washington College Diversity Statement and Bias Policy.