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STANDARDS OF CONDUCT
STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC FREEDOM
Wesleyan University and the Wesleyan community are
committed to the principles of liberty and equality. The University recognizes
that the members of this community must be able to express themselves freely and
at the same time expect tolerance and respect from one another; both are
essential to our mission. Indeed, meaningful exchanges cannot occur in the
absence of respect and tolerance. Intellectual vigor is best sustained when the
free exchange of ideas is carried on within an environment supportive of human
dignity and self-esteem. With freedom should come the wisdom and the
responsibility to think before one speaks.
For these reasons, the University condemns all forms
of discriminatory interference with the exercise of the rights of an individual
or of any group to which that individual belongs. Such abridgement of rights is
particularly abhorrent when carried out by those who have power over the
individual they are affecting—whether that power comes from an administrative,
academic, or any other position on campus. On the other hand, the University
does not believe the free expression of ideas can always take place without pain
or discomfort either to those who speak, listen, read, or write. The
intellectual process, by its very nature, can be distressing, but Wesleyan does
not necessarily regard actions that are distressing as violations of its codes
of conduct.
In accordance, then, with the ideals of academic
freedom, every member of the Wesleyan community should feel that he or she can
enter into controversy without fear of being silenced or constrained. This
community’s commitment to the free exchange of ideas and pursuit of knowledge
requires a wide range of protections for speech and expression, even when
noxious or offensive. Belonging to this community, however, carries with it the
responsibility of extending respect and openness of mind to others.
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