To all members of the Carleton community,
Senate approved the final draft of the Free Speech Policy at their meeting on Nov. 30, 2018. I would like to thank Senators for the thoughtful feedback and engaged, collegial discussions.
Thank you also to all members of the community who submitted feedback. We received 136 responses from individuals or groups which were used to guide the drafting of the final policy. Feedback was generally positive and included the following recurrent themes:
- Defining terms
- Using examples for clarity
- Clarifying the complaint-reporting process
- Establishing limits
- Relationship to protests
- Concerns about marginalized or minority groups
These themes have either been addressed within the policy or the accompanying report which can be found on the Senate website.
The Free Speech Policy is intended as a framework that summarizes what is already in place and practiced through various policies at Carleton. We would like to emphasize that the policy does not introduce new restrictions or constraints. Rather, it provides a framework for existing policies and confirms the longstanding commitment to freedom of speech at Carleton.
Thank you again for your time and input,
Sincerely,
Betina Appel Kuzmarov
Clerk of Senate