The College published an updated version of its freedom of expression policy yesterday in a campus-wide email from Provost David Kotz ’86.
Kotz emphasized that the new policy will reaffirm the Dartmouth administration’s neutrality and support students’ right to dissent in the classroom, as well as at College sports and arts events. It will also distinguish between protected expression and “actions that disrupt events or campus activities, such as civil disobedience.”
“At a time when many peer institutions are looking at their policies and applying greater restrictions, our policy has been expanded and will provide greater protections for expression by students,” Kotz wrote.
This comes after Kotz convened a Committee on Freedom of Expression and Dissent, composed of faculty, staff and students, to review the policy in July 2024 — following the arrest of 89 individuals at a pro-Palestinian protest. In November 2024, the Steering Committee of the General Faculty accepted the committee’s report — a 28 page document linked in Kotz’s email.
The 2024 report emphasized Dartmouth’s commitment to free speech.
“Protest or demonstration shall not be discouraged so long as neither force nor the threat of force is used, and so long as the orderly processes of the institution are not deliberately obstructed,” it wrote. “Membership in the Dartmouth community carries with it, as a necessary condition, the agreement to honor and abide by this policy.”
College President Sian Leah Beilock teed up Kotz's announcement in an email to campus on Monday. The email — with the subject line “Embracing Difference and Affirming Our Values” — asserted that Dartmouth’s values “remain the same” amid low trust in higher education.
“Dartmouth is a fiercely independent educational institution, not a political one, and disagreement is a feature of our system, not a bug,” she wrote.
According to the email from Kotz, the new policy provides “protections for expression by students.” He emphasized that any limitations placed on expression must be “content and viewpoint neutral” and “narrowly tailored to serve a substantial institutional interest.”
The policy is a bundle of principles concerning freedom of expression and dissent on campus and will guide the College’s actions going forward. Kotz wrote that the updated policy will be integrated into student handbooks by the next academic year.
A spokesperson for the College directed a request for comment to the campus-wide email.
A full analysis comparing the updated freedom of expression policy with the previous version will be published soon.
Kelsey Wang is a reporter and editor for The Dartmouth from the greater Seattle area, majoring in history and government. Outside of The D, she likes to crochet, do jigsaw puzzles and paint.
