“Liberal learning requires for its highest effectiveness an environment of free inquiry in which the whole range of human aspiration and achievement, of knowledge and culture, can be subjected to searching scrutiny. Liberal learning believes that people should be free to construct and criticize without restraint of official dogmatism. Liberal learning specifically denies that if an idea is unpopular it is therefore suspect, or that if an idea is popular it is therefore true, and trusts instead in those canons of discrimination that are given in the Western tradition of historical scholarship and ethics.

Standing self-consciously within this tradition of liberal learning, Kalamazoo College claims for its teachers and students the freedom to engage in the careful and critical examination of the history of ideas; the freedom to create, to hold, to advocate and to act on behalf of ideas that express their own convictions and integrity; the freedom to engage in the controversy that an unfettered examination and expression of ideas generates; and the freedom to invite to campus representatives of points of view that are important to an informed understanding of the conflict of ideas in our own time.”

Kalamazoo College Academic Catalog, “Academic Freedom”

Kalamazoo College supports the rights of individuals or groups to raise concerns via speech, performance, peaceable protest or demonstration. The free exchange and discussion of ideas, including unpopular or controversial ideas, is central to the purpose of the academy and our education. However, the right to protest and demonstrate must be balanced with the right of individuals to pursue an education free from disruption, a concept no less central to the academy than the discussion or debate of provocative or challenging ideas or positions.

Learning to balance these two rights and hold them in tension is a part of what is intended by the first three principles of our Honor System: Taking Responsibility for Personal Behavior (1), Respecting Others (2), and Nurturing Independent Thought (3). Within its lawful authority to do so, the College will protect the right of any member of the College community, or any invited speaker or artist, to speak or perform, to demonstrate or protest, or to communicate with or hear others in the community as together we seek to balance freedom of expression with the right to listen and be heard. (See “Honor System” in the College Catalog)

When the conduct of an individual or group infringes upon the right and freedom of others to demonstrate or protest, or to avail themselves of educational opportunities or resources offered by Kalamazoo College, such conduct may constitute cause for action under the College’s Student Conduct Code. The following representative actions, including, but not limited to the list below, are grounds for action under the Student Conduct Code and bring to bear the full range of sanctions available to the College.

• Violent action, or advocating or inciting violence against others
• Occupation of a building, office, classroom or other facility to the exclusion of others
• Disruption of the educational environment, including classes, functions or events
• Detention of a person or persons to inhibit participation
• Blocking free access to facilities or events
• Damage to College or personal property
• Failure to cooperate with College authorities maintaining or restoring order