In 1971 the Statement on Individual Rights, which was developed by the Conference on Conduct Governance, was approved. As a set of guidelines, the Statement shall be subject to the same process of review and change in the light of experience as all other standards for which the Conference has responsibility. It must be clearly understood that the adoption of this Statement cannot be construed as in any way superseding or otherwise affecting existing statements of policy issued by the president or enacted by the Board of Trustees, nor does its adoption bind the board or the president to the acceptance of prior restraints upon their responsibility for University policy. Over the years since the Statement on Individual Rights was promulgated, there have been no substantive changes that were not requirements of law.
Individual rights are both legal and moral.
In examining the Code and the Statement, students must recognize that all illegal and invidious discrimination is anathema to the very purposes of a University and to the free inquiry that must take place. While the rights statement may be addressed solely to students, it, in fact, describes many of the rights and responsibilities of all members of the campus community. Any rules or regulations considered necessary to govern the interaction of the members of the University community are intended to reflect values which the community members must share in common if the purpose of the community to advance education and to enhance the educational development of students is to be fulfilled. These values include the freedom to learn, free and open expression within limits that do not interfere with the rights of others, free and disinterested inquiry, intellectual honesty, sustained and independent search for truth, the exercise of critical judgment, respect for the dignity of others, and personal and institutional openness to constructive change. The following enumeration of rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by these individuals in their capacity as members of the campus community or as citizens of the community at large.