I think the First Amendment would be good enough. I think most people here are open-minded, they don't judge people. Students file about four to five sexual and racial complaints per semester, said Jeannette Mann, special assistant to the president for equity and diversity. About 20 to 30 students come and talk to her every semester, she added. Mann said verbal abuse is a conduct violation that most closely infringes on a person's First Amendment rights.
Verbal abuse has to create a hostile, intimidating or threatening learning environment.
For example, if a person of color is subjected to racial epithets in a classroom to such an extent that the person feels too uncomfortable to attend class, that person's rights have been infringed upon, she said. The same goes for students belonging to clubs or living in student housing. However, a remark that seems harmless to one person might deeply offend another, she added. This campus is so diverse that if you're in a group of people you can easily offend someone without meaning to. Docan said the conduct code is supposed to control activities on campus.