Adopted by the DePaul Law Faculty on February 25, 2025, and re-affirmed on April 23, 2026.1
DePaul University’s mission is built upon the Vincentian ideal of universal dignity in which each person is invaluable and worthy of respect. That dignity depends in no small measure upon an individual's freedom and opportunity to give voice to their beliefs and on each individual's freedom and opportunity to choose whether and how to respond.2
Because the university is committed to free and open inquiry, all members of the university community have the broadest possible latitude to speak, write, listen and learn. Except insofar as limitations on that freedom are necessary to the functioning of the law school, DePaul Law fully respects and supports the freedom of all members of our community to discuss any topic.
The ideas and beliefs held by members of our community will often, and inevitably, conflict, sometimes deeply. However, it is not the proper role of DePaul Law to shield individuals from unwelcome, or even deeply offensive, ideas and opinions. While we greatly value civility, and while all members of the law school community share in the responsibility for maintaining a climate of mutual respect, concerns about civility and mutual respect can never be used as a justification for closing off discussion of ideas, however offensive or disagreeable those ideas may be to some members of our community.
Freedom of expression is not freedom from any and all constraints. DePaul Law may restrict expression that violates the law, that falsely defames a specific individual, that constitutes a genuine threat or harassment, that unjustifiably invades substantial privacy or confidentiality interests, or that is otherwise directly incompatible with the functioning of the law school or university. In addition, DePaul Law may reasonably regulate the time, place, and manner of expression to ensure that it does not disrupt the ordinary law school activities.
These are, however, narrow exceptions to the general principle of freedom of expression and, as such, may not be used to censor ideas or to curtail free and open discussion or debate. DePaul Law will not suppress debate or deliberation because the ideas at issue are viewed by some or even a majority as foolish, wrong, offensive or immoral. These judgments are for individual members of our community to make for themselves, and to act on those judgments with further debate or contestation, not suppression. Indeed, fostering the ability of members of the law school community to engage in debate and deliberation is an essential part of DePaul University’s educational mission.
All members of our community also have a duty to protect freedom of expression. Although members of the DePaul Law community are free to criticize and contest views expressed on campus—including those of outside speakers—they may not obstruct or otherwise interfere with the freedom of others to express views they reject or even loathe. The law school recognizes its responsibility not only to promote freedom of debate and deliberation but also to protect that freedom when others attempt to restrict it.
1 This policy borrows from the Report of the Committee on Freedom of Expression of the University of Chicago.
2 See also Land O’Lakes Statement: The Idea of a Catholic University (1967) (“To perform its teaching and research functions effectively the Catholic university must have a true autonomy and academic freedom in the face of authority of whatever kind, lay or clerical, external to the academic community itself”).