Michigan State University: Serious Student Complaints = Spam

Today, as part of a national ad campaign, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education placed a half-page ad in Michigan State University's student newspaper criticizing the university's absurdly overbroad spam policy:

The ad refers to the case of Kara Spencer, a student who, after sending a respectful and serious e-mail to select members of the faculty about the university's decision to reduce the school year by several days, was brought up on charges of spamming. She was then found guilty of spamming and had a formal "Warning" placed in her file, potentially hurting her chances of obtaining employment or attending graduate school. After the intervention of FIRE and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, along with the support of eleven other civil liberties organizations, MSU withdrew the charges against Kara and promised to reform its spam policy. Unfortunately, the university has put in its place a new spam policy that is not much of an improvement. In fact, according to reports, an administrator admitted that Kara Spencer would still have been found guilty under the revised policy!

People hate spam so much that they often get very irrational when discussing it. I hate spam too, but one thing you learn in First Amendment law is that censors, especially ones on college campuses, are remarkably good at bundling protected speech with speech that does not enjoy constitutional protection (e.g. true harassment, libel, etc.). Calling something spam doesn't make it so. Under MSU's policy, even sending one e-mail on an important topic might not be allowed. A student is not even protected if, as Kara did, he or she uses an outside e-mail address. Hopefully, our hatred of spam is not so blinding that it obscures the fact that the spamming rationale is just another approach to stifle debate on campus. I hope that MSU will reconsider its policy and get off our Red Alert list by this time next year.

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Comments

[jcwtts1]

Let's spin this out. If one student sends say 20-30 emails to faculty members what happens if they all decide to? Say as a senior prank, or in response to some decision they don't like such as going dry. In a school that has 50,000 students each sending 20-30 emails would be 1 million emails to 1.5 million emails... a day. So while I get what you are saying the rule is in place to protect the faculty from getting 50,000 emails as a prank or a protest, each day. Sending a specific email to a prof, even sending something out to the listserv (if moderated) is all cool. But sending unsolicited email with suggestions like, why don't we get an extra week for xmas? Or can't we end the semester five days early so that I can go home sooner? Start doing exponential math and you see the problem. Professors are overwhelmed with email from students. Everything from students asking for consideration, asking questions, or just telling the professor how hammered they were when they wrote their last paper. It is insane. But all of that is part of the job and why you get paid. Random questions about shortening the semester? Why would you need to send that to multiple people. Send one email to the dean of students office, politely, asking who to contact and then send one email or make an appointment during office hours to see that person.

[stagebandman]

Another overreaction by those who are most likely technically challenged.