Highly Criticized College “Tattle-Tale” Software Being Used at Brown, URI, RISD, and More
Friday, February 24, 2023
An anonymous “student bias” reporting tool used on college campuses across the country that has come under fire is utilized by Rhode Island institutions of higher education including Brown University, RISD, Bryant University, and the University of Rhode Island, GoLocal has learned.
The software utlizied is Maxient -- and is facing harsh scrutiny.
On Thursday, a Wall Street Journal article said that a group of Stanford University professors is pushing to end the system that “allows students to anonymously report classmates for exhibiting discrimination or bias, saying it threatens free speech on campus.”
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTWSJ reported the following:
“The backlash began last month, when a student reading ‘Mein Kampf,’ the autobiographical manifesto of Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, was reported through the school’s ‘Protected Identity Harm’ system.
The reporting system has been in place since the summer of 2021, but faculty say they were unaware of it until the student newspaper wrote about the incident and the system, spurring a contentious campus debate.
‘I was stunned,’ said Russell Berman, a professor of comparative literature who said he believes the reporting system could chill free speech on campus and is ripe for abuse. ‘It reminds me of McCarthyism.’”
On its website, Maxient calls itself the “software of choice for managing behavior records at colleges and universities across North America. Our centralized reporting and record keeping helps institutions connect the dots and prevent students from falling through the cracks.”
The software notes that “more than 1300 colleges and universities rely on Maxient every single day.”
“The system defaults to anonymous reporting and most students file that way. They use an online form to describe how the bias was demonstrated, which triggers an inquiry within 48 hours. Both parties are contacted,” reported the WSJ. “Participation in the inquiry is voluntary. But it may not feel that way to accused students.”
Juan Santiago, a professor of mechanical engineering favors getting rid of the system, according to the WSJ.
“If you’re an 18-year-old freshman and you get contacted by an administrator and told you’ve been accused of some transgression, what are you going to do?” Santiago said. “They may not call that punitive but that can be very stressful.”
"Prof. Santiago said he is wary that anonymous complaints could be exaggerated or used to attack someone. He helped collect 77 faculty signatures to petition the school to investigate free speech and academic freedom on campus, the first step to getting rid of the anonymous-reporting system," reported the WSJ.
Free Speech in Focus
Brown University, on its website, describes the reporting on Maxient as follows:
“This form is used to report information to the Office of Student Conduct & Community Standards which may constitute violations of the Code of Student Conduct. By completing and filing this form, you are reporting that a student has violated the Code of Student Conduct and you request that the University become involved in the matter through the Student Conduct Procedures. Each report of information is reviewed by the Office of Student Conduct & Community Standards. With regard to each report of information, a determination is made by the Director of Student Conduct & Community Standards or their designee on how a report of information will be processed.
The decision of the Director of Student Conduct & Community Standards or their designee regarding the processing of reports of information is final. Information regarding the options available to the Director of Student Conduct & Community Standards or their designee is available online at ww.brown.edu/osccs and from the Office of Student Conduct & Community Standards. Students with any questions regarding these options should meet and discuss them with a Student Conduct & Community Standards dean prior to completing this form.”
The WSJ reported that Stanford Business School professor Ivan Marinovic said the bias-reporting system reminded him of the way citizens were encouraged to inform on one another by governments in the Soviet Union, East Germany and China.
“It ignores the whole history,” he said. “You’re basically going to be reporting people who you find offensive, right? According to your own ideology.”
"Free-speech advocacy organizations including the Goldwater Institute, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and Alumni Free Speech Alliance have advocated against bias-reporting mechanisms," reported the WSJ.
"After Speech First challenged bias-response systems at the University of Texas, the University of Michigan and the University of Central Florida, all three schools changed or disbanded their systems."
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