Lately, I have been very distressed with the barrage of negative language on both sides of the political spectrum. Individual students have been ridiculed, besmirched, and their educational upbringing called into queston. There should be no room for that in this fine university.

What I propose is an informal "Rules of Civility for myUMBC posts", preliminary draft rules posted below. I don't claim to be the final arbiter on the matter, so I leave that up to my fellow students to suggest new rules to add or modify existing proposed rules.

Rules of Civility for myUMBC

1.)    Refrain from engaging in name calling of particular students. (Example: Calling specific students an idiot, douche, traitor, drone, etc.)

2.)    Refrain from questioning someone’s intellectual capacity or educational background (Example: Questioning IQ scores, homeschooling experiences, questioning intelligence of others due to geographic/cultural upbringing or political affiliation, etc.)

3.)    Religion can be questioned and mocked (if that is your intent). (Example: Atheists can attack Christianity; Christians can attack Atheists and Islam)

4.)    Name calling rules do not apply to public figures such as POTUS or other political candidates.

5.)    No pictures of students may be posted or altered on myUMBC without the student’s expressed permission.

6.)    Referring to specific students in Post titles are also prohibited without their expressed consent.

7.)    Farewell myUMBC posts are prohibited (as they are quite stupid). If you want to leave, leave. Don’t make a big dramatic exit.

Accepted Behavior

“Some people on myUMBC are liberal/conservative drones.” (without naming names)

Unacceptable Behavior

“(Insert name of student) is a liberal/conservative drone.”