Civcampus terms
Last updated: July 14, 2026
Plain-English summary
- Civcampus is for documenting campus issues and organizing constructive student advocacy — reporting issues, supporting campaigns, signing petitions, and participating in campus accountability records.
- You cannot use Civcampus to target, shame, harass, dox, defame, threaten, impersonate, or expose individual people.
- Do not post emergencies here. Call 911 for immediate danger and call or text 988 for mental health crisis support.
- University responders may participate, but they cannot quietly edit or delete student posts unless a formal partnership gives them a defined role under published rules.
- Civcampus may moderate, redact, remove, or restrict content that violates these Terms. Takedown requests and appeals are reviewed through published processes.
This summary is for convenience only. The full Terms below control.
Welcome to Civcampus. These Terms of Service govern your access to and use of Civcampus, including the website, campus pages, issue reporting tools, campaigns, petitions, letters, organization pages, supporter sign-ons, moderation tools, and related services. By creating an account, submitting content, signing on to an initiative, representing an organization, or otherwise using Civcampus, you agree to these Terms.
Civcampus is not an emergency service, crisis service, official university reporting system, legal service, or substitute for campus, police, Title IX, disability/accessibility, conduct, housing, HR, or academic grievance processes.
For immediate danger, call 911. For urgent mental health crisis support, call or text 988. For campus-specific police, counseling, Title IX, conduct, or support services, use the official resources linked on your campus page.
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What Civcampus is
Civcampus is a student-centered public record and advocacy platform. Verified campus users may use Civcampus to:
- report non-emergency campus issues
- add updates to public issue records
- follow issues and outcomes
- add support to issues
- create or support campaigns
- create or support petitions, letters, initiatives, and advocacy efforts
- create verified student organization pages
- sign on to initiatives as an individual or, if authorized, on behalf of a verified organization
- view moderation actions, governance rules, and public accountability records
Civcampus is intended to support constructive problem-solving — not to shame, harass, defame, threaten, expose, or target any person. Civcampus is independent of universities unless a formal partnership is clearly stated. Campus names identify the student community served by a campus page; that does not mean Civcampus is owned, operated, sponsored, endorsed, or controlled by that university.
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Who may use Civcampus
To create an account or participate in campus-specific actions, you may be required to verify a valid school email address or other approved campus affiliation. You agree that:
- you will provide accurate account information
- you will use only an email address you are authorized to use
- you will not create accounts for other people
- you will not impersonate another person, organization, university office, or official role
- you will not share your login credentials
- you are responsible for activity that occurs under your account
- you will notify Civcampus if you believe your account has been accessed without permission
Civcampus may limit, suspend, or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, create safety risks, attempt fraud, or misuse the platform.
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Pseudonymity and public identity
Civcampus may allow you to participate using a display name, pseudonym, or public anonymity setting. You may be able to hide your name publicly on certain posts. However, hiding your name publicly does not mean your account is invisible to Civcampus.
Authorized moderators or platform administrators may access limited account information when necessary to enforce safety rules, investigate abuse, review takedown requests, respond to fraud, comply with law, or protect users. Such access should be limited, purpose-based, and logged according to Civcampus policy.
You may not use pseudonymity to harass, defame, impersonate, threaten, dox, mislead, or evade accountability.
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User content
“User Content” means any report, title, description, update, comment, evidence, image, document, link, tag, voice/support action, campaign, petition, letter, initiative, organization page, sign-on, supporter comment, appeal, takedown request, or other material submitted to Civcampus. You are responsible for the User Content you submit.
By submitting User Content, you represent that:
- you have the right to submit it
- it is accurate to the best of your knowledge
- it is submitted in good faith
- it does not knowingly mislead others
- it does not violate these Terms
- it does not violate another person’s privacy, safety, intellectual property, or legal rights
- it does not include prohibited identifying information
- it is not submitted for harassment, retaliation, fraud, or personal targeting
Civcampus does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of User Content. User Content reflects the views and knowledge of the user who submitted it — not necessarily Civcampus, moderators, universities, or campus partners.
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License to user content
By submitting User Content, you grant Civcampus a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, display, reproduce, format, moderate, redact, publish, distribute, and otherwise use that content as necessary to operate the platform, maintain public records, provide campus pages, process moderation actions, support advocacy tools, and preserve issue histories.
This license allows Civcampus to- publish approved reports
- display issue histories
- show campaign, petition, letter, or initiative content
- include consented names or organizations in supporter lists
- redact or remove prohibited details
- preserve moderation logs
- archive outcomes and status histories
- create exports or final documents when users have consented
You retain ownership of your content, subject to this license and these Terms.
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Content rules: what users can do
Users may use Civcampus to document and support good-faith campus-related concerns.
Allowed content may include- facility issues
- accessibility barriers
- safety concerns
- dining, housing, transportation, parking, or service concerns
- communication problems
- technology or resource issues
- campus policy concerns
- department-level or service-level concerns
- patterns affecting students
- updates about whether an issue is still happening
- photos or documents that do not expose private information
- advocacy campaigns connected to campus issues
- petitions, sign-on letters, initiatives, and constructive demands
- verified student organization updates
- public responses from approved university responder accounts
- evidence submitted for context, if legally and safely shareable
Good examples- “The elevator in [building] has been out since Monday.”
- “Students report long waits for counseling appointments.”
- “The path near [location] is poorly lit at night.”
- “Dining options are limited after 7 p.m.”
- “Students need clearer communication about [policy/process].”
All reports should focus on the issue, location, policy, service, department, condition, pattern, or impact — not a specific individual.
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Content rules: what users cannot do
You may not submit, upload, support, organize, or distribute content that violates these Terms. Prohibited content includes:
Personal targeting and identity-based accusations- name or identify a person in an accusation
- target a student, professor, staff member, administrator, contractor, responder, moderator, or bystander
- use titles, locations, course sections, photos, emails, initials, schedules, or other details to make a person identifiable
- encourage others to identify, contact, shame, harass, or punish a person
- publish “blind items” where the person is obvious from context
Defamation, harassment, and abuse- false statements of fact about a person or organization
- unsupported allegations against a specific person
- personal attacks or insults
- harassment, bullying, stalking, or intimidation
- threats or encouragement of harm
- slurs or hateful attacks
- content intended to humiliate or embarrass someone
Private or sensitive information- private email addresses, phone numbers, or home addresses
- student ID numbers
- medical, disability, counseling, immigration, financial, disciplinary, or academic records
- private messages without permission
- photos of bystanders used to accuse or expose them
- images showing faces, license plates, IDs, documents, or metadata that could identify someone without consent
Emergency, criminal, or official-reporting matters- active emergencies or immediate threats
- violence or imminent harm
- sexual assault or Title IX matters requiring formal support
- crimes by named individuals
- child abuse or abuse of vulnerable people
- urgent mental health crises
- matters that require confidential official reporting
Fraud, impersonation, and manipulation- impersonate a person, student organization, university office, or official responder
- create fake accounts
- sign on behalf of someone else, or of an organization without authorization
- manipulate support counts, voices, signatures, or rankings
- use bots, scripts, scraping, or automated actions without permission
- evade account restrictions
Spam, misuse, and illegal activity- spam, scams, advertisements, or irrelevant promotions
- malware or malicious links
- intellectual property violations
- misuse of supporter records or exports
- scraping, selling, or republishing private data
- unlawful activity
- interfering with platform security or operation
For emergency, criminal, or protected matters, use 911, campus police, Title IX, confidential advocates, counseling services, Student Conduct, HR, accessibility/disability offices, or other official resources. Civcampus may hold, redact, restrict, remove, or reject content that violates these rules.
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Evidence, photos, and documents
Users may upload evidence when it helps document a campus issue. Evidence must be relevant, lawful, and safe to share. Before uploading, remove:
- faces of bystanders
- personal names
- private contact information
- student IDs
- medical or counseling information
- location/device metadata
- private documents
- copyrighted material not authorized for use
- anything that identifies a person in an accusation
Civcampus may remove or redact evidence that creates privacy, safety, legal, copyright, or identification risks. Uploading evidence does not guarantee it will be published.
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Campaigns, petitions, letters, and initiatives
Civcampus may allow users and verified organizations to create advocacy actions — campaigns, petitions, open letters, sign-on letters, resolutions, initiatives, or coalition statements. Advocacy content must:
- relate to campus issues or student experience
- be truthful to the creator’s knowledge
- focus on constructive change
- avoid personal targeting
- avoid defamation, harassment, threats, or doxxing
- identify the sponsor or organizer where required
- follow Civcampus supporter consent rules
- follow organization authorization rules
Civcampus may reject, restrict, or remove advocacy content that violates these Terms or creates safety, privacy, legal, or fraud risks.
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Sign-ons and supporter records
Civcampus may allow users to sign on to campaigns, petitions, letters, and initiatives. You may sign only as yourself unless you are authorized to sign on behalf of a verified organization.
You may not- sign as another person or use another person’s account
- create fake sign-ons or submit duplicate signatures
- sign on behalf of an organization without authorization
- pressure, mislead, or coerce others into signing
- misuse supporter data
Visibility settings may include- public name
- partial display name
- private supporter count
- organization name
- organization plus representative name
- contact opt-in
- final supporter list consent
Final supporter lists may include only names or organizations that consented to appear; private supporters may be counted but not individually identified. Supporter emails, private names, or contact information may not be exported or shared unless the user opted in and the requester is authorized under Civcampus policy. Civcampus may log exports, limit access, require re-authentication, and revoke export permissions for misuse.
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Verified organizations
Civcampus may allow student organizations, clubs, coalitions, committees, or advocacy groups to request verified organization pages. Organizations may be required to submit proof of active campus recognition, leadership, authorization, or other documentation. Verification may expire annually, including on a cycle such as June 1 through May 31.
Verified organizations may- create organization pages
- publish advocacy initiatives
- sponsor campaigns
- request sign-ons
- post updates
- manage authorized representatives
- sign on to initiatives when approved
Verified organizations may not- impersonate another group
- falsely claim university sponsorship
- publish misleading recognition status
- misuse supporter information
- target individuals
- post unauthorized statements on behalf of a group
- allow unauthorized members to sign for the organization
Civcampus may suspend, expire, reject, or revoke organization verification for policy violations, expired recognition, fraud risk, or misuse.
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University responders and campus partners
Civcampus may provide official responder accounts or campus partner tools to approved university departments, staff, or representatives.
University responders may- acknowledge issues
- post public updates
- provide official resource links
- request clarification
- propose resolutions
- respond to campaigns or petitions
- submit takedown requests
- identify official reporting channels
Unless a formal agreement states otherwise, responders may not- directly edit or delete student posts
- approve or reject student reports
- access private student identities
- access private supporter records without consent
- silently remove public records
- use Civcampus to retaliate against students
Civcampus is designed to let universities participate constructively while preserving student trust and transparent process.
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Moderation
Civcampus may use student moderators, platform administrators, automated tools, and review processes to enforce these Terms. Moderators may approve, reject, or hold content; request edits; redact identifying information; remove evidence; merge duplicates; change visibility; lock or limit updates; escalate safety concerns; restrict accounts; process appeals; and review takedown requests.
Moderators must follow published rules, apply policies consistently, protect privacy, avoid conflicts of interest, and document decisions. Civcampus may keep public moderation logs showing the action taken, general reason, date, campus, content type, and appeal outcome — without revealing private identities, student emails, confidential evidence, or sensitive details.
Because Civcampus hosts user-generated content, terms and moderation policies matter. U.S. law includes protections for online services that host and moderate user-generated content, but those protections are not a substitute for careful policies, privacy practices, and legal review.
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Takedown requests
Anyone may submit a takedown request if they believe content violates these Terms, infringes rights, creates a safety risk, identifies an individual, or should be restricted for legal, privacy, or policy reasons.
May be submitted for- doxxing
- harassment
- personal identification
- private information
- defamation risk
- threats
- impersonation
- copyright concerns
- evidence exposing bystanders
- fraud or fake sign-ons
- mistaken identity
- safety concerns
Possible outcomes- no action
- redaction
- evidence removal
- post hidden pending review
- post rejected or removed
- post locked
- account restriction
- supporter record correction
- appeal referral
- legal escalation
Civcampus aims to review takedown requests within 72 hours, but timing may vary with complexity, safety risk, legal concerns, or volume. Submitting a request does not guarantee removal.
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Appeals
If your post, organization page, campaign, petition, letter, sign-on, or account is restricted, rejected, or removed, you may be able to appeal. Appeals may be reviewed by a second moderator or platform administrator who was not involved in the original decision when reasonably possible.
Appeal outcomes may include- original decision upheld
- content restored
- content restored with redactions
- content returned for edits
- content permanently removed
- account restriction modified or upheld
Civcampus aims to acknowledge appeals within 7 days, but timing may vary.
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Account restrictions and enforcement
Civcampus may take enforcement action if you violate these Terms or create risk to users, organizations, universities, or the platform. Actions may include:
- warning
- content hold, rejection, or redaction
- temporary posting limit
- temporary suspension
- permanent account removal
- organization verification suspension or revocation
- supporter export restriction
- moderator removal
- university responder access restriction
- legal or safety escalation
Civcampus may take immediate action for severe violations, including threats, doxxing, impersonation, fraud, harassment, or safety risks.
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Privacy
Your use of Civcampus is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which explains what information Civcampus collects, how it is used and shared, how long it is retained, how users can make requests, and how changes are communicated. California guidance explains that websites and online services covered by CalOPPA must conspicuously post a privacy policy and follow it. These Terms do not replace the Privacy Policy.
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Intellectual property
Civcampus and its design, branding, software, text, graphics, and platform features are owned by Civcampus or its licensors. You may not copy, reproduce, modify, distribute, scrape, reverse engineer, or commercially exploit Civcampus without permission, except as allowed by law.
You may not use university logos, seals, mascots, trademarks, or official marks on Civcampus unless you have permission or the use is otherwise legally permitted. Civcampus may use campus names to identify campus communities; that does not imply affiliation, endorsement, or sponsorship.
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No official affiliation unless stated
Unless clearly stated through a formal partnership, Civcampus is independent and is not owned, operated, sponsored, endorsed, or controlled by any university, campus police department, the CSU or UC systems, community college district, private university, student government, or university administration.
Campus names identify the student community served by each campus page. Users should not present Civcampus as an official reporting channel unless Civcampus and the university have expressly agreed to that relationship in writing.
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Disclaimers
Civcampus is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. Civcampus does not guarantee that:
- user content is accurate
- issues will be resolved
- universities will respond
- reports will be reviewed within a specific time
- posts will remain available forever
- the platform will be uninterrupted or error-free
- evidence is complete or verified
- campaigns, petitions, letters, or initiatives will achieve their goals
Civcampus does not provide legal, medical, counseling, emergency, police, academic, disciplinary, or university administrative advice. Contact official campus resources for official reporting, emergencies, protected matters, or confidential support.
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Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Civcampus, its operators, moderators, volunteers, contributors, service providers, and partners will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for loss of data, reputation, goodwill, opportunities, or profits arising from your use of or inability to use Civcampus. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so some of these limits may not apply to you.
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Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Civcampus, its operators, moderators, volunteers, contributors, service providers, and partners from claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or related to:
- your User Content
- your use of Civcampus
- your violation of these Terms
- your violation of another person’s rights
- your misuse of supporter records or organization tools
- your unauthorized representation of an organization
- your violation of law
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Changes to these Terms
Civcampus may update these Terms from time to time. If changes are material, Civcampus may provide notice through the website, email, account notification, or another reasonable method. Your continued use of Civcampus after changes become effective means you accept the updated Terms.
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Contact
Questions about these Terms, moderation, safety, or takedown requests may be sent to the Civcampus team. Takedown requests can be filed through the takedown page.