Heather Kogge attends a Sept. 8 vigil at Sample Gates.
(George Hale, WTIU)
For the past four Sunday nights, candlelight vigil protests after 11 p.m. at Indiana University’s Sample Gates have openly challenged the school’s new expressive activity policy.
According to the policy, protests on campus can occur only between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. The university has cited 18 people for violations related to the free speech protests. One of them, a staff member, has been formally threatened with termination.
Heather Kogge, WFIU/WTIU development coordinator, admitted to going to the protest in a short meeting Sept. 13 with her supervisor and Human Resources. That day Kogge received a letter saying she would be fired if she breaks the policy again.
Among the 16 faculty members and one student cited, Kogge is the only one being threatened with losing her job.
She believes IU’s response to her is more severe because staff don’t have protections like tenure or a union. She said she was told IU is treating all policy violators equally.
“That is not the case at all,” Kogge said. “No one has received a written warning saying that they will be fired. In fact, some of the letters have been downright polite, and the tone is just extraordinarily different for me.”
Kogge spoke at a Sept. 8 protest, saying she was inspired by her son and his girlfriend — IU students who took part in the pro-Palestinian Dunn Meadow encampment protests last spring. The IU Divestment Coalition led the encampment protests.
“I've learned a lot in a very short amount of time, and it's been a whirlwind,” Kogge said. “It has only furthered my resolve to continue to be a voice in opposition to the expressive activity policy, especially on behalf of staff.”
Kogge doesn’t believe her supervisor or her department are behind the threat, but that someone higher up intervened.
IU officials declined comment on individual conduct cases but said the policy will be enforced.
Provost Rahul Shrivastav said in a Sept. 17 Bloomington Faculty Council meeting that it will take time to work through “the many gray areas or unintended consequences” of the expressive activity policy. It limits where and when protests can take place. It bans unapproved signs and symbols.
IU’s Board of Trustees passed the policy in July, while protesters camped in Dunn Meadow. Some trustees argued the time restrictions could be removed from the policy, but it passed 6-3.
“As with any policy, if you're publicly known to be intentionally violating it, you should expect it to be enforced,” Shrivastav said at the meeting with faculty. “That is our job and the Board of Trustees’ expectations for all of us. Questions and complaints about the policy are for the board and their council.”
Shrivastav said IU President Pamela Whitten agreed to review the policy in spring 2025.
Russ Skiba, professor emeritus in the School of Education and one of the organizers of the vigils, was reprimanded last week by the university. Skiba said over the last four weeks, hundreds of protesters attended the vigils. Some choose to stand on the public sidewalk, just off of IU’s property.
He said the Indiana University Police Department applied the policy unevenly, and of the original six protesters cited, five belonged to religous or racial minorities.
Faculty don't know if they could also lose their jobs, Skiba said, and deans are unsure of the possible consequences. But he said protesters will continue to fight for free speech.
“The message of the expressive activity policy is: You can speak out as long as you do it when we want, where we want, and with the content that we've approved,” Skiba said. “That is the kind of free speech you see in Russia and China. It's not the kind of free speech that most Americans are used to.”
This story has been updated.
Aubrey is our higher education reporter and a Report For America corps member. Contact her at aubmwrig@iu.edu or follow her on X @aubreymwright.
