A group protesting Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Trustees said in June they'd be seeking input for the new policy, which they hope to enact by August.
(Elizabeth DeSantis, WFIU/WTIU News)
The Indiana University Board of Trustees released a draft (embedded below) for a new university-wide “expressive activity” policy that would place new limits on where, when and how community members can protest.
Trustee Jeremy Morris teased the new policy at the June 13 Board of Trustees meeting. He told the Board it needed time to consult with stakeholders but had to act fast to get it passed before August.
Morris chairs the trustees’ Academic Affairs and University Policy Committee and is up for reelection this month.
The draft says IU “recognizes the historical importance of Dunn Meadow” as a place for free expression but emphasizes that new rules apply to “all allowable areas on all Indiana University campuses.”
Community members could face immediate citation and be suspended or have their employment terminated for violating the policy.
The proposed rules
Strict limits on where community members can hang signs. Affixing them to property including buildings and flagpoles without permission from Capital Planning and Facilities could be grounds for punishment. The same applies for light projections.
Non-water soluble and semi-permanent substances such as spray chalk would be forbidden. Marking of any kind on vertical surfaces would be banned, including regular chalk.
Expressive activity wouldn’t be allowed to take place within 25 feet of the entrance to a building, parking lot or parking ramp, but the policy would allow public safety personnel discretion to determine “whatever space is necessary” for entry or exits.
Expressive activity couldn’t interfere with vehicle or foot traffic, which is already forbidden under IU’s existing First Amendment policy, written July 2022.
Limits all expressive activity to between 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. It explicitly states that overnight camping is not a form of speech and violators would be subject to trespass enforcement. Temporary structures would have to be approved at least 10 days ahead of time with different departments governing proposals by different community groups (students, faculty and visitors).
These provisions would apply to the ongoing encampment in Dunn Meadow, where students protesting IU’s relationship with Israel and a Crane Naval Base have stayed overnight for the past two months.
Forbids anyone from obstructing another person’s expressive activity visually, which includes speakers, their supporters or their signs.
Expressive activity couldn’t take place in classrooms or offices.
The draft adds that “University or law enforcement officials may act pursuant to this Policy to ensure public safety while allowing the expression to continue so long as the University’s operations are not substantially disrupted.”
The draft set the policy’s effective date for Aug. 1. The University declined to make anyone available for interview, but spokesperson Mark Bode sent the following response:
“Following the Board of Trustees meeting June 13-14, the Board solicited feedback from university stakeholders on a number of key questions regarding a new draft policy on expressive conduct. Late last week, the university’s Vice President and General Counsel began circulating the draft policy for review and comment by members of the university community who represent students, faculty, and staff.
"The university community has been asked for feedback by July 15, and that feedback will be carefully considered by the Board of Trustees before finalizing and voting on the draft policy in time for the beginning of the academic year in the fall.
"The survey from IUSG is in the spirit of the feedback process set up by General Counsel and the Board of Trustees.”
