Students, faculty and staff shared their objections to the proposed policy at a press conference Friday at the Dunn Meadow encampment.
(Max Rebolledo/WTIU)
Trustees will vote Monday on a new expression policy for Indiana University. Students, faculty and staff shared their objections at a press conference Friday at the Dunn Meadow encampment. They argued the policy as written would quash effective forms of protest, discussion and education.
IU President Pamela Whitten has said that a new university-wide speech policy is necessary so rules are consistently enforced. Trustees announced their intent to pass one by Aug. 1, before students return in the fall. A recently released legal review commissioned by Whitten also recommended replacing the existing Dunn Meadow assembly policy quickly, as the administration has planned.
The draft would impose several new restrictions on expressive activity, which it defines as “any public display of individual or group speech or other expression.” These include a mandatory 25-foot buffer between participating community members and any door or parking ramp, required permission for hanging signs on campus and 10 days advance approval for temporary structures including signs and light projections.
The policy draft says these rules will “allow for freedom of expression and peaceful demonstration on campus while also respecting the University’s operations.”
The Board gathered feedback from the community, although with 28 working days to finalize the draft before its next meeting, critics in Dunn Meadow objected that the process was rushed.
“Now the Whitten administration is pressing forward with the new expressive activity policy,” Skiba said. “Seeking to impose these constitutionally dubious policies violating student and faculty rights, academic freedom and civil rights on the entire university for the foreseeable future.”
Doctorate student Naomi Shatterfield worries how the policy could limit her students' opportunities to apply learning to action.(Max Rebolledo/WTIU)
The draft policy would apply to the ongoing encampment in Dunn Meadow and future graduate worker protests, but its implications would be much broader said Naomi Shatterfield, a PhD student and member of the IGWC.
“The expressive activity policy will impede not just actions like what you see here but actions that impact all of us,” she said. “Yes, picketing, but also celebrating, sharing events and ideas oriented towards our clubs, sports, a Greek system and other happenings.”
Shatterfield said protest is one of the only ways she thinks the community is able to communicate directly with the administration.
“If our leaders will not meet with us or hear us, should we not bring our requests to their doorstep?” she asked. “Instead, must we place them 25 feet away, and hope that the message goes where it needs to go?”
Professor Heather Akou was arrested at a protest this spring. She said if trustees to pass a new policy, it should come with certain conditions that protect speech, teaching and research. (Max Rebolledo/WTIU)
Professor Heather Akou was one of four faculty members arrested. She said the policy draft imposes limits on community members but provides no path for recourse.
“Where's the accountability for the police and administrators who violated my rights?” she asked.
Akou is also the mother of an incoming IU freshman. We asked how she would feel if her child participated in protests in the fall.
“As a parent, I am so worried. But also, I'm proud of my child and I want them to have the full experience,” Akou said. “I want my child to be able to participate in that rich educational environment.”
Still, not everyone on campus agrees with these criticisms.
IU Faculty and Staff for Israel criticized opposition to the draft policy in anticipation of the Friday press conference in Dunn Meadow. It also made its own recommendations.
Professor Emeritus Leslie Lenkowsky wrote that his group sees the draft policy as viewpoint-blind and not targeted against the pro-Palestine movement, as critics have asserted. He added that community members had “ample opportunity for input” and that the expressive policy “is not overly vague even though we suggest an improvement to it.”
The pro-Israel group recommends that the policy be modified to reference the IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities & Conduct definition of harassment and that the board adopt a similar code for IU employees and visitors. Lenkowsky wrote that it should make clear what forms of expression aren’t protected.
Trustees will meet at 1 p.m. Monday to make their decision. They also met Thursday in a closed door executive session, citing an exception to Indiana’s open door law to discuss “assessment, design, and implementation of school safety and security measures.” Under Indiana law, trustees are required to hold meetings publicly with narrow exceptions for some discussions.
