IU Student Government President Cooper Tinsley sent an email to IU students Wednesday asking them to complete a survey about a draft of a new expressive activity policy. The full draft was included with the survey.
IU Vice President and General Counsel Anthony Prather began circulating the draft late last week for review and comment from members of the IU community, according to IU Executive Director for Media Relations Mark Bode.
“Recognizing the importance of broad student input, IUSG thought it would be best for all students to be able to participate in this discussion,” IUSG Executive Press Secretary Alexa Avellaneda wrote in an email to the Indiana Daily Student.
The proposed policy comes following more than two months of controversy surrounding IU’s policy on expressive activity on campus. Indiana State and IU Police arrested 57 protesters April 25 and 27 at a pro-Palestine encampment in Dunn Meadow, charging all with criminal trespass. The Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office later dropped all criminal trespass charges. The ongoing encampment has remained in Dunn Meadow for over two months.
The university involved law enforcement following a policy change made by an ad hoc committee April 24, the night prior to the encampment’s first day. The policy change added a rule that all structures, including tents, required pre-approval from university officials, modifying existing policy.
The ad hoc committee consisted of four administrators, according to faculty sources and multiple media outlets. Previous recommendations held an ad hoc committee to “give continuing advice on changes to policy” should consist of the IUSG president, the Bloomington Faculty Council president pro tem and a member designated by the provost.
IU Board of Trustees member Jeremy Morris said at the trustees’ summer meeting June 13 that the Academic Affairs and University Policies Committee had begun work on a new “expressive activity” policy connecting to the 1969 assembly ground policy.
The 1969 policy designated Dunn Meadow as an assembly zone, specifying that any acts of free expression within legal regulations would be permitted “with or without advanced notice.”
However, the 1969 policy has often been confused with a 1989 report by an Assembly Ground Advisory Committee recommending principles to apply to the use of the Dunn Meadow space. The 1989 report recommended the ad hoc committee provide continuing guidance on changes to expressive activity policies and recommended prohibiting overnight camping. The report was never voted on or signed into policy but is displayed erroneously on IU’s website as the 1969 policy.
Morris said June 13 the trustees would ask for feedback from faculty, students and administrators over the weeks that followed.
“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,” Bode wrote in an email to the IDS.
The new policy draft outlines more specific regulations for students protesting on campus. The policy would supersede any other free speech policies it may conflict with. The draft also lists an effective date of Aug. 1.
Below is a list of key policies and policy changes introduced in the draft.
What kinds of action would be protected under the new policy?
The new policy would affect all IU students, employees and contractors, as well as any guests or visitors to campus.
The draft focuses on the protection and regulation of “expressive activity.” Expressive activity means any display of individual or group speech on campus. It extends to most forms of protest, such as sit-ins, carrying signs and assemblies.
Expressive activity would not extend to overnight structures or overnight camping.
The policy states no individual is permitted to interfere with another’s right to expressive activity. University or law enforcement officials may act to enforce policy violations and maintain public safety.
Outdoor amplified sound, such as music through speakers, is permitted, provided it does not cause a significant disruption to surrounding community members.
What would be prohibited under the new policy?
Expressive activity would be limited to the hours of 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
Impeding vehicular or pedestrian traffic, building entrances and exits, and otherwise disrupting university services with expressive activity would be a violation.
The draft states expressive activity “may not unreasonably interfere with or substantially disrupt official activities or the operations of the University.” It lists classrooms, studios, laboratories, residential space and office areas as prohibited locations.
It also states that expressive activity must take place a minimum of 25 feet away or “whatever space is necessary for public safety as determined by Public Safety personnel” from university building entrances.
Marking any campus property with non-water soluble, semi-permanent or permanent substances is prohibited, as well as marking any vertical surface by any means.
Signs and temporary structures must be approved by the university at least 10 days in advance. Structures that fail to meet these guidelines are subject to “immediate removal.”
Any unauthorized structures or overnight expressive activities will be met with a trespass citation.
What would the consequences of violating this policy be?
Violations of the policy would result in immediate citation, trespass and/or suspension from campus, according to the draft.
The draft also states that the university would have access to “all other legal remedies as provided under state law.”
What is the IUSG survey?
The survey from IUSG allows IU students to give input on the content of the policy draft, according to Tinsley’s email.
The 22-question survey asks students to gauge the fairness and appropriateness of each aspect of the draft, including an optional written explanation.
“It is crucial for students to complete this survey to ensure that their opinions on the policy are represented accurately,” Avellaneda wrote in the email. “The FUSE Administration hopes the trustees will respect and consider the students' feedback as this policy is finalized.”
IUSG had some of its own concerns with the new policy, Avellaneda wrote. She wrote that the time restriction on expressive activity from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. may restrict students’ free speech rights. She also stated unlike the 1989 expressive activity policy report, the draft does not outline a procedure including IUSG in decision-making pertaining to the policy.
Avellaneda stated the policy’s “vague language” wouldn’t protect students from physical force by “groups outside of IU.”
“IUSG believes this policy has room for improvement and that the responses gathered from the student survey will effectively capture specific concerns from the student body,” she wrote.
Dunn Meadow encampment leaders did not respond to request for comment.
