As pro-Palestine protests have spread across U.S. campuses in the past few weeks, the response of college administrations has come under scrutiny.
Protests began escalating when students at Columbia University in New York formed an encampment April 17, leading to the university president calling in police to clear the camp.
Since then, more than 2,400 students, faculty and other demonstrators have been arrested nationwide, according to a recent Associated Press tally. That includes more than 100 in Virginia over the past 10 days, including at Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Tech and the University of Mary Washington.
In Hampton Roads, protests were held near Christopher Newport University and Old Dominion University campuses last week. Both remained peaceful with no arrests.
But the demonstrations have ignited debate about students’ First Amendment rights and what constitutes an appropriate school and police response.
CNU officials told demonstrators who had gathered Tuesday on the campus’ Great Lawn they weren’t in compliance with school policy. That requires advance scheduling of “expressive activity” such as protests. Student-led events held in outdoor spaces require 24 hours’ notice, “if possible,” and events organized by groups unaffiliated with the university require 30 days.
According to a university spokesperson later in the week, Vice President of Student Affairs Kevin Hughes spoke with demonstrators twice and told them if they did not move they would be considered trespassers and could be arrested. He also said if they wanted an event that complied with university policy, he could help. A Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press reporter present at Tuesday’s event said Hughes was accompanied by law enforcement officers while he spoke to students.
CNU’s policy is less restrictive than it was years ago. In 2012, the university revised it to require 24 hours’ notice instead of 10 days after the ACLU of Virginia wrote a letter urging the change and stating the existing policy was “out of line with First Amendment principles.” The organization at the time told officials that the right to free speech “is meaningless if citizens may not react to events — especially political events — as they arise.”
Old Dominion, where about 75 people held a pro-Palestine event Wednesday, also requires “prior approval” for events expected to attract more than 50 people or that will require university coordination and resources. Events with fewer than 50 participants also are “encouraged” to seek prior approval. The policy does not state how far in advance events must be scheduled.
At William & Mary, advance notice is not required for students or other university-affiliated groups as long as events do not “impede normal operations or obstruct pedestrian or vehicular traffic.” Spaces are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Those unaffiliated with the university must request use at least seven days in advance. But non-traditional displays, such as tents, require advance approval by the university.
Eden Heilman, legal director for ACLU of Virginia, said the First Amendment protects students’ rights to speak out on public university campuses.
“Public campuses are typically treated as a traditional public forum, meaning that the government may be able to regulate the time, place and manner of speech, but they can’t close the door on speech altogether,” she said.
Heilman said restrictions cannot be content-based.
“So a school can’t take on new restrictions just because they dislike the message that the particular protesters or students are sending.”
A court could find that such new restrictions constitute viewpoint discrimination unless the government — or public universities, in this case — can prove they had a “legitimate interest” in making the change.
VCU’s student newspaper, The Commonwealth Times, notes that the morning after the protest, school administrators “handed out flyers detailing a new directive regarding VCU’s reservation of space policy.” The directive said an event would now be considered a “major event” if it had more than 50 people, instead of the original 150 figure. VCU’s policies require advance notice and permission for all major events.
According to The Commonwealth Times, the flyer also said wearing masks to conceal one’s identity was not permitted.
But Heilman said just because universities may take action against students for noncompliance doesn’t mean they should.
“The ACLU feels very strongly that colleges and universities should be a marketplace of ideas,” she said.
She said while some encampments that have been set up may go against school policies or cause disruption, the response has been “radically disproportionate.”
“We’re seeing schools really, unfortunately, discourage that marketplace of ideas by treating these students like they’re criminals for trying to express themselves.”
Carol Pretlow, a constitutional law professor at Norfolk State University, said time, place and manner restrictions at universities are sometimes in place to protect the operation of schools, for example, so the noise levels do not disrupt students attending class.
But she also notes that it is important for universities to remind students of guidelines and policies relating to protests before they happen.
“Because you don’t want to interrupt or cause a barrier to students’ free speech rights,” she said.
Pro-Palestine protesters have compared their encampments and rallies to other anti-war and social justice movements, such as demonstrations against the Vietnam War, South African apartheid and those who participated in the Civil Rights Movement. They note that many of those protesters also at times did not comply with laws and policies, in the interest of raising awareness against injustice.
The protests are in response to the Israeli assault on Gaza after an Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 Israelis. Hamas also took more than 200 Israelis hostage, including women and children. In the past seven months, Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, about two-thirds of them women and children. The Israeli offensive has also destroyed hospitals and universities in the Gaza Strip, which has been under an Israeli blockade for 17 years.
Critics say the protests are antisemitic. Protesters counter that criticizing Israel is not antisemitic. Many pro-Palestine protesters are Jewish. Jewish participants have hosted Shabbat dinners and celebrated Passover at the encampments, Muslims have held daily prayers and other students have shared traditions from their culture.
President Joe Biden spoke about the protests during a special address on Thursday.
“There’s the right to protest but not the right to cause chaos,” he said.
Many of the student protesters also are speaking against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and the current offensive in Gaza, which they believe constitutes genocide. Israel is facing an official accusation of genocide in a case brought by South Africa before the International Court of Justice.
Among the demands of student protesters is that universities divest from companies and institutions that support Israel.
Nour Habib, nour.habib@virginiamedia.com
