Will Indiana University restrict speech in class, dorms? Will flyers be allowed?

Editor's note: On July 23, an email from the Indiana University newsroom confirmed that the expressive activities policy would be discussed during the July 29 meeting. IU also announced an executive session for the trustees on July 25.

Could Indiana University students face consequences for expressing an opinion in class? Will flyers be prohibited on campus? Will IU prevent students from sharing their thoughts in the halls of their dorms or outside on the lawn?

Indiana University’s new “expressive activities” policy is raising eyebrows from First Amendment experts and campus free speech advocates, who say the policy as written could severely limit free speech everywhere on campus.

The policy , which is currently being reviewed in draft form with the goal to have it take effect on Aug. 1, expands on IU’s existing First Amendment policies and establishes specific time, place and manner restrictions on overnight camping, use of signs and structures, noise levels and use of materials like spray chalk and paint.

While the policy will apply across IU’s nine campuses and does not explicitly mention the current pro-Palestine encampment at Dunn Meadow , former IU trustee member Jeremy Morris said during a June meeting the policy was drafted in response to “issues from the past few months,” and in a social media video, said he was working on crafting a policy in response to the encampments .

The current policy and its timeline for approval have received condemnations from both IU Student Government (IUSG) and the IU chapter of the American Association for University Professors (AAUP).

"IUSG does not endorse this policy as written due to its punitive, restrictive nature and questionable neutrality," IUSG said in a statement. "Currently, the policy fails our students by focusing on enforcement rather than empowerment. It risks stifling student expression instead of fostering an environment that encourages free thought and open discourse."

Ken Paulson, director of the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University , said while it’s common for universities to revise and make their policies more specific in response to changing times and student protests, he believes IU’s current draft proposal is vague and — whether intentional or not — could have wide-ranging implications for free speech on campus.

“There’s language here that would lead any reasonable reader to wonder exactly what the rules are,” Paulson said. “If I was in their shoes, I would want to bring more precision to it.”

Will IU students have free speech in dorms, classrooms?

The policy’s first draft , which was distributed to IU students, faculty and staff for feedback in late June, defines “expressive activities” as a “public display of individual or group speech or other expression occurring on property owned or controlled by Indiana University or at University-sponsored events,” including “assemblies, speech, distribution of written material, carrying of signs, picketing, protests, counter-protests, or sit-ins.” At its broadest interpretation, that definition classifies speech, from either groups or individuals, as “expressive activities.”

But Paulson notes that because Section 2 of the policy says expressive activities “must not take place in areas that are used for instructional, administrative, or residential purposes … such as classrooms, studios, laboratories, residential space, or office areas,” the policy has the capacity to ban “individual or group speech” in dorms and classrooms.

“Let’s be clear: that appears to be vague drafting, and not a draconian effort to limit free speech, but if you read it, isn’t that what it says?” Paulson said. “Are they saying students don’t have free speech in the dorms?”

Laura Beltz, director of policy reform at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) , a freedom of speech and civil liberties advocacy foundation, says the policy as currently written could also limit “nondisruptive” forms of protest in classrooms.

“This policy could be used to limit protected, nondisruptive protest, such as wearing an armband protesting an invited speaker or silently carrying a protest sign in a library,” Beltz said in a written statement. “This broad drafting essentially bans any speech inside classrooms — a result that was surely unintended by the administration.”

Paulson also says the provisions limiting speech around “office areas” is vague, as the term could be interpreted as including the outdoor areas surrounding offices.

“Does ‘office area’ mean inside offices? No one would argue with that,” Paulson said. “But if office areas means the driveway leading up to the administration building, or the lawn next to the administration building, that would probably be overly restrictive.”

Are flyers signs that need approval from administration?

The draft policy states that signs may “not be affixed to or hung from any structure or property owned, leased, or managed by the University … without the prior permission of University Capital Planning and Facilities.” As “signs” are not defined in the policy, it’s unclear if this stipulation applies to basic flyers and other, similar materials, which is often done around campus, including the Indiana Memorial Union.

Beltz believes while the requirement for signs and structures to be requested and approved 10 days in advance is reasonable, it leaves few options for people to engage in speech anonymously, which she believes is an essential part of free expression on campuses.

“Being able to speak anonymously is so important, especially for folks who are expressing more controversial viewpoints on campus,” Beltz said.

Beltz says it’s important for IU to have at least one designated space where students can post signs anonymously, without prior administration approval.

“Somewhere like a student union or something, where students would be able to share their thoughts without having to go through administrative hoops,” Beltz said.

Student leader says Dunn Meadow encampment will 'continue to be agitating' to IU

IU’s new policy on “expressive activities” cements the last-minute changes to the Dunn Meadow policy – including a ban on overnight camping and requiring prior approval for temporary structures – that led to more than 50 arrests in April .

The new policy will formally ban overnight camping between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. The policy explicitly states that “encampments and overnight Expressive Activity are not permitted in any indoor or outdoor location."

Since IU is a public university, Dunn Meadow and other outdoor gathering spaces are considered a public forum. However, IU still has the legal latitude to set time, place and manner restrictions on speech and actions taken in these spaces, especially in pursuit of educational goals.

“The university still has the right to designate when it will be available and what can be done there, as long as they’re not limiting the content of speech,” Paulson said.

IU sent the first draft of the expressive activities policy to members of the IU community on June 26, requesting feedback by July 15.

The IU Board of Trustees is set to meet at IU Bloomington on Monday, July 29 – three days before the effective start date for the current draft – to discuss the expressive activities policy. An IU spokesperson said the university would “share information about any board action and associated policies with students, faculty and staff following the Board of Trustees meeting.” The agenda for the July 29 meeting has not been uploaded to IU’s website yet.

Bryce Greene, one of the leaders of the pro-Palestine encampment, who returned to campus last month after having a five-year ban successfully appealed , said the encampment will continue to “organize accordingly” in response to new rules.

“It’s ridiculous that rather than looking at the students and addressing their concerns, they try to change rules in order to justify a new round of repression and violence,” Greene said. “We’re not precisely certain what our tactics will be, but I can say that we will continue to be agitating against the university.”

Reach Brian Rosenzweig at brian@heraldt.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Will Indiana University restrict speech in class, dorms? Will flyers be allowed?