IU shares findings from indepedent review into Dunn Meadow protests and response

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana University has released the findings of an independent review that examined the clash between protestors and law enforcement in late April on the lawn of Dunn Meadow — a stretch of campus that has long served as an assembly area for student protests.

The university faced pointed criticism and even lawsuits backed by the ACLU of Indiana after multiple days of protests led to state police, outfitted in riot gear, clashing with Pro-Palestinian protestors encamped in Dunn Meadow.

Much of the criticism leveled against IU was over a last-second policy change passed the night before the first protest. In this quickly assembled remote meeting, the Ad Hoc Committee changed longstanding assembly policy that banned the installation of temporary or permanent structures, such as signs and tents, without advanced approval. Tents were previously permitted until 11 p.m.

On April 25, the morning after these quickly enacted policy changes, protestors began to arrive at Dunn Meadow and erect tents. State police would eventually be called in to clear out the encampments and over the next multiple days protestors and state police would clash.

In total, 55 people were arrested over the multiple days of protests. The Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office elected not to file criminal charges against any of the 55 people arrested, citing a “constitutionally dubious process” that led to their arrest.

The extensive six-week investigation was conducted by the Cooley law firm. The firm collected more than 100 hours of video footage and reviewed more than 10,000 internal documents and emails. The firm also conducted a wide array of interviews with students, campus representatives, faculty, members of law enforcement and more.

“We conducted an extensive, thorough review of the events leading up to and during the Dunn Meadow protests,” said Rebekah Donaleski, Cooley’s lead investigator and a partner in the White Collar Defense & Investigations Group. “We found that the university’s actions were driven by a focus on campus safety and free speech in a challenging and rapidly evolving situation. We identified a number of recommendations for IU to make meaningful improvements to its policies, processes and communication that will help the university and its community moving forward.”

The full 70+ page report is included at the bottom of this article.

Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter responded to the report by calling it “fair.”

“The report is fair and offers a very objective glimpse into the reality of the events and I hope that it will be widely distributed and reviewed by all interested parties,” Carter said.

In summary, the report identified key factual observations about the protests and the university’s response. These observations are listed as follows:

• IU’s leadership balanced free speech, campus safety and regular university operations amidst a challenging and rapidly evolving situation.
• IU leadership’s decision to change the Dunn Meadow policy was made in good faith; however, doing so the night before the planned encampment caused a number of unintended negative consequences.
• IU has a decades-long history of inconsistently enforcing its policies, which has caused confusion and frustration and makes governance difficult.
• IU administrators repeatedly asked the protesters to remove the encampment structures and to continue the protest without them, but some protesters refused, and ultimately, using the Indiana State Police’s assistance was the safest option available to remove the encampment.
• IU Police Department is a critical university-wide resource, but their understaffing causes a myriad of negative effects.

The report also included multiple recommendations for Indiana University to implement to improve its policies, safety and communication going forward. The recommendations were:

• Recommendation 1: IU should approve a new expressive activity policy addressing disruptive activities before the start of the Fall 2024 semester.
• Recommendation 2: To establish clearer and more consistent policies, the IU president should direct a review for gaps or inconsistences between university-wide and campus-specific policies and make recommendations to the Board of Trustees on necessary changes.
• Recommendation 3: IU should implement adequate training and communication about its policies and appropriate audit procedures to ensure the consistent application of policies.
• Recommendation 4: IU should establish a plan for implementing any new expressive activity policy and clearing the encampments.
• Recommendation 4.1: IU should clearly communicate this plan to relevant stakeholders and set expectations regarding the Indiana State Police’s involvement.
• Recommendation 4.2: IU should impose predictable and consistent conduct consequences for violating any new policy.
• Recommendation 5: IU should increase funding to the IU Police Department in order to hire and retain more officers and bolster existing training and technological capacity.
• Recommendation 6: IU should consider utilizing campus-wide communications to alert the IU community of encampments or other large-scale or disruptive protests.
• Recommendation 7: The IU president should consider adopting a policy of not issuing official statements about public matters that do not directly affect the university’s core functions.
• Recommendation 8: IU should improve communications involving critical constituencies on campus.

To read the full review, click here .

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 59.