Bye-bye, bake sales? USF plan would restrict campus banners, fundraisers

The University of South Florida’s general counsel is seeking feedback on proposed changes to a policy that would clamp down on events on campus and who attends. It would also add more scrutiny for any signage on campus, and ban bake sales, unapproved banners and amplified sound.

Months after pro-Palestine protests on campus resulted in arrests, tear gas and suspensions and over a year after students were arrested at a separate protest, the university’s proposed changes would give the school tighter control of events held on campus.

The proposed changes, which were published online by USF on July 12, says all planned activities and “modifications to campus space,” which include canopies, banners and signage, including “temporary signage,” must be pre-approved.

Any sign could be posted for a maximum of two weeks, and only students, student organizations, or university departments may place a sign in authorized places to promote pre-approved activities.

No activity would be allowed after 5 p.m. on weekdays or anytime on weekends or when the university is closed, unless they are otherwise approved. Non-USF groups could not host events outside those hours, and any approved activity “may be assessed additional costs for health and safety needs.” Amplified sound would be banned without prior approval.

The policy also says no protests and demonstrations will be allowed during the last two weeks of a semester “to allow students and staff to provide an environment conducive to preparation of final exams.” The policy also grants USF the right to determine the time, place and manner of university events.

Ria Sanchez, a member of USF Divest, an unofficial and unregistered student organization that has been active in pro-Palestine protests, said the new rules are vague and don’t clearly define how far away people must stay from public buildings. Protests, she said, are inherently disruptive in some way. Previously, protesters holding silent protests held up signs in the Marshall Student Center, but under the new policy, she questioned the consequences students could face for that.

Sanchez said she feels the university is trying to make protesting more difficult, as groups with campus ties that have helped organize protests, including Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society, have been sanctioned by the university and are no longer considered official student organizations in good standing. The new policy would create barriers to requesting permission to protest.

“It’s a really weird way of banning free speech that you can only have free speech on certain days, from (certain times) and in certain zones that have not been clearly defined, or else you get arrested, essentially,” she said. “It is purposefully vague.”

The university could also determine that a faculty or staff sponsor needs to be present for a student organization’s activity.

The policy also forbids bake sales, or the sale of any food made in a private home. The policy says all food and drinks at events “must be obtained from, packaged, and/or prepared by an approved food service vendor and anyone wanting to sell food must be licensed to serve food in the state of Florida. Any fundraising activity must also display where the funds are going and what percentage of funds will be donated.”

The policy also says any “literature” distributed must contain the name of the party responsible for producing and distributing it, and may only be distributed in outdoor public spaces in manners that do not “litter the campus.”

Sanchez said this year USF Divest passed out small pamphlets with the death counts of Palestinians. Now, she said, because USF Divest is not an official group, they likely would not be able to do that.

”You can’t physically put it on any walls, but you also can’t hand them out, so you can’t physically disseminate information essentially on campus,” she said.

Non-USF guests to events may be required to present ID and be accompanied by a member of the USF community. USF students and organizations may face code of conduct violations for failure to comply with rules, and non-USF entities could be restricted from campus.

Feedback can be provided online until Aug.11. USF spokespeople did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Divya Kumar covers higher education for the Tampa Bay Times, in partnership with Open Campus.