Protest Policy Changes Needed at IU, Independent Investigation Concludes

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — An independent, third-party investigation into the pro-Palestinian protests at Dunn Meadow on the campus of Indiana University showed inconsistency in the school’s protest policies.

The 70-page review conducted by Cooley, LLP concludes that IU was attempting to balance free speech and campus safety back in April when police were called in to remove pro-Palestinian protesters from Dunn Meadow, where encampments were established for several weeks.

The investigation lasted for six weeks and included interviews with IU Police, Indiana State Police, the Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office, IU students, staff and faculty. Over 10,000 internal documents and emails were analyzed, along with over 100 hours of video footage.

The report from Cooley, LLP found that changing the Dunn Meadow protest policy was “made in good faith”, but doing so the night before the planned protest cause “unintended” consequences. Several students and staff were arrested and threatened with multi-year long bans from Indiana University. Most of those bans have since been lifted and the Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office decided to not file charges against most of the involved protesters.

Cooley, LLP’s report also found that IU has had inconsistencies in enforcing policies for decades and the lack of funding and staffing within the school’s own police department caused more negative effects.

The report came up with several recommendations for Indiana University, including creating a new protest policy that is clear and is communicated effectively to students and faculty. Cooley, LLP also recommended IU increase funding to its police department, consider a campus wide alert system to notify people of encampments and other “large-scale or disruptive protests”, and for IU’s president to not issue “official” statements if they do not directly affect the core functions of the university.

READ THE FULL COOLEY, LLP INVESTIGATION REPORT HERE

Several students and staff called for the resignation of IU President Pamela Whitten during the conflict. Calls for resignation increased when it became apparent that armed officers with guns that were “sniper capable” took up positions on top of IU buildings. Whitten also stayed inside of the president’s building, which was surrounded by security.

“I am grateful for this independent and thorough third-party perspective,” said IU President Pamela Whitten in Thursday’s press release, “we sincerely appreciate the depth and detail of Cooley’s independent review and will leverage their insights to move forward with purpose, guided by our core values and tirelessly pursuing our top priority: a safe campus with freedom of speech for all.”

As of this writing, the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana is still moving forward with a handful of lawsuits against IU for what it calls violations of the First Amendment.

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