The staff and administration of our school, Drew University, spent the summer reviewing and making changes to the policy on freedom of expression, which went into effect on Aug. 27.
An email was sent to everyone at Drew about the policy update, which includes items like the posting of materials and flyers, social media usage and access to university facilities, but also gives specific requirements and additions to rules that restrict club and student activities.
However, there was no note of what the exact changes were.
In an email sent to all club leaders, Coordinator of Student Engagement and Club Life Terrance Somesla-McCornell detailed the exact sections of the policy that affect club life, but did not say the changes that were made.
Somesla-McCornell says that it is recommended for all club leaders to be familiar with the policy, but the sections on campus demonstration, posting policy for printed and/or written materials and posting policy for online materials should be highlighted in particular.
It is important to note that all students and faculty are affected by this policy, not just club life.
The policy details that all students and staff are allowed to publicly post flyers and paper materials as long as they are in accordance with said policy and do not use profanity, vulgarity or other offensive language and images.
However, the policy lists many spaces in which students are not allowed to post their flyers, including the hallways of their dormitory, public facing windows and exterior walls of buildings. Students are only allowed to post in these and other spaces that are listed in the policy with the approval of the appropriate Dean or the Director of Facilities Services.
Students have voiced their opinions of the restrictions on using chalk on campus. The policy dictates that using chalk is only allowed when advertising a campus event and in an area that can be cleaned with rain. If it is not cleared away naturally, it must be gone 48 hours after the advertised event.
“I can’t believe that there are such strong restrictions on something as juvenile as chalk drawings,” said Casey Bush (‘28). “It really surprised me that the policy specifically bans chalk after a certain amount of time and that it has to be removed manually.”
Failure to remove old posters as well as putting up posters that were not approved can result in students or faculty removing and reporting said posters, as is recommended by the policy.
Along with the changes to the posting of materials and flyers and access to university facilities that are noted in the email, the policy also contains changes to “campus demonstration.”
The Campus Demonstration section of the policy makes sure to include a statement on the rights of a private institution, stating that as a private college, “Drew maintains the ability to control the time, place and manner for all activities.” However, students are still allowed to protest after submitting an application.
Not only is the application to allow protests new, it must be submitted and approved five business days before the demonstration.
Failure to follow these rules and the rules given for events could subject a student to being prohibited from entering university property, being forced to undergo “criminal processes” and having revoked “the privilege for future demonstration.”
The diction of the policy has sparked discomfort within Drew’s community.
Teachers and staff have shared their personal discomfort with the language used in the policy, as well as the lack of response from administration about it.
At an Action Scholars Gathering event on Nov. 13, hosted by the Center for Civic Engagement, students were asked about the policy and what they knew about it.
“I had never read Drew’s Freedom of Expression policy before it was assigned in my Action Scholars Seminar,” said Rachel Parker (‘28). “I thought the language of the policy was vague and left a lot of the policies up to interpretation.”
Students and faculty never received an email detailing the exact changes that the policy underwent, which students speculate is the reason for the vagueness of the update.
The changes to the policy were instigated by the mass rework that followed a complaint about Drew to the United States Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights about a student protest as well as the actions that followed in the spring of 2024.
Drew University is not the only school to receive a complaint like this.
Universities all over the country have undergone civil rights investigations prompted by a significant rise in reports of anti-Semitic harassment after Oct. 7, similar to Drew.
The University specified in an email sent on Jan. 22, that the updates included the feedback of community members and the recommendations had been addressed accordingly. The email said, “Drew’s administration will be giving these recommendations the time and attention they deserve. You will continue to receive updates moving forward.”
The email listed the following as the recommendations: audit/review/revise and publicize related university policies and student organization charters, enhance education and training and increase transparent communication to the community.
Since the posting of this update, there has been no communication about any new changes. The lack of any new updates has been a concern for students and staff who have been anxiously waiting.
As stated in the first email about the changes to the policy that was sent on Aug. 27, the university will be accepting feedback and will send out an update mid-semester.
However, as we approach finals week and the end of the first semester, students and staff are still waiting for the mid-semester update.
Allison Cannon is a first-year double-majoring in psychology and studio art with a minor in Spanish.
Featured image courtesy of Pexels.com.
