In May, when University President Michael Schill testified before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce about his decision to deescalate the pro-Palestinian encampment on Deering Meadow, he attempted to walk a razor-thin line between his expressed commitments to student safety and free speech on campus.
Much like the fates of other university presidents, it was a moment that could make or break his nascent leadership, just shy of two years.
Despite coming under fire from hardline politicians and differing Northwestern parties for what they saw as his acquiescent rhetoric and behavior in negotiating with encampment organizers and fighting antisemitism, Schill would only double down on his position.
But he also seemed to hint at future plans.
On Sept. 5, NU administration leaders rolled out a new demonstration policy, Student Code of Conduct, and a display and solicitation policy, among other changes — aiming at addressing what they described as “light gaps and inconsistencies” in previous University policies.
The changes are now in effect, according to the Thursday email.
Those were the same efforts Schill had prefaced a month earlier in an email to the NU community, intended to fight antisemitism, Islamophobia and other forms of hate on campus.
NU’s model rather builds on a nationwide movement where universities have begun to enforce a raft of new rules related to student protests this school year. The University of Pennsylvania has already passed policies barring any encampment or overnight demonstration. The University of California now requires demonstrators to remove any mask coverings that conceal their identity. And Harvard University recently clarified its ban on protests in certain areas on campus.
Demonstration Policy
Headlining the slew of new developments is an updated demonstration policy.
At the start of the encampment on Deering Meadow, NU enacted an interim addendum to the preexisting demonstration policy. The addendum implemented makeshift changes to how students could demonstrate on campus, including at The Rock, as well as the use of bull horns, lighting, banners and chalking.
Chief to the addendum was its ban on tenting, except “for University-approved events.” Per campus tradition, one small camping tent at The Rock would still be allowed for students to stay in after painting the boulder.
The updated demonstration policy codifies some of these elements from the interim addendum but also introduces new provisions.
A key change is that overnight demonstrations between midnight and 6 a.m. will no longer be permitted, indoors or outdoors, except for guarding The Rock — a decision that many view as the University’s attempt to prevent any encampment from forming on campus this year.
“I think what this policy will create is a clear demonstration to people that the University is actually not invested in freedom of speech, not invested in hearing students out, but is actually just invested in shutting things down,” said Weinberg junior Evgeny Stolyarov, a member of NU’s chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace.
NU’s Student for Justice in Palestine told The Daily in a statement that the string of new policies is “a telling indication of how universities across the country are systematically ignoring and silencing pro-Palestinian students.”
The recent policy also cracks down on demonstrations at The Rock before 3 p.m. on weekdays and the use of amplified sound in the area before 5 p.m.
University spokesperson Erin Karter told The Daily that sanctions for violations of the policy would “range from a warning for minor offenses to suspension, expulsion or termination for major infractions.”
Meanwhile, others have applauded the updated policy as a chance to foster a more positive campus climate in the coming school year.
“Last year, it was really difficult because the protests were really disruptive, and they also felt like they were targeted and also very hateful,” said Medill junior and Wildcats for Israel President Madeleine Stern, a former Daily staffer. “Hopefully people will be able to have more dialogue.”
Display and Solicitation Policy
New to the University’s plans is also a display and solicitation policy.
It primarily homes in on setting parameters for on-campus displays, including flyers, banners, chalking and 3D installations — many of which were used during the encampment and demonstrations in April.
Setting up designated zones for each of those markers appears to be one of the priorities.
For example, flyers may now only be posted on approved bulletin boards in campus buildings and kiosks outdoors, while banners attached to University buildings or spaces must comply with each facility’s regulations.
The rollout of these policies follows multiple incidents during the encampment when signs and other displays, condemned by many students as antisemitic, were reported.
A spray-painted message reading “Death 2 Israel” was found on the Jacobs Center, and one sign depicted Schill with devil horns, a historically antisemitic trope. Another sign found near the encampment depicted a Star of David with a red line crossing through it.
Organizers of the encampment condemned and promptly removed those displays, telling The Daily they were not sanctioned by the NU Divestment Coalition.
Compared to last year, some Jewish students say these updates make them feel more safe heading onto campus.
“If they’re enforced effectively and respectfully with student protests, I think that students’ voices will still be valued and promoted around campus with the avoidance of some of the safety and security concerns that happened this spring,” said Weinberg senior Sari Eisen, president of NU Hillel. “The way that these policies are enforced can continue the positive climate of campus without putting student safety at risk.”
While the enforcement of the policies still remains a question, McCormick sophomore Samuel Feldman also considers the new policies as a part of a “well-meaning document.”
“We don’t know how to enforce these rules and regulations, but I really am optimistic that the University is taking the right steps to make sure all of its students feel safe,” Feldman said
Student Code of Conduct
Each year, NU’s Student Handbook, which includes the community code guidelines and the Student Code of Conduct, is also updated.
The set of new changes this year appear to lean on a number of safety guidelines that the University hopes to counteract acts of violence and discrimination on campus.
One of the changes requires students to identify themselves by removing their face masks or coverings when asked by what the University describes as “authorized University officials performing their duties.”
With many of those at the encampment wearing coverings, some students feel like this effort was directed at specific groups.
“The University knows for a fact that often people who support Palestine are targeted,” said a Palestinian student involved at the encampment, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution. “People will come onto campus if there’s a demonstration, and they will try and photograph them, and they will try and reveal their identity, to dox them, to put them in danger.”
The new Intimidation standard “prohibits subjecting another person or group to abusive, demeaning, harassing, humiliating, intimidating, threatening or violent behavior that substantially affects the ability of the person or group to learn, work or live in the University environment.”
Violations to the policy include physical threats, verbal or written communication, the use of symbols, words or graphics to incite violence, acts of doxxing and abusive behavior toward University officials or agents acting in performance of their duties.
The limitations now also leave some student activists weary of the University compromising their free speech and ability to demonstrate.
“The reason we protest and the reason we demonstrate is because it acts as a disruption, and it doesn’t follow a certain rule,” said SESP junior Anusha Kumar, who is a member of Fossil Free NU and Students Organizing for Labor Rights. “But then to have these rules that say you can protest here and you cannot protest there, at least for me, defeats the purpose of demonstrating.”
Administrators noted in the email that more information about the implementation of the changes will be shared soon.
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