Va. universities take ‘heavy hand’ with protest policies, advocate says

RICHMOND, Va. — Students, lawmakers and free-speech activists question if updated university policies that regulate student demonstrations violate First Amendment rights.

After campus protests that led to some clashes with police, institutions such as Virginia Commonwealth University, James Madison University, University of Virginia and Virginia Tech adopted similar policies.

The new rules ban encampments, require masked individuals to show identification if asked, limit where students can hold events and implement stricter rules on chalking, a popular form of peaceful protest.

College students across Virginia have protested in response to the Israel-Hamas war, through marches and gatherings in solidarity with Palestine. The movement peaked before the end of spring semester, when Virginia students erected encampments on campuses that led to police response and 125 arrests, according to the Virginia Mercury.

Demonstrations erupted around the world after the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel that killed approximately 1,200 people, according to the Associated Press. About 250 hostages were seized in the attack.

A war ensued in the region that has led to the death of at least 41,000 Palestinians, as of October.

State Attorney General Jason Miyares denounced student demonstrations last November, and stated Jewish students felt unsafe and threatened by certain chants and slogans that called for a free Palestine. Miyares concluded some of the speech is antisemitic and might not be protected by the First Amendment, because it could incite “imminent lawless action.”

Miyares recommended Virginia colleges implement policy changes to foster safer campuses and avoid disruptions of the educational environment, according to communications director Shaun Kenney.

State Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera in August urged governing board members of Virginia universities to update their codes of conduct, according to an email statement.

“Considering the challenges faced on college and university campuses last academic year and reports that the fall will be even more chaotic, we have asked each institution take proactive steps to update policies,” Guidera stated.

The Students for Justice in Palestine has chapters across Virginia that organize campus demonstrations.

State leaders, in multiple statements and most recently at a legislative hearing, highlight the SJP as a source of antisemitism and disruption on campuses.

Last academic year, an anti-abortion campus event at VCU also ended in disruption, when abortion-rights protesters interrupted a meeting because they did not want people “spewing hate on our campus,” according to the Commonwealth Times.

The new policies will impact how and where student organizations meet moving forward.

Sereen Haddad is a Palestinian student and organizer for the SJP chapter at VCU since October 2023. Haddad has regularly helped host peaceful protests in support of Palestine.

Haddad is concerned the policies intended to protect free speech, actually infringe on free speech rights. The new policies limit outlets for peaceful protests, she said. Students can only display posters the size of a letter-size piece of paper and assemble in designated areas.

“It’s very clear that quite frankly all these policies that are being put in place are no way promoting safety, instead they do promote fear and they promote silence,” Haddad said.

The 25-year-old Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression is a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization that defends free speech.

FIRE rates and tracks the policies that regulate student expression at almost 500 colleges and universities. It works to ensure students are able to lawfully protest, and reaches out to universities whose policies violate the First Amendment.

Laura Beltz, director of policy reform at FIRE, has seen the impact of increased policies regarding student demonstrations.

“We’ve seen a lot of policy changes happening this academic year,” Beltz said. “An unprecedented number of new restrictions on the way students can get out and express themselves on campus.”

No Virginia universities are in direct violation of the First Amendment, yet these institutions have taken a heavy hand through new restrictive policies, according to Beltz.

“I’m concerned that students will see these new regulations when they come back to campus and the message they will receive is that it’s either too onerous to get out and express themselves or that there’s really no reasonable opportunity to do so,” Beltz said.

FIRE ranked UVA. No. 1 in advertised commitments to free expression, on a list last updated in November 2023. The annual list is set to be updated this fall, and will take into consideration the actions of universities over the past academic year.

The Senate Education and Health Committee met Sept. 17 to hear directly from those who were involved in student-led actions, as well as eyewitnesses, and to learn about the new policies.

Numerous speakers from Virginia colleges offered testimony at the two-hour long hearing, including teachers and students arrested in the spring. Jewish students and people affiliated with universities offered perspectives that the demonstrations were important to address injustice. Representatives also said certain SJP chants are offensive.

Committee chair Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, a former college professor, encouraged universities to think about uniform policies to approach student activism and faculty rights when it comes to protest.

Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, teaches high school government classes. He questioned if the Senate should be doing anything legislatively concerning college policies.

Colleges have two conflicting responsibilities: to uphold free speech and to uphold anti-discrimination, according to VanValkenburg. Colleges need to make sure all kids have a voice and are safe, he said.

“At the end of the day this comes down to clear boundaries, clear rules, clarity and objective standards that are followed, no matter what,” VanValkenburg said. “I might like some of those rules, I might not like some of those rules, but they’re the rules.”

Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.