Giving Compass' Take:
- Laura Spitalniak reports on California public university systems introducing stricter protest policies that ban masks and encampments.
- What are the implications of these stricter protest policies on student organizing and activism?
- Learn more about key issues in education and how you can help.
- Search our Guide to Good for nonprofits focused on education in your area.
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The University of California and the California State University systems are cracking down on encampments and implementing stricter protest policies as the start of the fall semester nears.
Cal State’s new public assembly policy bans encampments and unauthorized structures like barriers. It also prohibits demonstrators from wearing disguises or concealing their identity. The policy will override all related rules at individual universities, the system said.
Likewise, University of California President Michael Drake directed campus leaders Tuesday to establish or reassert policies banning encampments, unauthorized structures and restrictions on free movement. His guidance also bans demonstrators from concealing their identities with masks.
Like many higher ed institutions, Cal State and the University of California struggled to address student protests over the Israel-Hamas war that led to nationwide campus unrest during the spring term.
Both systems are home to a sizable share of the nation’s college-going population. Cal State is one of the country’s largest public college systems, with roughly 455,000 students across 23 campuses. The University of California has 10 campuses with about 296,000 students.
The two networks attempted to address campus protests expected this fall through their new policy edicts but took different approaches.
The Cal State System's Stricter Protest Policies
Cal State’s policy, unveiled Thursday, addressed these issues by creating systemwide rules.
“The requirements in the policy are not new and were already in place for the most part at each university and at the Chancellor’s Office,” Hazel Kelly, spokesperson for Cal State, said in an email Tuesday.
In public areas, “right of access and equality of access” is given to demonstrators as long as protest activities don’t disrupt university operations. Scheduling or reservations are not required for demonstrations in public spaces.
“Through its new systemwide policy, the CSU will ensure that individuals and groups are afforded wide latitude in lawfully exercising the right of free expression and that their constitutionally protected right to free expression is not abridged,” the system said in an FAQ.
Read the full article about university protest policies by Laura Spitalniak at Higher Ed Dive.