Some universities have enacted a wave of new rules and tightened restrictions around protest and speech in an effort to avoid a repeat of the spring semester, when thousands of people were arrested at protests and encampments prompted by the Israel-Hamas war. These rules, varying by campus, set limits on when and where protests can take place, and they clearly prohibit encampments, reflecting a significant shift in how universities manage student expressions.
At Indiana University, students may no longer engage in what school leaders call expressive activity between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. This specific restriction raises concerns among student advocates and civil liberties groups, arguing that it places undue limitations on students' rights to protest and express dissenting opinions at times when many protests may naturally occur.
Lauren Lassabe Shepherd, a professor at the University of New Orleans, noted that having more detailed rules would potentially make it easier for university administrators to claim that student protesters have broken them. She stated, 'To me, it seems very clear that they're setting up a case to point to where students have violated something.' This suggests a strategic move by institutions to enforce compliance amidst growing concerns about campus unrest.
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