By Ethan Cohen
On Aug. 19, the Chancellor’s Office sent a system-wide email to all 23 California State Universities announcing that campuses will no longer allow encampments, pathway-blocking protests and face coverings that conceal identities.
The move comes after a season of protests among campuses across the nation in response to the Israel-Hamas War, where clashes between student activists and university administrations ensued.
Many of these demonstrations resulted in local police being called in to disperse the protests.
The email acknowledged the collective right to demonstrate but highlighted that “freedom of expression, however, is not an absolute right” and that it “coexists with other rights, the CSU educational mission and the need for public order and safety.”
Overnight demonstrations and the use of indoor university property are also prohibited in the updated policy. The changes restrict the time, place and manner students and faculty may demonstrate.
Those protesting will now face limitations on the use of bullhorns, speakers, signs, banners and other forms of disruption to classes.
The policy also grants power to CSU presidents and police chiefs to determine the appropriate level of security and response for each event.
The University of California system recently adopted a similar change in policy aimed at curbing encampments and limiting hostilities on its campuses.
Protests on Long Beach State’s campus faced a dramatic shift during May when protestors, including both students and faculty, used chairs, tables and umbrellas to block the pathway from the College of Business building to Brotman Hall.
This demonstration drew mixed reactions from students, prompting some responses and confrontations with protestors.
Nearly 150 Long Beach State students walked out of classes to protest the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 25, 2023. The CSU system updated its policy placing greater restrictions on campus demonstrations after an academic year filled with student activism. Photo Credit: Samuel Chacko.
CSULB’s specific policy further clarifies that events, public gatherings and demonstrations must undergo an approval process and are restricted to designated public areas on or around campus from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
While the policy outlines guidelines for demonstrations, some student groups perceive it as a negative reaction to their activism and restriction of their expression.
La F.U.E.R.Z.A, a student activism group instrumental in organizing May’s campus protest, expressed strong opposition to the new policy.
Media spokesperson for La F.U.E.R.Z.A Pedro Garcia, who is using a fake name due to privacy concerns, said the updated policy was a response to a growing wave of student activism that would threaten the business of the university system.
“The policy is a direct attack on student free speech and a direct attack on student criticism of the school,” Garcia said. “Essentially, it is surveillance of the students. Students coming to this campus will be met with more surveillance and policing.”
He said the policy provides controls to college administrations that extend beyond the protection of freedom of expression, thus allowing those in power to decide what is and is not appropriate.
“They [CSU’s] think that the policy will put an end to the protesting,” Garcia said. “Nothing they can do will stop us… we’re dedicated in this fight and will continue to organize.”
CSULB Vice President of Student Affairs Beth Lesen, responsible for the implementation and enforcement of the policy, said in an email to students that the goal of the college is to “create an environment that is both passionate and compassionate” for students to exchange ideas and use their voices.
“What I’m really hoping is that we all find ways of communicating respectfully with people who think and feel differently from us,” Lesen said.
