Drake announced a new proposed protest and demonstration policy in the Sept. 17 edition of its OnCampus newsletter. It included the following explanation:
“Drake supports an environment where differences of opinion and experience can be a part of our community without posing a significant risk of safety or harm to individuals or property.”
Jerry Parker, vice president and dean of students, said he feels that the new policy is needed to increase clarity.
“Drake has relied on its Statement of Principles and Code of Student Conduct to set expectations related to protests and demonstrations,” Parker said. “We felt it was necessary to come at this with a clearer approach on what is allowed and what isn’t allowed when students decide to organize a protest or demonstration on campus.”
Students will be able to comment on the policy through Oct. 9 by going to the Policies Under Review webpage. Parker expects the comments on the policy proposal to be mostly positive.
“Through my conversations with students and student leadership, there has been limited pushback from what I have been told directly or indirectly,” Parker said. “I have heard, ‘Why do we even need to have a policy?’ The answer to that question is that we have policies to provide protocols and processes so we mitigate chaotic situations. Policies provide guidance.”
The policy itself proposes supporting student groups and activists while responding to “disruptive conduct with the lowest possible level of response to de-escalate the situation.” Disruptive conduct, as listed in the policy, includes any protests and demonstrations that hinder University activities, including harassment, disorderly conduct or any action that poses a risk to safety or harm to individuals or property. In the case of disruptive conduct, Public Safety would disperse participants.
The proposed policy also addresses non-Drake students. Members of the community who violate the guidelines would be treated as trespassers and would be asked to leave. If they refused to leave, the police would be called.
The proposed policy would have an impact throughout campus, from students to faculty, as well as administration.
“For the administration, this policy would ensure all members of our campus community understand their responsibilities as it relates to protesting and demonstrating on campus, such as promoting the safety of demonstrators and the University community,” Parker said.
Civic Engagement Student Senator Catherine Pollard met with Parker at the Political Caucus Breakfast on Sept. 20 to discuss the proposed policy.
“It’s really about setting the idea in stone,” Pollard said. “Right now, the idea of not disrupting University functions is just implied in the Student Code of Conduct. Having this solidified could help refer back to things in the future as we get closer to the presidential election because across the country we’ve seen a lot more protests happen around these times. Sometimes those protests can get out of control, and so this would really help prevent that.”
Parker said that the inspiration for the policy came from Drake’s Statement of Principles, which reads:
“Drake University’s purpose is to transmit knowledge, pursue truth and encourage the intellectual and moral development of its students through the activities central to academic life: teaching, research, rigorous analysis, debate, study and service. In the pursuit of these goals, Drake encourages and protects diverse perspectives and the free flow of ideas and discussion among its members. Such diversity and differences of opinion generate debate that produces knowledge and a greater understanding of what it means to be fully human.”
Pollard also addressed how the policy might affect students.
“I’ve yet to see a protest or demonstration on campus, but I think as people organize these types of events in the future they will be able to know how to do it effectively while following the policy,” Pollard said. “It also may allow collaboration with administration and faculty because they do want to see us get involved and express ourselves.”
The policy is available at https://www.drake.edu/policy/development/. The public comment submission is on the same page.
