CAMPUS

Indiana University to create 'expressive activities' policy in response to campus protests

Portrait of Brian Rosenzweig Brian Rosenzweig
The Herald-Times
IU trustees plan to create a system-wide policy on "expressive activities" in an apparent response to the encampments at Dunn Meadow, which led to more than 50 arrests this spring.

Indiana University's trustees are planning to create an IU system-wide policy on “expressive activities” before the 2024-2025 academic year, in an apparent response to the encampments at IU Bloomington’s Dunn Meadow.

Trustee Jeremy Morris, who serves as the chair of the academic affairs and university policies committee, said during the June 13 trustees meeting that the board was seeking to create a policy across all IU campuses in response to “issues from the past few months.” Morris did not explicitly mention the encampments at Dunn Meadow, but later mentioned the need to clarify the 1969 policy designating Dunn Meadow as a “university assembly ground.”

Morris did not indicate what a potential policy revision would address, but said he and the other trustees were hearing and listening to concerned messages from alumni and stakeholders regarding the “issues on campus.”

Morris said trustees and members of the University Faculty Council (UFC) had a “much needed conversation” in May about shared governance and ways to move forward. The UFC consists of 41 elected faculty members, two student members (one from IU Bloomington and one from IU Indianapolis), and four ex officio members: IU President Pamela Whitten, IU Bloomington Provost Rahul Shrivastav, IU Indianapolis Chancellor Latha Ramchand and Vice President for Regional Campuses and Online Education Susan Sciame-Giesecke. Sciame-Giesecke is set to retire on June 30.

An action item for “Approval of Proposed Policy Revisions” appeared on the June 13 agenda for the meeting, but during the session, Morris recommended tabling the vote, emphasizing his desire for trustees to act “swiftly, but thoughtfully.” 

Morris said he wanted the board to have a standing policy across the IU system before the next academic year. Classes for the fall 2024 semester at IU Bloomington start on Monday, Aug. 26.

Reach Brian Rosenzweig at brian@heraldt.com. Follow him on Twitter/X at @brianwritesnews.