Discussion of Ohio University's new interim “Freedom of Expression" policy continued at Wednesday’s Student Senate meeting.
Student Senate members spent 45 minutes debating the policy, which reiterates students' ability to reserve spaces indoors on campus but otherwise bans “demonstrations, rallies, public speech-making, picketing, sit-ins, marches, protests, and similar assemblies” in buildings.
Many senate members said the policy was broad. Others said it did not define “disruptive” behavior well enough. They also expressed concerns that it did not describe consequences for violations of the policy.
Sam Miller, an at-large senator, said that the university policy was in “retaliation” to a municipal court judge’s not-guilty verdict in the case of one of 70 protesters arrested for trespassing in Baker Center in February.
“This policy is a direct response to how silly the university looked after the Bobcat 70 ruling,” Miller said.
The 70 arrested students are Student Senate constituents, she said, and the senate needed to defend them.
Others defended the policy. They said the university did not intend to curtail free speech with the policy.
Faculty Senate Chair Joe McLaughlin addressed the senate at the beginning of the meeting. He talked about collaboration between Faculty Senate and Student Senate, the process by which the university amends curriculums and the proposed addition of cultural competency classes.
Serious discussion about cultural competency courses began during Fall Semester 2016. Around that time, an image of a hanging figure was painted on the university’s graffiti wall by Bentley Hall.
McLaughlin said it would be difficult to add a course as a general education requirement because students already have so many requirements. Instead the conversation has shifted toward “bolstering and repurposing” a tier-two requirement such as cross cultural perspectives, he said.
The senate passed five resolutions. Two of them appointed senators to commissions: One appointed Perry Eldredge to the International Affairs Commission, and the other appointed Anna Dirda to the Off-Campus Commission.
Two resolutions altered the duties of executive positions in the senate. The clerk of court is now tasked with upholding the constitutional regulations of the senate in every proceeding instead of the chief judiciary, because the chief judiciary is not present at every general body meeting. The duty to document all proceedings, actions and media coverage was transferred from the judicial panel to the historian.
The senate also passed a resolution to create a regulatory attendance policy. Judicial panel members must now inform the clerk of court 24 hours in advance if they have to miss a mandatory meeting.
The senate entered executive session to discuss personnel matters. Next week it will continue to discuss the “Freedom of Expression” policy and will invite feedback from students at the meeting.
