New free speech guidelines spark debate over speech on campus

Some students have expressed concerns that campus activism and free speech are suffering a chilling effect following the university’s updated free speech guidelines, which were announced earlier this school year.

The university announced a series of free speech guidelines in September that detail the parameters allowed for on-campus demonstrations after a tumultuous year of protests and counter-protests over the Israel-Gaza war.

Several faculty members expressed their support for the guidelines, calling them a proactive measure. Introduced in September by Provost Jenny Martinez and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Michele Rasmussen, the new guidelines cover several points, including pre-registration for major events, designated outdoor areas for gatherings, guidelines on identification and masking, and an emphasis on the viewpoint neutrality of the policy.

“There are no policies to protect students,” said Yungsu Kim ’25, a member of the Stanford Asian American Action Committee (SAAAC). “There are policies in place to protect Stanford because Stanford is deeply, deeply afraid of what students were able to accomplish last year.”

Kim also expressed concern that the guidelines in the statement “were not developed with student input.”

Since the quarter that began on September 23, there have been only two large demonstrations.

Over the last academic year, community members – including students and faculty – hosted various strikes in response to the war between Israel and Gaza. Students organized a 120-day meeting camp on White Square and occupied in June in the president’s office, leading to the arrest of 13 Stanford students, including a Daily reporter. These protests called on the University to divest companies affiliated with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), a proposal that the University rejected earlier this month, among other demands.

In reference to the University guidelines released “Statement on Freedom of Speech,” which was approved by the Faculty Senate.

A Senate ad hoc committee has been considering speech issues since spring 2023, according to Bernadette Meyler JD ’03, special adviser to Martinez.

The Senate “heard the desire for clear affirmation of the importance of free speech on campus from many individuals and groups,” Meyler wrote to The Daily.

She also wrote that there is a new freedom of speech website “aimed to clarify and simplify existing policy where possible, make any restrictions on speech obvious and simple, and increase the number of suitable spaces for large gatherings.”

Zoe Tweedie ’25, ASSU director of free expression, said the statement has “both positive and negative impacts.”

Tweedie noted that White Plaza has been called a “free speech zone” in the past, which “wrongly indicated” that free speech could only be expressed in that area. She was “very happy” that such language was removed because it represents a “productive change” in University policy.

But Tweedie acknowledged that “when you throw up extra hurdles or make extra demands to express free speech, it’s always going to be spine-chilling.”

While public reactions to the announcement continue to mount, Kim said student protests in support of community spaces such as the Asian American Activities Center, El Centro and ethnic theme houses are essential to “creating a more equitable campus.”

“It is our job and responsibility to put pressure on the University,” Kim said. “We can’t just stand here and wait for the rules to bend or change or for Stanford to be more lenient. We have to actively fight.”

In an interview with The Daily on Friday, university President Jonathan Levin ’94 said the new policy could be clarified in several places, including the issue of chalking.

“The rules were designed to counter speech, so I hope they do a good job of addressing that over time,” Levin said. “They have to stand the test of time.”

Russell Berman, the Walter A. Haas Professor of Humanities, told The Daily that he considered the announcement to be “partly reactive and partly wisely proactive” to ensure that essential traffic was not disrupted for community members.

He was referring to the protests at Columbia and the University of California, Los Angeles he drew police response and ended with the cancellation of the first of them.

“The university is working proactively to ensure that all community members are not prohibited or prevented from lawfully moving around campus,” he said.

Under the updated policy, events with more than 100 people expected require pre-registration and approval at designated “outdoor event spaces” outside White Plaza, where registration is still “strongly encouraged.”

Kim also argued that “this policy affects more than just those involved in political activities” because all Voluntary Student Organizations (VSOs) “now have to jump through these bureaucratic loopholes.”

“All Stanford is doing is making it extremely difficult for people to do what they have been doing, which is create community in the absence of the Stanford administration,” Kim said.