Vanderbilt University recently updated its Student Handbook to include notable revisions to the freedom of expression and use of university space policies, the university announced Monday.
Four major revisions to the Student Handbook regarding campus protests and installations appear to be a response to the months-long pro-Palestine demonstrations that took place on the university’s campus earlier this year.
From the months of March to May, for example, a “Palestine Solidarity Encampment” occupied Vanderbilt’s campus for 40 consecutive days, as previously reported by The Tennessee Star.
While the encampment was taken down as students left campus for the summer break, the Vanderbilt Divest Coalition, which organized the demonstration, vowed to return in the fall where it would “be more prepared than ever to fight for Palestine by any means necessary.”
In addition to the encampment, Vanderbilt was also the scene where a pro-Palestine sit-in event occurred, which saw nearly 30 students breach the then-closed Kirkland Hall and assault a community service officer.
The first revision to the university’s Student Handbook says that the public “may not participate in or be invited to participate in campus demonstrations and protests, and the university may request identification from those participating in demonstrations and protests to determine if they are members of the campus community.”
In another revision, the university updated its Student Handbook to prohibit demonstrations and protests from taking place “at times that would require individuals to sleep or gather overnight given safety, logistical and maintenance concerns.”
When it comes to overnight gatherings, the university also updated its Student Handbook to prohibit “camping, sleeping, preparing to sleep or any other gathering overnight outdoors on campus,” citing “safety, logistic and maintenance concerns, and to ensure access to university spaces for other groups wishing to make reservations.”
In addition, the university updated its Student Handbook to crackdown on campus installations, which are defined as “temporary displays, art pieces, symbolic structures or other physical objects.”
The university now says that installations “require reservations and may only be displayed between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. or sundown, whichever is earlier, for no more than three consecutive days.”
Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students G.L. Black said the changes to the Student Handbook are “primarily designed to ensure that, amidst the robust environment of free expression we have cultivated here at Vanderbilt, there continue to be explicit and reasonable time, place and manner limitations that allow for equitable access to university space by all members of the campus community and facilitate the safe, efficient operations of the university.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Vanderbilt University Campus” by Vanderbilt University.
