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University’s protest guidelines too strict

Among the objectives of TCU is to teach its students to be good citizens — so much so that the university is looking for ways to incorporate a stronger component of civic involvement in classes and student life.

Civic engagement can mean anything from learning about a different culture to participating in a campus protest.

On Oct. 7, the university got its first taste of protest, small as it was.

The protest raised questions about the university’s position involving the First Amendment’s “right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

Rules for campus protests are posted in the TCU Student Handbook under the Student Rights and Responsibilities section. All protests must be approved through Campus Life. They can’t take place within university buildings. Demonstrations may not block entrances or exits to buildings.

We understand that being a private university, TCU has the right to control what happens on its grounds. But in order to encourage free expression on campus, the university needs to exercise its control lightly.

And there are more restrictions than those just mentioned. All protests must be sponsored by a recognized student organization or administrative unit. A sponsor must be present at the protest. An application for approval must be submitted seven days prior to the event. And the protest can’t be happening while another activity is going on.

What this leaves are some students, who may actually have something to say, searching for a group to sponsor them. If not, then their protest, their petition for redress, remains only in their minds.

And while some of these regulations are to prevent anything that will “interfere with free movement,” the university doesn’t need to interfere with free expression, even that of unorganized students.

The guidelines need to be written to provide the broadest access to assembly and protest, with the safety of the students involved the only limiting factor.