The College Fix

Activists limited to one ‘free speech zone’ at Loyola University Chicago

Loyola University Chicago students must wrap up all protesting by 5 p.m., according to new rules from the Catholic college on the city’s north side.

The standards, in effect starting this fall semester, also require students to get approval at least three days in advance. The university also limits protesting to the “free speech zone” on the West Squad.

Loyola experienced several pro-Palestinian protests earlier this year as part of nationwide encampments and demonstrations on college campuses. The Jesuit Catholic university has also regularly faced calls to divest from Israel – demands the university leadership has rejected. (The featured image is not of Loyola students protesting).

The new rules have drawn criticism from both a national free speech group and Students for Justice in Palestine at Loyola.

“Demonstrations must occur within the hours of 9:00AM and 5:00PM,” the Community Standards Handbook states. “Demonstrations are prohibited overnight, during University-wide signature events, including but not limited to, new student convocation, commencement, and University holiday events, and during final exams.”

The policy also prohibits “non-Loyola individuals” from participating in demonstrations. There may be a meeting with the dean of students to discuss the demonstration application as well.

“This meeting is not an attempt by the University to censor or otherwise limit content or viewpoint, but rather to advise organizers regarding applicable standards for time, place, and manner,” the handbook states.

Loyola’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter said they are being “directly targeted” by the new rules.

“Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is being directly targeted by Loyola University’s new demonstration policies,” the group stated in an email to The College Fix.

The new policies are “regarded as a blatant attempt to silence any valid criticism of the university’s troublesome investments,” the group said. It told The Fix “many students, staff, alumni, and community members” are critical of the new rules.

“Sadly, we acknowledge that Loyola’s restrictions on freedom of speech will consequently limit and target any Loyola member advocating against harm,” the pro-Palestinian group said.

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“These rules are not about maintaining order—they are about controlling our voices because the university doesn’t like being called out for its complicity in war crimes as well as inaction on critical global issues,” the group said.

The student group said the university should be “supporting” free speech and “divesting from genocidal corporations” instead of “restrict[ing] freedom of speech.” It also shared a link to their statement from several weeks ago.

The restrictions have the endorsement of the student government leader.

“Admin and all people in the student government are committed to hearing out students and their concerns,” Daniel Williams, president of the Student Government of Loyola Chicago, told The Loyola Phoenix, the school’s student newspaper. “But we’re also making sure that everyone is safe when they’re expressing their viewpoints.”

According to The Phoenix, Williams also pointed out that the handbook is changed in response to student feedback and could be subject to future changes. A spokesman for the student government did not respond to two emailed College Fix requests for comment in the past two weeks on the free speech implications of the rules.

The College Fix also asked the university media relations team to comment on what prompted the rule change. A spokesman did not respond to requests on Sep. 12 and 24. The school also did not return a voicemail left earlier this week.

University spokesman Matt McDermott told The Loyola Phoenix, “Changes to the Community Standards are always intended to improve the overall experience and health, safety and wellbeing of our students, faculty and staff.”

“We are continuing to focus on the ongoing physical and psychological safety of all Loyola students on all of our campuses,” he said.

However, a national free speech group criticized the school’s rationale.

The rules place “significant restrictions” on students, Ross Marchand told The Fix. He is a program officer at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.

“Under the previous policy on demonstrations, students had wide latitude to demonstrate outdoors as long as the space wasn’t already reserved and demonstrators didn’t block buildings, thoroughfares, or roads,” Marchand said. “Now, Loyola has dramatically reversed course and restricted outdoor expression on Lakeshore Campus to the West Quad.

He said the university can have “time, place, and manner” restrictions but those must be “reasonable” and “narrowly-tailored.”

Marchand said the “tedious timetable” and “free speech zone” do not fit either criteria.

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IMAGE: Zsuzsi Matolcsy/Shutterstock

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