Emerson unveiled a new initiative, updated its code of conduct, and released an interim policy in August, generating a wave of concern among students, faculty, and staff over free speech.
The college’s new policies and initiative are part of its latest attempts to bring the Emerson community together after a semester marked by turmoil due to campus arrests last spring.
Colleges nationwide, including New York University, have issued strict policies regarding campus protests aimed at mitigating disruption. But many Emerson community members who spoke with The Beacon claimed the modified and new policies are an effort to prevent protests.
“Protest is meant to disrupt,” said Anna Feder, a member of Emerson Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP) and an advisor for the on-campus unaffiliated student group Boylston Jews Against Zionism (JAZ). Feder was among the 10 staff members laid off in August. She said she will be employed at the college until Oct. 12 as part of her union contract’s 60 day notice clause.
Others like Pavel Zlatin, a member of the Emersonians Against Campus Antisemitism (EMACA) faculty and staff group, say the new policies are “necessary” for providing concrete conduct policies for demonstrations. Zlatin said that objections citing the First Amendment are unfounded.
“That just comes from a very poor understanding of the amendment because incitement, hate speech, [are] not protected by the First Amendment,” Zlatin said. “Disruptions like [the encampment] are also not protected by the First Amendment, so the protesters definitely crossed the line.”
There were increased calls for transparency and institutional change from the Emerson community last spring, following March arrests and a heated town hall after 118 protesters were arrested in April.
“Several of us met with the provost [after the March arrests] and we were given the impression that they were listening to us,” said Vinicius Navarro, an associate professor of film and media studies at Emerson and a member of FSJP.
But unfortunately, that wasn’t true, he said.
“The administration ended up doing exactly the opposite of what we asked them to do,” Navarro said.
Zlatin said that the “all or nothing” approach protesters took with their demands for change made it impossible for them to be consulted productively on the new policies.
“The groups in question were never interested in engaging with the community,” he said. “Multiple other groups, including the Hillel, have tried establishing some sort of dialogue with SJP and all the adjacent groups, and it didn’t end well.”
He said the community did not act in good faith and “brought [the new policies] upon themselves.”
The college said that the Emerson community was not involved in developing the changes because “it was necessary to have these interim policies in place promptly” to “allow for our community members to participate in lawful demonstrations with a full understanding of the boundaries of the policies and expectations governing on-campus conduct,” according to the website’s FAQ on the policies. The college created a feedback form for community members to help update the policies.
Administrators are “remaking” the culture of the institution with the new policies, said Feder.
“A lot of these people involved in changing the culture of the institution have only just arrived in the last year,” she added.
The policies also contradict the point of a college campus, said Christopher Wilson.
“Anybody can take classes. You can do that online. You can read a book. What are you on a college campus for if not to protest war and genocide?” said Wilson, an administrative associate to the chair of Emerson’s journalism department.
Students like Griffin, the interim vice president and co-founder of JAZ who asked not to disclose his last name for safety concerns, said he was concerned about potential disciplinary action for unregulated protest, namely finishing his degree or walking graduation.
Some faculty members, like Julia Glass, a senior distinguished writer-in-residence, say the policies will make students afraid to express themselves for fear of administrative retaliation.
“We might as well rebrand ourselves [from the Lions to] the Lambs,” Glass said.
If students or employees fail to comply with demonstration policies or facilitate others in violating policies, it will result in disciplinary action including termination for staff and faculty.
Students could also face disciplinary action if they refuse to show photo identification and remove masks upon request by college personnel seeking to “verify their status as members of the Emerson community,” during demonstrations.
For Griffin, the implications of such policies are concerning, especially for those who are immunocompromised or want to remain anonymous for safety concerns.
“When people want to protect themselves, whether that be for anonymity or for [medical reasons], they should have that right,” Griffin said.
The Boylston Students’ Union responded to the new policies via an Instagram post, condemning the college and saying the “policies were accompanied by a misleading guide to protesting in the Boston Common that falsely insinuates that you need a permit to protest there,” and included a quote from the ACLU stating “you have a right to engage in free speech and to assemble with others in traditional public forums, such as public streets, sidewalks, and parks.”
The ACLU also acknowledges that the government can implement certain rules that limit the spaces accessible for protest if they are “blocking others from using sidewalks or streets for their intended purpose or blocking access to government or private buildings,” or if they exceed a certain noise level.
The interim policy says that Emerson has “no outdoor areas that are safe for campus demonstrations in a manner that does not disrupt campus operations and access and that is not subject to legal oversight by the City of Boston.”
Permits are required for all large-scale events in the Boston Common, said a Boston Parks and Recreation spokesperson, in a statement to The Beacon.
The college said on its website that it reserves the right to set rules on campus protests “to protect the wellbeing of our community and keep our community safe,” while adding that it is not subject to First Amendment protections as a private institution.
Additionally, the Board of Trustees adopted a policy on Institutional Neutrality and Mutual Respect stating that the college “will not take official positions or issue statements on complex geopolitical issues,” and that, “While performing official duties, Emerson employees may not engage in actions or speech that suppress the expression of diverse viewpoints or suggest they are speaking for the institution.”
Wilson argued that the policy is “vague,” which he said could allow administrators to “use it however they wanted.”
Others have said that it is a shift in policy after the college issued statements in 2022 voicing support of Ukraine after the Russian invasion and a condemnation of the “deadly terrorist attacks against Israel” on Oct. 7.
“If they really mean it, they’re going to have to work really hard to be neutral because neutrality is almost impossible in this day and age [because] silence is violence to me,” Griffin said.
Zlatin said he supports the neutrality policy because it is not Emerson’s job to “solve … geopolitical conflict,” but rather, “give the students the tool to seek the truth for themselves.”
However, Zlatin said that statements like Emerson’s condemnation of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks are neutral and should be protected by the new policy.
“Staying neutral doesn’t mean that we can’t show compassion,” Zlatin said. “It doesn’t mean we can’t talk politics at Emerson.”
FSJP criticized the college for partnering with the Anti-Defamation League, the Academic Engagement Network (AEN), and expanding its relationship with Hillel International to respond to antisemitism on campus. The organizations have been vocal about their support for Israel.
Emerson also created the EMACA group for faculty and staff last spring. The group is a member of AEN, an independent organization that works with university faculty and administrators to counter campus antisemitism.
EMACA “supports the rights of all members of the Emerson Community to learn, live, and cultivate inquiry with respect and sensitivity,” and the organization “maintain[s] Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and does not confound the acts of governments with this right,” the group said in a statement provided to The Beacon.
ADL, AEN, Hillel, and EMACA will be “the ones defining what anti-Semitism means, and their definition of anti-Semitism will equate critique of the state of Israel with anti-Semitism,” Feder said, adding that it is an approach that will leave out anti-Zionist Jewish people.
The partnerships are “disrespectful,” Griffin said. “They see Jews only as a group that believes in Zionism which is not true.”
Zlatin said the organizations chosen have all “been around for quite some time” and “do speak for the majority of Jews.”
“I think those are great organizations to partner with, [though] it’s too early to tell if it’s going to bring any meaningful change,” he said.
In a statement to The Beacon, the Hillel Council of New England said, “We welcome the opportunity to expand the partnership between Emerson College and Hillel … [and] are eager to help educate the broader Emerson community to better understand the nuances of the current Middle East situation and the spectrum of feelings it creates for the Jewish community.”
Under the new policies, the college said similar partnerships will be developed to address Islamophobia on campus, but did not provide further information. The college is “actively seeking support for institutional efforts to address Islamophobia on campus … [and will have] more to share on this in the coming weeks,” Michelle Gaseau, the interim vice president of marketing and communications, said in a statement to The Beacon.
Zlatin said the policies indicate a hopeful step in the right direction.
“Emerson is already ahead of many other institutions who have not taken these steps,” Zlatin said. However, he’s concerned about how they would be enforced.
Other members of the community say that the policies have set Emerson back as a progressive liberal arts college. For Wilson, it is a missed opportunity for the college to market itself as a champion of social justice, particularly in a year with declining enrollment.
“When I see what the students are doing and I see how the students are treating each other and what they care about, it’s inspiring and it makes me want to continue to do my work to support them and support that mission,” Wilson said. “The students have love on their side. An administrative policy just can’t compete with that.”
