A leadership note was sent to the DePaul community on Aug. 8, updating the guidelines for demonstrations on campus. This policy change has been in the works since Summer 2023, and follows intense protests on campus last spring. The “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” was set up on DePaul’s Quad for 17 days and eventually removed by the Chicago Police Department after a “stalemate” was reached with DePaul’s engagement team.
According to the note penned by Provost Salma Ghanem and Vice President for Student Affairs Gene Zdziarski, the revisions “clarify existing guidelines and include convenient links to associated policies and practices. The core principles behind the demonstration guidelines have not changed,” the note says.
The most significant change between the old “protest guidelines” and new “demonstration guidelines” is an extended section that addresses the type of demonstration DePaul and many other universities saw on campus last spring.
These changes include requiring space reservations to be made ahead of any demonstrations. The revised policies also state that demonstrations:
- “May not impede passage in or out of any facility or university-owned and – maintained roadway or pathway.
- May not create excessive noise (the use of devices to amplify sound inside university facilities is prohibited without prior approval)
- May not obstruct the view of those assembled with use of signs, placards, banners, etc.
- May not involve activity that is violent or otherwise threatens the safety of the demonstrators or other members of the community.”
Along with these revised policies, new signs have been hung in the Quad, restating that demonstrations, tents, amplified sound and portable restrooms are prohibited without prior approval by the university.
