Vanderbilt chancellor says BDS protesters 'transgressed' free speech limits by forcefully occupying campus building: VIDEO
The chancellor of Vanderbilt University said that protesters supporting the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction movement went beyond the limits of free speech when they forcefully occupied a campus building last week.
The chancellor of Vanderbilt University said that protesters supporting the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction movement went beyond the limits of free speech when they forcefully occupied a campus building last week.
According to The Tennessean, around 30 students began to occupy Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier’s office on March 26 to protest the cancellation of a vote to change the student government constitution. University administration canceled a campus vote on a proposed change to the student government constitution, which would have prevented student government funds from going to businesses that work with Israel.
Three students were charged with Class A misdemeanor assault after they pushed a Community Services Officer and a staff member who offered to meet with them while they forcefully entered Kirkland Hall on March 26, a Vanderbilt spokesperson told Campus Reform.
Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier wrote in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that the school’s culture of free expression was “tested for about 24 hours starting March 26.”
”On Tuesday, 27 students transgressed those limits when they forced their way into a closed administrative building, injuring a community-service officer in the process. Students pushed staff members and screamed profanities,” Diermeier wrote. “Our staff took a graduated approach to de-escalating the situation, including several attempts to discuss the issues with the student group and encourage them to take a different course of action. Over 20 hours, the students were consistently informed that they were violating university policies and warned that they were subject to suspension for doing so.”
Addressing individuals who claimed that the university isn’t following its commitment to free speech after 25 of the protesters were placed on an interim suspension, Diermeir said “they are wrong.”
”Vanderbilt supports, teaches and defends free expression—but to do so, we must safeguard the environment for it. Students can advocate BDS. That is freedom of expression. But they can’t disrupt university operations during classes, in libraries or on construction sites,” he wrote. “The university won’t adopt BDS principles. That’s institutional neutrality. As a community, we should always remember to treat each other with respect and rely on the force of the better argument. That’s civil discourse.”
”In these difficult times, each university will be tested. And each university will follow its own path. Our approach is clear: We clearly state the principles and rules that support our mission as a university. Then we enforce them,” Diermeir added.
The sit-in protest began at 9 a.m. on March 26, when members of the Vanderbilt Divest Coalition forcefully entered Kirkland Hall, according to the Vanderbilt Hustler. Security video from the building shows protesters shoving an individual to gain access inside.
According to WKRN, the students will attend a disciplinary hearing later this week.
In an earlier statement, a Vanderbilt spokesperson said the protest was “not a peaceful one.”
”It began with the assault of a Vanderbilt community service officer and continued with protesters physically pushing Vanderbilt staff members with the hope of entering and occupying the chancellor’s office. As a result, the building remained on lockdown and members of VUPD were on high alert.
