Law enforcement officers force protesters to the ground late Thursday, April 25 near the end of a demonstration on the South Oval protesting student arrests and the war in Gaza. Credit: Christian Harsa | Lantern File Photo
The ACLU, Amnesty International USA and Human Rights Watch called on universities nationwide to protect their students’ First Amendment right to hold pro-Palestine protests in an open letter released Thursday.
The groups cited “serious concerns about the violent consequences when university officials call in police to quell protests, and the impact on freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly” as the main reason for drafting this document.
Furthermore, the letter states concerns regarding “heavy-handed and excessive responses” to student protests across the country.
“Based on news reports, student protestors were often met with police in full body armor who used physical force, including batons, kinetic impact projectiles such as rubber bullets and foam tipped rounds and chemical irritants such as pepper spray and, in at least three instances, tear gas,” the groups state in their joint letter.
The letter names 20 U.S. universities that the groups said “[merited] further investigation” — including the University of California, Los Angeles, Columbia University and City College of New York — in incidents involving student protestors who faced serious injuries as a result of “the use of excessive force by law enforcement.”
Kirsten Bokenkamp, press officer for marketing and communications at Amnesty International, said in an email Ohio State was not one of the 20 schools within the joint letter that were analyzed for “potential excessive use of force by law enforcement.”
These schools were researched by Amnesty International’s Digital Verification Corps — a team of volunteers that investigates the authenticity of social media posts, according to its website — but research into other campuses is still ongoing.
“[Ohio State] was not on the list of 20 schools identified through our initial research, however we are still conducting research into this issue on various campuses,” Bokenkamp said.
Co-president for Students for Justice in Palestine, Jineen Musa — a third-year in health sciences and health information management and systems — said in a text message she thinks Ohio State has responded to previous pro-Palestinian protests with excessive force.
“The violent crackdown and arrests during the Gaza Solidarity Encampment on April 25 exposed the university’s oppressive nature for all to see,” Musa said.
On April 25, 36 pro-Palestine protesters — 16 of whom were students — were arrested following a day-long protest in the South Oval. Ohio State troopers and officers from The Ohio State University Police Department approached approximately 250 protestors in riot gear, per prior Lantern reporting.
During the same protest, The Lantern confirmed there were officers on the roof of the Ohio Union with firearms once the arrests began, per prior reporting.
Ben Johnson, a university spokesperson, said in an email the arrests occurred as a result of protestors violating Ohio State’s space standards.
“Regarding April 25, well established university rules prohibit camping and overnight events, Johnson said. “Demonstrators exercised their first amendment rights for several hours and were then instructed to disperse.”
The letter states U.S. universities have “human rights responsibilities” to protect students’ rights to freely express themselves through peaceful on-campus protests. The letter outlines several policies that colleges should implement to ensure these rights.
“We write now to share with all university and college presidents and administrators the steps you should undertake to ensure that your policy and actions accord with international human rights law and standards,” the letter states.
Furthermore, the letter states reducing police involvement is an essential policy for on-campus demonstrations, as it should be used sparingly to avoid risking students’ safety.
“University administrators and police officers must ensure that coercive police power is used only as a last resort, after all other efforts have been exhausted, or the perverse effect will be to suppress protest and exacerbate safety risks,” the letter states.
If police involvement should occur, the letter states university administrators and police should protect their students by avoiding use of force.
“We urge your administrations not to resort to police action to suppress student expression, especially through the use of force, including less-lethal weapons, which greatly heightens the risk of serious injuries,” the letter states.
The letter also states university administrators should work with protest organizers to maintain high levels of communication and safety.
Additionally, the letter states universities should exercise content neutrality in campus protests and police deployment to protect the safety and expression of their students.
“Police should not be summoned simply to disperse protestors whose presence has become undesirable to university administrators,” the letter states. “Police presence may both increase tensions and seriously undermine the potential for any resolution grounded in respect for human rights.”
Finally, the letter states universities should take proactive steps by frequently reviewing their policies for human rights violations.
“Universities should be periodically reviewing their policies and practices to ensure that these are in line with international human rights standards,” the letter states.
Musa said she believes Ohio State’s approach to addressing free speech and on-campus demonstrations is marked with bias and repression.
“Time and time again, administrators prioritize corporate interests over student well-being,” Musa said. “Putting aside the principles of morality, such actions are a clear violation of students’ fundamental rights to free speech.”
Johnson said the university is taking steps to ensure its students can exercise their First Amendment rights through established space standards.
“Ohio State is committed to protecting the First Amendment right to free speech and expression,” Johnson said. “University staff support hundreds of events across campus and work in conjunction with students and others to ensure the right to free expression while limiting disruption of the university’s mission and ensuring the safety of our campus community. The long-standing university space standards are enforced uniformly, content neutral and reviewed every four years.”
