Free speech policies questioned by groups

By Liz O'Brien

Alumnus Mike Wiesner returned to campus in April with his college-themed T-shirt company, Major Fashion, to sell shirts that read phrases like, "I'm not a drama queen, I'm an actress," and "But what does it mean to have a philosophy degree?"

But less than four hours after setting up a table in Benson Memorial Center, Wiesner and his associates were asked to leave because of a shirt showing red party cups and another shirt that associated sororities with prostitution.

"We've never been kicked off a public school, and nobody's batted an eye," said Wiesner, who said he was shocked and felt that his free speech rights had been violated.

The incident is one of several that have called into question exactly what the limits of free speech are on the Santa Clara campus. Another involved the removal of advertisements for Alpha Psi Omega's production of "The Vagina Monologues" in March.

In Wiesner's case, it was not a matter of students' free speech on campus, but limitations on public use of university property, said Vice Provost for Student Life Jeanne Rosenberger.

"The university is a private institution. We don't dedicate ourselves to public use," said Rosenberger, who said that if it had it been a registered student organization, the Office of Student Life would have worked harder to come up with a long-term solution. "What we do is we say that the campus is open to those constituents of the campus."

However, even for registered students, what designates free speech is unclear and sometimes misunderstood. Santa Clara no longer has any free speech zones -- the whole campus is a free speech zone, according to Matt Cameron, assistant vice provost for student life.

Instead of designating free speech zones, the university maintains Expressive Activity Regulations, a set of guidelines defining appropriate on-campus free speech activity.

The regulations are not always clear to students, such as last March when "The Vagina Monologues" sidewalk advertisements were erased from the ground the next morning.

"Three days before the show, we started chalking, and the next morning it was all gone," said sophomore Francesca McKenzie, the organizer of the production. APO had obtained permission from the Office of Student Life to chalk, McKenzie said.

She said she received a call from the OSL saying that they couldn't chalk anymore and had been told that "their stance was that seeing 'vagina' on the cement without any context was inappropriate."

However, McKenzie said that APO followed all of the requested procedures for chalking, which included incorporating APO's name into the advertisements.

"Basically I think it was a miscommunication in the process," said Mike Harvey, presidential fellow to the vice provost in the Office of Student Life. "I probably gave a little bit too general of terms for the guidelines."

It was unclear exactly who authorized the chalking, but Harvey said it was probable that he had given permission in the context of the conversations that preceded the production. Harvey said that he was unsure who exactly removed the chalking.

"A part of the concerns were that some felt the event ran counter to Catholic teachings on sexuality," Harvey said.

"The question is, how do we balance the students' interests, desires and all the hard work that went into their wanting to do it with the fact that we have very harsh critics saying, 'This has no place at Santa Clara?' " said Rosenberger, who added that all those involved in planning the event were aware of its sensitive nature.

Before the open free speech zone policy took effect in 2004, Benson Plaza, the outdoor area between the bookstore and the Shapell Lounge, was the designated free speech area on campus.

According to Rosenberger, the shift in policy was a result of protests regarding the university's grant acceptance policy in May 2002.

A four-day fast outside of the Mission Church in protest of the university's acceptance of a $50,000 grant from Lockheed Martin, one of the nation's largest defense and weapons contractors, spurred questioning of the university's free speech zone policy.

The participants in the fast were asked to protest somewhere other than the Mission Church, which prompted some to express that the guidelines about free speech zones needed to be made more clear.

Today, the Expressive Activity Regulations state that free speech rights on the Santa Clara campus only apply to university affiliates, defined as students, faculty, staff or organizations, departments or offices affiliated with them. Non-affiliates, such as alumni or prospective students, are not afforded free speech rights on campus.

The regulations seek to promote free speech, but only in such a way that will "guarantee the right of free expression, ensure the safety of students, faculty and staff, advance the academic mission of the university and protect the property rights of the university," according to the Speakers Policy in the Community Handbook.

While the majority of campus is open for free speech under the regulations, the Mission Church is exempt, as it is an operating Roman Catholic Church.

Wiesner said that as someone without speech rights at the school, the regulations were not adequately clarified for him or his associates.

"She couldn't show me any written guidelines, and she couldn't tell me exactly who sets the guidelines," Wiesner said of Karrie Grasser, director of university events and protocol.

Grasser said the guidelines are a "matter of judgment."

"It has to follow university guidelines and the things that we support here on campus about the dignity of people and respect for everyone," said Grasser.

McKenzie expressed a similar concern about the guidelines being vague in the promotion of "The Vagina Monologues."

"The same week STOP had anti-war chalking everywhere, you could tell there was a definite decision to keep the anti-war stuff," said McKenzie. "For us, the distinction between what was correct and what wasn't was not very clear."

These incidents prompt questioning of how Santa Clara's Expressive Activity Regulations comply with the Leonard Law, part of the California Education Code that states that students at private universities must be afforded all the same First Amendment rights as students at public universities, except for activity deemed hate speech or action that undermines the religious tenets of a religiously oriented institution.

"I see those as compatible," said Rosenberger of the Expressive Activity Regulations and the Leonard Law. "In fact, I think we went a long way, and that was partly why we said the whole campus should be open."

Contact Liz O'Brien at (408) 554-4546 or eobrien@scu.edu.