More than 100 Virginia Commonwealth University students walked out of their classrooms and assembled in the Park Plaza Amphitheater behind the Cabell Library on Wednesday afternoon. There, they protested against the war in Gaza, its impact on Palestinian life and decried the school’s new policies that have made similar gatherings more difficult.

“VCU claims to be uncommon, they claim to be a free- speech campus,” VCU student Sereen Haddad said. “But this is a lie, and if these policies are not meant to target our activism, then it is the administration’s responsibility to revise them in a way that all students can exercise their free speech without fear of repression.”

The gathering occurred five months after an anti-war, pro-Palestinian encampment on the lawn of the Cabell Library ended with three police departments dispersing the crowd and 13 arrests.

Cries of “Shame!” echoed across the campus as the crowd condemned VCU leadership for these and other choices. The anger led to action as some students wrote out messages of support and solidarity in chalk on the sidewalks and steps throughout the plaza, wrote letters to VCU officials about the policies and their concerns, or conversed with fellow students.

In the time since the student encampment in April, VCU has instituted a new policy prohibiting large events or gatherings inside or outside school buildings without prior written approval. New rules also are in place for verbal and non-verbal expressions on VCU property including displays, chalk writing and art.

  

Those wearing face masks, hoods or coverings that conceal most of their face also are required to present identification when on campus or during campus events. VCU will now also only issue statements on topics directly connected to the university’s function and mission.

In a press release announcing these changes Aug. 14, VCU Student Affairs Vice President Aaron Hart stressed that these policies are not set in stone and have the potential to be changed through public input methods that would be shared soon.

“Although the interim policies are effective immediately,” Hart wrote, “the university community will have opportunities to provide feedback during this academic year before they become final.”

Haddad is unconvinced, particularly given the design of the policies, when they were put in place and the impact they’ve already had on protesters’ ability to organize in places previously used for gatherings on campus and the goals of their protests.

“They continue to suppress our voices, continue to silence us through implementing these policies,” Haddad said.

Organizers intend to continue the protests every Wednesday at noon. VCU officials did not provide a response to the protest ahead of Free Press publication.