Protests, speech on college campuses under federal, state scrutiny

It’s been more than six months since President Donald Trump threatened to bar federal funding for U.S. colleges and universities that permitted what he called “illegal protests.”

In the same March Truth Social post, Trump proposed that “agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came.”

The president’s threats have certainly set a new tone for speech and protests on college campuses, but it’s difficult to gauge what changes Indiana’s private and public universities have made to their policies as a result of Trump’s stated position and executive orders.

Most declined to reply to The Lawyer’s queries on the issue, but the University of Notre Dame said it has not changed any of its speech, protest or academic freedom policies.

Erin Blasko, Notre Dame University’s associate director of media relations, said in an email that the university has an unwavering commitment to academic freedom and freedom of expression.

“These principles are and must be foundational to our life as a community of scholars,” Blasko wrote.

“Speech that incites violence, involves threats, or constitutes harassment will not be tolerated,” Blasko added. “In addition, compliance with Notre Dame’s policy regarding the time, manner, and place for free expression is essential so that the work of the University—the teaching, learning, research, and intellectual exchange core to our mission—can continue even as we grapple with important issues. At Notre Dame, we seek to be a model of vigorous but respectful dialogue for a society greatly in need.”

Trevor Peters, Purdue University’s deputy spokesperson, referred The Lawyer to the university’s trustees’ June 2024 reaffirmation of a commitment to “institutional neutrality,” which delegated additional authority and responsibilities required for compliance with Senate Enrolled Act 202, an Indiana law that went into effect less than a month later.

“As required by SEA 202, this policy provides that the university will refrain from taking an official institutional position on a government proposal or policy debate that touches on a social or political issue being contested in the public arena unless that proposal or policy has a direct bearing on the university’s fiscal affairs or on the tools afforded to it to advance its land-grant mission,” Purdue announced last year.

The university also announced that, as required by SEA 202, this policy provides that the university will refrain from taking an official institutional position on a government proposal or policy debate that touches on a social or political issue being contested in the public arena unless that proposal or policy has a direct bearing on the university’s fiscal affairs or on the tools afforded to it to advance its land-grant mission.

SEA 202 became law July 1, 2024. It called for the implementation of “intellectual diversity” programming at state-funded universities in Indiana.

Under the new law, faculty members at public universities will be required to teach scholarly works “from a variety of political or ideological frameworks” within the faculty member’s purview of instruction. Those found in violation could face disciplinary action or lose tenure protections, depending on how schools implement the law.

In response, the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a lawsuit, citing policies recently enacted at Purdue and Indiana University.

But that lawsuit was dismissed July 23 in the U.S. District Court in Southern Indiana.

In dismissing the case, U.S. District Judge Richard Young supported the defendants’ claims that plaintiffs failed to show that the law or its enforcement have injured them in any way.

Mark Apple, Butler University’s director of strategic communication, said the university declined to comment for the story.

The Lawyer did not receive replies from Indiana State University, the University of Evansville and DePauw University.

IU’s policies

Mark Bode, Indiana University’s spokesman, also did not respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this month, the Indiana Capital Chronicle reported that IU had been ranked among the worst colleges in the country for free speech, according to a report released by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.

The group’s 2026 College Free Speech Rankings placed IU in the bottom three out of 257 schools surveyed.

The new report placed IU at No. 255 with an overall score of 43.87—out of 100—and a failing grade of F. Only Barnard College and Columbia University ranked as poorly.

Purdue placed second overall, with a score of 76.24 and a speech climate grade of C. DePauw also ranked in the top 20 nationally, finishing 18th with a score of 71.13 and a grade of C-.

In its remarks on IU, FIRE wrote the university was penalized for canceling journalist Chris Geidner’s keynote address at an LGBTQ+ health-care conference in response to President Trump’s executive order restricting the use of federal funds on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

“Students signal deep concerns following an incident in which IU posted a sniper on a rooftop during a protest: IU lands in the bottom 25 for “Openness” to controversial ideas, frequency of “Self-Censorship,” and perceived “Administrative Support” for free expression, and it ranks in the bottom 50 for “Comfort Expressing Ideas,” the report stated.

The protest referenced occurred in April 2024, with more than 50 people arrested for protesting the war in Gaza on the Indiana University campus in Bloomington.

It took place in Dunn Meadow, an area of the Bloomington campus that the university had deemed a “public forum for expression on all subjects,” according to a policy enacted by the IU Board of Trustees in 1969.

The university’s board of trustees changed the school’s protest policy in June, with the move related to a federal lawsuit filed by the ACLU.

The ACLU challenged IU’s expressive activity policy, claiming the time restrictions on when students can protest violate the First Amendment.

The university’s Expressive Activity Policy webpage has since changed and no longer includes the contested time restrictions on protests, the Indiana Capital Chronicle reported.

The Washington Post reported earlier this month that the faculty and university senates at more than half a dozen schools—including IU, the University of Nebraska, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Rutgers University and the University of Washington—have signed resolutions asking their administrators to join an effort to create an alliance to counter government attacks on higher education.

It’s response to the White House’s moves to end “woke” policies on campuses it views as fostering antisemitism and harboring foreign students engaged in “known illegal” activity.

The resolutions would allow the institutions to share attorneys and pool financial resources in case Trump’s administration targets one of its members.

Ball State employee fired

There have been also been free speech controversies on college campuses that have not emanated from the federal level.

Inside Indiana Business reported Ball State University fired a member of its staff following a post made on social media regarding the Sept. 10 assasination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

The university said that Suzanne Swierc, who had served as director of health promotion and advocacy, was terminated following a review of the incident.

In a post on her personal Facebook page last week, Swierc said, “Charlie Kirk’s death is a reflection of the violence, fear, and hatred he sowed. It does not excuse his death, AND it’s a sad truth. The shooting is a tragedy, and I can and do feel for a college campus experiencing an active shooter situation.”

Ball State said in a statement that Swierc’s post “was inconsistent with the distinctive nature and trust of Ms. Swierc’s leadership position at Ball State University and that the post caused significant disruption to the university.”

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita applauded Swierc’s firing and posted on X, “Ball State’s legal analysis was also 100% correct here. Other higher education institutions, as well as secondary and elementary school boards, superintendents, principals and their attorneys should take notice. We are waiting.”

Rokita has encouraged Hoosiers to report educators who make comments that “celebrate or rationalize the assassination of Charlie Kirk” to his Eyes on Education portal, which was initially created to gather reports of pro-
diversity activities.•