Providing Updates to University Policies
Dear members of the Northwestern community,
With students preparing to return to Evanston in the coming weeks and programs already underway across our campuses, we are excited to start another academic year.
As we once again fill our classrooms, laboratories, study spaces and offices, we remain focused on the core of our mission as a university — to create space for learning, where ideas flow freely, we learn from one another, and we push each other to create and to discover.
Difficult and sometimes painful events of the past year brought to light gaps and inconsistencies in Northwestern policies regarding demonstrations and other expressive activities. We write today to share updates to these policies — as well as the Student Code of Conduct — that will establish expectations and clarify actions that violate these policies. Our aim is for these changes to facilitate the kind of dialogue, respectful disagreements and exchanges of ideas that we expect at Northwestern and to enable us to do our best work as students, faculty and staff.
As President Schill wrote in his Aug. 20 message, our goal is to ensure every member of our community feels safe and supported, and that our campuses are free from intimidation, discrimination or harassment that can impede a thriving learning environment.
The following policy changes are now in effect. We provide some details on each of them below, but we encourage you to take the time to read through the documents fully.
Demonstration Policy
The updated Demonstration Policy includes new requirements and guidance on how, when and where members of the community may protest or otherwise engage in expressive activity. The revisions prohibit overnight demonstrations and place limitations on activity that disrupts classes and other functions of the University, including prohibiting demonstrations at the Rock before 3 p.m. on weekdays and the use of amplified sound in that area before 5 p.m.
Display and Solicitation Policy
A new Display and Solicitation Policy sets clear rules and requirements for on-campus displays, including flyers, banners, chalking and 3-D installations. The policy establishes designated areas for flyers, chalking and other displays and details when the University will remove displays. This policy also prohibits the use of tents (with exceptions for University-sponsored events and for the purposes of guarding and painting the Rock), light displays and chalking on buildings. Signs that violate laws and other University policies are prohibited.
Handbooks and Student Code of Conduct
The Student Handbook, which contains the Student Code of Conduct (Page 14), is updated each year. This year’s policy changes include but are not limited to the following:
- The new Intimidation Standard explicitly prohibits subjecting another person or group to abusive, demeaning, harassing, humiliating, intimidating, threatening or violent behavior that substantially affects the ability of the person or group to learn, work or live in the University environment. Examples of violations to this new policy include physical threats, verbal or written communication to threaten violence, the use of symbols, words or graphics to threaten violence, acts of doxing, and abusive behavior toward a University official or agent acting in performance of their duties, among others. It also prohibits engaging in abusive, demeaning, harassing, humiliating, intimidating or threatening behavior that excludes a student from joining or participating in a student organization.
- The Failure to Comply Standard has been updated with specific examples and to make clear that students are required to comply with the requests, directives and instructions of University officials acting in performance of their duties. Under this policy, students must identify themselves, including removing face masks or coverings for purposes of identification when asked by an authorized University official who is addressing law or policy violations and health or safety concerns.
- The updated and renamed Misuse of University Properties policy more clearly defines misuse, including unauthorized access to athletics fields and construction sites and attending or participating in an event in University spaces that violates the policies governing that space.
- The Destruction of Property Standard has been updated to broaden the definition of what applies under this policy to include tampering with University property.
Faculty and staff are encouraged to review their respective handbooks. Each member of the Northwestern community is expected to interact with each other with respect and consideration.
Additional Policy Updates
In addition to the policies above, the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance (OCR) has updated two of its policies and added a new policy:
- Policy on Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct: This policy was updated to align the definitions for discrimination and harassment with the Department of Education’s definitions and to provide specific examples of conduct that may constitute policy violations; to add a process for the University to proceed as complainant in a formal investigation; to incorporate the dismissal process from the Interim Policy on Title IX Sexual Harassment; and to clarify timelines for reviewing incoming reports. Additionally, the policy was updated in April to add caste, creed and ethnicity as protected characteristics.
- Reasonable Accommodation Policy: This policy was updated to align with new federal regulations and clarify the accommodations processes related to disability, religion and pregnancy.
- Reporting by University Employees of Disclosures Related to Discrimination and Harassment: This new policy sets out the reporting requirements for employees that previously were described in the Policy on Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct and Interim Policy on Title IX Sexual Harassment.
The goal of any policy change — including those mentioned in this message — is not punitive, though there will be sanctions for violations that range from a warning for minor offenses to suspension, expulsion or termination for major infractions. We share these policies now to help ensure we all have a shared understanding of our responsibilities, requirements and limitations as campus life resumes. We anticipate sharing more information soon about how these policies will work in practice and related trainings.
Thank you for taking the time to review these updates as we begin another successful year at Northwestern.