Statement In Defense of the Right to Free Speech and Peaceful Protest
on Virginia Campuses and Across the Nation
“If you aren’t upholding free speech and freedom of assembly in times like this, then these
foundational constitutional freedoms are meaningless.” – Irene Mulvey, President, AAU
As protests against the war in Gaza continue to proliferate in Virginia and across the nation, the Virginia Conference of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) defends the right to free speech and peaceful protest on university campuses. We are horrified by and condemn in the strongest possible terms the heavy-handed, severe, unnecessary militarized response by institutional leaders to these activities. We are horrified by the administrative overreaction, including the use of police force and chemical weapons such as pepper spray on campuses, which only serves to increase violence and endanger the lives of students, faculty, and the public at large.
We condemn antisemitism, islamophobia, and racism on our campuses. While we uphold and defend the free speech rights of all members of our communities, we affirm that harassment, hate, and fear-mongering have no place on campus or anywhere. We echo the AAUP statement that pro-Palestinian speech or speech critical of Israeli actions is not inherently antisemitic just as pro-Israel speech or speech critical of Palestinian actions is not inherently Islamophobic. We would also point out that free speech protections do not cover speech specifically meant to harass or intimidate individuals. When institutional leaders take action against students and faculty, we call upon them to uphold policies, disciplinary procedures, and due process procedures established through shared governance processes. Institutions should not rush to punish peaceful protestors—students and faculty alike—without ensuring due process. Students, faculty and staff on campuses should be aware of, informed of, and have easy access to, all specific university policies regarding speech, assembly, codes of ethics, civil disobedience, suspension, termination and other disciplinary actions.
Across the Commonwealth, we are increasingly alarmed by the exertion of political pressure on university leaders by governing officials and other politicians, by powerful donors, and by other interest groups. Recently, Governor Youngkin weighed in on current protests, equating peaceful protests, erecting tents, and sleeping on campus with violence, harassment, and intimidation, a statement that contributes to ideological and political interference on college campuses. We urge Governor Youngkin and institutional leaders to pull back on this rhetoric and make every effort to de-escalate campus tensions, meet with students, and listen to their concerns and demands.
We urge institutional leaders across the Commonwealth to be courageous and resist capitulation to political pressure. It is dismaying as we look across the nation how many university leaders have already given up on and utterly abandoned long-standing principles of academic freedom and shared governance that are meant to protect institutions of higher education from political interference. As stated by the AAUP, “Policies guaranteeing academic freedom and free speech mean nothing if they are not upheld in times of stress.” We stand alongside the AAUP in calling on institutional leaders to reinstate student organizations shut down in recent months for political activity, to drop charges against peaceful protesters, to observe due process in disciplinary actions, to keep armed law enforcement off campuses, and to uphold the fundamental freedoms of free speech, protest, and academic freedom.
Faculty and/or students facing discipline at Virginia colleges and universities as a result of peaceful protest are encouraged to contact your local Virginia AAUP campus chapter or VA-AAUP leadership for support.
Virginia Tech Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) 
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