Demonstrators gathered at the University of Michigan Diag Thursday for an organized walk-out protesting the university's proposed "disruptive activity policy."
The university proposed the policy after demonstrators interrupted the U of M Honors Convocation late last month.
Activists say the draft policy would unnecessarily limit free speech and expression — and some legal organizations voiced similar concerns this week.
Zaynab Elkolaly, a member of Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, which helped organize the demonstrations, said she believes adopting the policy would only incite more protests.
"They're going to try to enforce and criminalize us for our right to protest, but what they've failed to realize is that the more they push against us, the more we will push back."
Mark Tallents, a residential advisor for campus dorms, said the proposal would leave students without the ability to protest for safety on campus.
"This university does not keep us safe. We keep us safe. The only way that RAs, students, faculty, and all of us on this campus can support one another is to fight back. It is to protest. And it is to disrupt," he said.
The university has said its goal with the draft policy is to reduce the possibility of disruptions at future events.
"We all must understand that, while protest is valued and protected, disruptions are not. One group’s right to protest does not supersede the right of others to participate in a joyous event," U of M President Santa Ono said.
University spokesperson Colleen Mastony, who said the demonstration disrupting the university honors convocation was "a clear violation of university policy," struck a different tone on Thursday's protest. "The University of Michigan has a long, proud history of student protest and activism on a wide range of issues, and we saw that in action today. We support students' rights to demonstrate," she said.
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