After a controversial rollout last year, Cornell’s Expressive Activity Policy — a University policy that regulates public speech and demonstrations on campus — has been finalized, effective immediately.
The policy’s final version, announced in a statement from President Michael Kotlikoff, Provost Kavita Bala and Provost for Medical Affairs Dr. Robert Harrington on March 28, walked back many of the Interim Expressive Activity Policy’s most contentious points. Limitations on masking, amplified sound and postering were eased in the final policy while prior recommendations for “progressive responses” to violations were changed from previous versions.
The March 28 statement explained that “free and open inquiry and expression” have “underpinned” Cornell’s mission since its founding, but that at the same time, expressive activity must “adhere to time, place, and manner regulations” in accordance with the law.
The Interim Expressive Activity Policy, first released in January 2024, was quickly implemented amid a rise in pro-Palestinian protests on campus and increased national scrutiny over how Cornell responded to these demonstrations.
Months before the policy’s release, it was announced that the U.S. Department of Education was investigating Cornell for discrimination on the basis of antisemitic or anti-Muslim harassment. Dean of Faculty Prof. Eve De Rosa, psychology, said in a February 2024 faculty forum that the University introduced the policy in response to the ED investigation. Donica Varner, vice president and general counsel, would later say this timeline was not completely accurate, describing that the ED investigation only accelerated the development of a new expressive activity policy, which they saw as needed as early as December 2020.
Shortly after the interim policy was announced, members of the Student Assembly criticized the University for not allowing shared governance bodies to substantively review it before the announcement. At the time, Patrick Kuehl ’24, then the Assembly president, said members of the S.A. Executive Committee voiced concerns to University leadership, but that its suggestions were absent when the interim policy was published.
The Assembly later passed a resolution calling for the suspension of the interim policy.
Faculty members also pushed back, denouncing the policy in a faculty forum and protesting the implications on free speech in March 2024. While neither the interim policy nor the finalized policy regulate expressive activity within the classroom, University faculty at the events argued that the interim policy caused a “chilling effect” on protests.
In June 2024, Cornell formed the 19-member Committee on Campus Expressive Activity led by Colleen Barry, dean of the Brooks School of Public Policy, to revise and produce a finalized version of the expressive activity policy. The committee's official report was released on Dec. 18.
The March 28 statement explained that the final policy was adopted amid “broad discussion and review with faculty, staff, and students, and shared governance bodies across Cornell’s campuses.”
Changes
Initial criticisms of the interim policy focused on its restrictions on postering, the use of sticks and poles and the limited hours of protest at campus demonstrations.
The interim policy originally restricted all demonstrations with amplified sound to noon and 1 p.m. and limited them only to Ho Plaza or in front of the Day Hall. Now, the final policy has broadened guidelines, allowing amplified sound to be used without approval from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. anywhere on campus — except for areas in proximity to classrooms and patient care and clinic settings.
Some lines from the interim policy were cut altogether. Sticks and poles were previously banned at demonstrations, but these restrictions were omitted in the finalized version. Additionally, a prior provision requiring posters to be dated and include the name of the sponsoring organization or individual was removed.
A section in the interim policy called “Speakers, Artistic Performances, and Programs” acknowledged that debate and protest were “appropriate ways” to voice dissent, while highlighting that students could not disrupt speakers was reduced to a single line. Now, the final policy bans interruptions of event speakers — “including via heckling or amplified or otherwise loud sound, that interfere with the speech or expression of others.”
This change follows the March 10 Pathways to Peace panel discussion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, where 17 protestors were arrested or detained for disrupting the event.
A provision allowing candles less than six inches in length to be used without prior approval was replaced by a message instructing activities involving open flames to follow applicable fire safety codes and to complete a permit form.
A previous Oct. 30, 2024, draft report of the policy stated that anyone who refuses to identify themselves, either by showing a Cornell ID or removing any face coverings, may be treated as non-affiliates and subject to regulations that apply to non-community members.
The new report clarifies that wearing masks or face coverings is permitted on Cornell’s campuses, but that individuals wearing masks are subject to lawful demands by authorized University personnel to briefly unmask to verify a person’s identity.
Columbia recently agreed to several demands from the Trump administration after $400 million was cut in federal funding, including the banning of all masks.
The final policy ends by explaining the consequences of a violation, stating that people will be “referred to the appropriate office (which will differ for students, staff, and faculty) for progressive responses.”
Notably, the final policy does not list recommendations from the Committee on Campus Expressive Activity, which suggested dividing violations into five types that would guide the severity of the disciplinary process.
Administrators also announced in the March 28 statement that the University will publish in the coming weeks a webpage which will “support implementation of [the] policy and to further educate our community on the value of expressive activity to our campus discourse.”
Benjamin Leynse is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is a News Editor for the 143rd editorial board, and a former senior writer. He can be reached at bleynse@cornellsun.com.
