As new semester dawns, campus protesters in US face heightened restrictions

In response, many universities began the new academic year with a slate of new rules and guidelines that critics say dampen free speech.

At New York University, for instance, a paragraph about the word “Zionism” was added to the school’s official “Guidance and Expectations on Student Conduct” on August 25.

“Using code words, like ‘Zionist,’ does not eliminate the possibility that your speech violates the [Non-discrimination and Anti-harassment] Policy,” the school wrote.

Meanwhile, at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, school administrators initially announced in early August that future protests would be limited to two hours, before backtracking later in the month.

The revised rules still limit “large demonstrations” to five hours and designated areas.

At Stony Brook University in Long Island, New York, Zubair — a student who likewise asked for his last name to be withheld, for fear of repercussions — told Al Jazeera he was surprised to discover new rules about posting flyers.

Zubair helps to lead his campus’s branch of Students for Justice in Palestine. On August 23, the Friday before his semester started, he and other students put flyers up around campus, only to find out that there were new rules preventing them from doing so.

Under the updated rules, posting flyers required authorisation from the university. Chalk messages on sidewalks were also banned.

“It was never enforced until it was political flyers, specifically pro-Palestine flyers that were being put around,” Zubair said. “Then all of a sudden, they needed to be approved or they can't be taped to this wall, or you need building manager permission.”

Jonas at the Fashion Institute of Technology, meanwhile, noted that his campus had tightened restrictions in a way that appeared aimed at student protests.

“It says unauthorised overnight activities will be considered trespassing and addressed as such,” Jonas said, pointing to temporary guidelines issued in August. He feared the guidelines could result in law enforcement actions.

“It basically means, any encampment that you do, you're getting arrested. Which is expected, but now they have it explicitly in writing.”