Upon their return from spring break, several Hamline housing residents were asked to remove what were classified as political posters. These signs had statements such as “Kidnapping people isn’t cool” and “People over papers.” These posters were not associated with political candidates or campaigns. Mixed messages over the limitations of signage in the apartments and what can be classified as a political message.
This year has been far from normal for Hamline students and the greater Twin Cities metro area. As Operation Metro Surge led to a flood of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents killing and detaining our neighbors daily, issues of supporting one’s community has suddenly transformed into a political message. It is abundantly clear freedom of speech is under attack when peaceful protesters are being shot in the streets.
This tension over expression is not limited to Hamline University. Regulations on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) have been sweeping within schools and workplaces. Students and universities across the country have been dealing with similar debates. A professor at Boston University was found in violation of their university’s signage policy for displaying a pride flag in the window of his office.
There is a fine line Hamline has been walking of supporting their students and not drawing undue attention to our campus in a time when this attention could be extremely damaging to many students, staff and faculty.
Hamline ResLife had a policy posted about political affiliation that banned the posting of “political signs / political material / anti-political messaging / political activism accessories / political resources, etc.” in publicly displayed areas such as the bathrooms and exterior facing windows or walls.
The widesweeping range of messaging banned provides unclear boundaries of what students can display. This raises the questions of what is considered as political resources or activism and who gets to decide what message constitutes as political. A statement of support for immigrant communities crossed that political line. When did empathy become an issue of politics?
For a university that prides itself on the political engagement of students, banning political resources seems to be a direct contradiction to that messaging.
As a tax-exempt University, Hamline is prohibited from directly or indirectly intervening in political campaigns. The justification for the ResLife policy was to protect the University from endorsing a “political party, political ideology or any political candidate.”
However, this is not a situation of the University’s endorsement, this is students’ speech.
Hamline prides itself on the political engagement of students, leading the state with the highest percentage of students voting in elections.
The press has historically been responsible for holding the government and authority accountable and the First Amendment is of incredible consequence to our student-run newspaper. We work to highlight contradictions within Hamline’s actions and the values they preach.
After an Oracle investigation into the enforcement of these political policies, they were removed from the ResLife website and the University is reviewing the policies. This goes to show the role of students’ voices in holding the university accountable.
As students, freedom of speech is of the utmost importance. Students deserve to express themselves and speak up to injustices in their community, especially in the place they call home.
Staff Editorials are meant to reflect the Editorial Board's viewpoint on certain campus, local and non-local issues. These are produced, edited and approved by each member of the board, ensuring integrity and professionalism through the content produced. These are intended to provide a voice for the current staff as well as to properly address concerns brought to the surrounding community
