2008 Woodie Awards
Draft close to complete
Document concerning demonstrations, protests changed to improve clarity
Sharon Leff
Special | 4/3/08
Towson's proposed time, place and manner draft is almost ready to go before the president's council for approval.
The University's original free speech policy was created in 2001. In February, Towson unveiled proposed changes. Teri Hall, associate vice president for campus life, said the biggest change to the draft is in regard to amplified sound.
An early draft of the policy said protestors or picketers could not use any amplified sound or sound producing devices that could interfere with academic or other activities.
Hall told the Student Government Association on Tuesday that said sound tests were conducted at the Speaker's Circle outside Hawkins Hall at 7 a.m. to determine appropriate decibel levels. The Speaker's Circle was renamed Democracy Plaza in the updates.
The current draft states that sound amplification as well as amplifiers with low-level decibel counts will be allowed.
In addition to sound, Hall said the overall policy was altered for more clarity.
"I think that the policy is just much more clear now. It really talks about what folks can't do, but it also talks about what they can do in the process," she said.
She said the first major section of the draft regarding verbal expression was difficult to interpret.
"In the original policy it made it seem like if somebody wanted to verbally express an opinion it could only be in one spot. That was never the case. The way that section read made it seem like an issue," Hall said.
She said the document might have initially been misleading because the points included dealt with both students and those unaffiliated with campus.
"I think initially we were trying to deal with that reservation of space for outsiders in the same document we were trying to define the rights of our community members," Hall said. "We still address those other issues but it's much more clearly."
After the initial changes were announced earlier in the semester, some students voiced concerns about the changes. Hall said this led to additional discussion and feedback.
The University's original free speech policy was created in 2001. In February, Towson unveiled proposed changes. Teri Hall, associate vice president for campus life, said the biggest change to the draft is in regard to amplified sound.
An early draft of the policy said protestors or picketers could not use any amplified sound or sound producing devices that could interfere with academic or other activities.
Hall told the Student Government Association on Tuesday that said sound tests were conducted at the Speaker's Circle outside Hawkins Hall at 7 a.m. to determine appropriate decibel levels. The Speaker's Circle was renamed Democracy Plaza in the updates.
The current draft states that sound amplification as well as amplifiers with low-level decibel counts will be allowed.
In addition to sound, Hall said the overall policy was altered for more clarity.
"I think that the policy is just much more clear now. It really talks about what folks can't do, but it also talks about what they can do in the process," she said.
She said the first major section of the draft regarding verbal expression was difficult to interpret.
"In the original policy it made it seem like if somebody wanted to verbally express an opinion it could only be in one spot. That was never the case. The way that section read made it seem like an issue," Hall said.
She said the document might have initially been misleading because the points included dealt with both students and those unaffiliated with campus.
"I think initially we were trying to deal with that reservation of space for outsiders in the same document we were trying to define the rights of our community members," Hall said. "We still address those other issues but it's much more clearly."
After the initial changes were announced earlier in the semester, some students voiced concerns about the changes. Hall said this led to additional discussion and feedback.
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