The Pomp and Circumstance Marches

The Pomp and Circumstance Marches

by Jeffrey C. Sun, University of Louisville

Colleges and universities are gearing up for commencement.  However, on some of our campuses the pomp and circumstance march will not be in academic regalia.  Instead, we may face marches of students, alumni, and guests who are protesting the invitation of the school’s commencement speaker.

The pomp and circumstance march is not a new phenomenon.  According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, “controversies over commencement speakers are practically an annual tradition on college campuses” (Anonymous, 2014).  The reasoning for pomped-up protests have included disdain over a speaker’s actions while in political office, objections about public expressions over social and political matters such as individual rights or war, and disapproval (June, 2014).

This article touches on the student rights and conduct concerns involving pomped-up protest through what is known in law as the Heckler’s Veto.  Heckler’s Veto is conduct that inhibits the free speech rights of the speaker in response to an opposing individual or party’s protest reactions (Daniel, Gee, Sun, & Pauken, 2012).  In situations involving a commencement speaker, a Heckler’s Veto prevails when a public college curtails the speech in reaction to protest tactics such as chanting, rallying, name calling, rabble-rousing, or thrown objects (Daniel, Gee, Sun, & Pauken, 2012).

Supporting a Heckler’s Veto potentially counters First Amendment principles of free speech (Daniel, Gee, Sun, & Pauken, 2012).  In other words, it is not consistent with the First Amendment.  As a federal appellate court once explained in non-education case, a Heckler’s Veto “would empower an audience [or others in a crowd] to cut off the expression of a speaker with whom it disagreed” (Glasson v. City of Louisville, 1975, 905-906).  In essence, a Heckler’s Veto rewards “community hostility and threats of violence to justify censorship” (Glasson v. City of Louisville, 1975, 906).  Therefore, public colleges may only address the conduct that is not protected under the First Amendment, such as expressions or activities that:

  • actually are or likely to lead to substantial disruption of the educational purpose;
  • true threats in which serious messages of one’s intent to commit an unlawful act of violence onto a particular individual or group of individuals;
  • incite the audience to engage or leading to imminent physical harm; or
  • are obscene expressions that an average community member would say appeal to prurient interest, are patently offensive, and lacks value (in a social, political, scientific sense).

For public colleges, the challenge is that they “are taxed with a dual responsibility to permit the free expression of ideas on campus while providing the safety and security of their students” (Rock for Life – UMBC v. Hrabowski, 2010, p. 555).  Thus, public colleges must consider the rights of the speaker, the audience, the hecklers, and the institution.

Because of its legal origins (i.e., constitutional rights drawn from the First Amendment), the Heckler’s Veto may not strictly apply to private colleges. The First Amendment precludes government from creating policies or taking other actions that abridges one’s freedom of speech.  Thus, public colleges, which are also government entities, must comply with constitutional standards in developing policies and procedures and engaging in practices involving their operations.

Given the legal distinctions between private and public colleges, it’s not surprising that private colleges have much greater discretion in terms of oversight and regulation of its campus environment (Daniel, Gee, Sun, & Pauken, 2012).  Typically, private colleges would refer to its student code of conduct and other campus policies to determine the student rights and conduct regulations.  These decisions are largely analogous to or actually treated as contract terms.  These policies may resemble First Amendment rights, so the principles discussed below are relevant to many college campuses.  Further, on occasion, a special law such as the situation in California may govern a private college’s policies regarding student expressions that require adherence to certain legal principles of the First Amendment’s free speech provisions.[1]

While there are differences between public and private colleges in terms of free speech, the academic environment should, regardless of its organizational form, foster an open dialogue and maintain its status as the space for the marketplace of ideas.  Thus, we should avoid activities that suppress speech.

Conclusion and Discussion Questions

Here are some basic guidelines that we should consider when we have veto attempts from hecklers.

  • Review the actions of the hecklers.  Are they creating a disruptive environment that substantially interferes with the purpose of the event?  Are there conduct matters of concern such as events leading to physical harm, obscene gestures or other expressions, or events leading to incitement or imminent harm that is likely to occur?  What recourse might you have to maintain order?  Are there any opportunities to educate the audience and the hecklers?
  • Examine what the speaker is expressing that may create harm.  Ask yourself the same questions as the hecklers, but keep in mind that you should avoid rewarding the Heckler’s Veto.
  • Consider the rights of the audience such as the graduates and their guests.  How might you articulate their rights to gather for the event and be present to hear the speech as well as engage in the commencement ceremony?

Notes

[1] For instance, California has law, known as the Leonard Law, which states in pertinent part: “No private postsecondary educational institution shall make or enforce a rule subjecting a student to disciplinary sanctions solely on the basis of conduct that is speech or other communication that, when engaged in outside the campus or facility of a private postsecondary institution, is protected from governmental restriction by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or Section 2 of Article I of the California Constitution.” Cal. Educ. Code § 94367 (2014).  This provision does not apply to religious postsecondary institutions when its application is not consistent with the religious tenets of the institution.

References

Anonymous (2014, May 20). A field guide to this spring’s commencement-speaker outrage. Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/A-Field-Guide-to-This-Springs/146687/

Daniel, P. T. K., Gee, E. G., Sun, J. C., & Pauken, P. D. (2012).  Law, policy, and higher education: Cases and materials. New Providence, NJ: LexisNexis.

Glasson v. City of Louisville, 518 F.2d 899 (6th Cir. 1975).

June, A. W. (2014, May 7). The perils of picking a commencement speaker. Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/The-Perils-of-Picking-a/146421/

Rock for Life – UMBC v. Hrabowski, 411 Fed. App’x 541 (4th Cir. 2010).

About the Author

Jeffrey C. Sun, J.D., Ph.D. is Professor of Higher Education and Assistant Chair in the Department of Leadership, Foundations, & Human Resource Education at the University of Louisville.

Please e-mail inquiries to Jeffrey C. Sun.

Disclaimer

The ideas expressed in this article are not necessarily those of the Developments editorial board or those of ACPA members or the ACPA Governing Board, Leadership, or International Office Staff.

537 thoughts on “The Pomp and Circumstance Marches”

  209. Having read this I believed it was rather enlightening. I appreciate you taking the time and energy to put this informative article together. I once again find myself spending a significant amount of time both reading and posting comments. But so what, it was still worthwhile.

  219. Your style is very unique compared to other folks I’ve read stuff from. Many thanks for posting when you’ve got the opportunity, Guess I will just book mark this site.

  234. I love looking through a post that can make men and women think. Also, many thanks for allowing for me to comment.

  237. Aw, this was a very nice post. Taking a few minutes and actual effort to make a great article… but what can I say… I hesitate a whole lot and don’t seem to get anything done.

  240. Hi, I do think this is an excellent website. I stumbledupon it 😉 I’m going to return yet again since I book marked it. Money and freedom is the greatest way to change, may you be rich and continue to help others.

  281. After I initially commented I appear to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now whenever a comment is added I recieve four emails with the same comment. Is there an easy method you can remove me from that service? Appreciate it.

  294. I blog often and I truly thank you for your information. This great article has truly peaked my interest. I will take a note of your blog and keep checking for new information about once per week. I subscribed to your Feed too.

  296. I must thank you for the efforts you’ve put in penning this website. I’m hoping to view the same high-grade content from you in the future as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has encouraged me to get my own, personal site now 😉

  300. Having read this I believed it was rather informative. I appreciate you taking the time and energy to put this information together. I once again find myself spending a significant amount of time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worth it!

  304. Oh my goodness! Awesome article dude! Thanks, However I am having issues with your RSS. I don’t understand why I can’t join it. Is there anybody else getting identical RSS issues? Anyone who knows the solution can you kindly respond? Thanks!

  307. Everything is very open with a really clear clarification of the challenges. It was truly informative. Your website is extremely helpful. Thank you for sharing!

  328. I wanted to thank you for this fantastic read!! I certainly loved every bit of it. I have you saved as a favorite to look at new stuff you post…

  330. Aw, this was a really nice post. Taking the time and actual effort to create a top notch article… but what can I say… I put things off a lot and don’t manage to get anything done.

  346. Hi, I do think this is a great web site. I stumbledupon it 😉 I will return once again since I saved as a favorite it. Money and freedom is the greatest way to change, may you be rich and continue to guide others.

  456. Hi, I do believe this is a great website. I stumbledupon it 😉 I will return yet again since i have saved as a favorite it. Money and freedom is the best way to change, may you be rich and continue to guide others.

  472. I’m amazed, I have to admit. Rarely do I encounter a blog that’s both equally educative and entertaining, and let me tell you, you’ve hit the nail on the head. The problem is something too few people are speaking intelligently about. I’m very happy I came across this during my hunt for something regarding this.

  492. Your style is very unique compared to other people I have read stuff from. Thanks for posting when you have the opportunity, Guess I’ll just bookmark this blog.

  500. I was very pleased to find this web site. I want to to thank you for your time just for this fantastic read!! I definitely savored every little bit of it and I have you saved to fav to check out new things on your site.

  520. It’s difficult to find experienced people in this particular subject, however, you seem like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks

  528. You are so awesome! I don’t suppose I’ve truly read a single thing like that before. So good to discover another person with some genuine thoughts on this topic. Seriously.. thanks for starting this up. This site is one thing that is needed on the web, someone with a little originality.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *