State lawmakers review response to campus protests

RICHMOND, Va. (WDBJ) - Protests last spring on college campuses in Virginia resulted in confrontations with police and many arrests.

Now, members of a General Assembly committee are considering how to balance the need to maintain order and public safety with the right to free speech.

Wednesday afternoon, they heard emotional testimony from people who participated in the pro-Palestinian demonstrations and from Jewish students who say they still feel unsafe on campus.

Del. Charniele Herring (D-Alexandria) described the challenge of dealing with campus protests, and the goal school officials and law enforcement agencies should embrace.

“Keeping people safe is of the utmost importance, but protecting free expression cannot be neglected,” she said as she convened the meeting in Richmond.

Police removed encampments and arrested more than 100 people during pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Virginia Tech, UVA and VCU last spring.

During the Wednesday hearing, members of the House Select Committee on Maintaining Campus Safety and First Amendment Expression heard from representatives of UVA and VCU and from public safety officials.

“We don’t want police contact. We don’t want to put hands on people, because there’s a chance we’re going to get hurt,” said Virginia State Police Lt. Col. Kirk Marlowe.

Students who took part in the protests spoke out against what they described as a violent response.

“And the first interaction we had with police on this whole day arrived on a bus full of officers in riot gear lined up like soldiers preparing for battle,” said one speaker, a student at VCU. “Little did I know that was exactly what they were doing.”

The hearing also included comments from Jewish students who described the threats and intimidation they have endured.

“I and most Jews welcome and encourage healthy debate and critique,” said one speaker from Virginia Tech, “but this is just not what we are dealing with. If this is a movement about peace and not violence, now is your opportunity to prove me wrong.”

Some of the speakers who took part in the campus demonstrations called the hearing a “sham,” because representatives of their organizations were not included on the formal agenda.

But Del. Herring said the conversation is just beginning and committee members are planning to hear from more people when they meet again in December.