As colleges prepare for the start of the fall semester, many are issuing policies to delineate acceptable forms of protest. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) has issued guidelines for students’ rights and responsibilities. “The ability to distinguish between peaceful protest, civil disobedience, and genuine misconduct is more important now than ever.”

They note that while public colleges can restrict the “time, place, and manner” of protests, they cannot restrict their content, and that private colleges generally offer similar access and restrictions. Some, particularly those with a military or religious focus, may be more restrictive in what they allow. They state that actual threats and intimidation, incitement, discriminatory harassment, and the substantial disruption of events or disabling of speakers are prohibited.

Rutgers University recently unveiled a policy that seems fairly typical. There is a ban on tent encampments, restrictions on where students can protest, and a requirement that protesters register three days in advance. Protests are limited to 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., cannot disrupt school events or speakers, and sign sizes are limited. Other colleges have additional restrictions. Protesters at Columbia University must have a university ID, and the University of California system bans masks that obscure identity. Penn restricts amplification devices, chalk painting, and light projections. Virginia Commonwealth University prevents disruption of sidewalks, bike paths, and streets, as well as speakers, classes, and college events.

The American Association of University Professors finds pre-registration of protests problematic, pointing out that it could encourage surveillance of protest plans and limit spontaneity. It is also concerned that most of these measures have been implemented without faculty involvement and limit faculty rights.

Some say the measures have not gone far enough. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) has issued guidelines suggesting that protests should be filmed in order to identify protesting students and impose clear and “strict” consequences. “The convoluted processes of student and faculty disciplinary committees often fail to convey to the student body as a whole that violations will certainly be punished… Attempting to ‘de-escalate’ is a recipe for long-term failure.”

There are signs that protests in Gaza are waning. The expected crowd of 35,000 demonstrators at the Democratic National Convention has barely arrived. It is unrealistic to assume that protests will not return to university campuses in the fall. Time will tell whether these restrictions are respected and what happens if they are not. With the cost of college rising, one proposal from ACTA may have the greatest impact: “Violations may result in suspension or expulsion, and in such cases, no refund of tuition fees will be given.”