A Message from Father Jenkins on Campus Protests
I write in response to a number of emails regarding the arrests of students following a protest gathering on campus on May 2nd. Let me begin by saying that I agree with many letter-writers that the students involved were acting conscientiously out of sincerely held and laudable convictions. The destruction and killing in Gaza are profoundly tragic, and the victims of bombs, disease and famine include innocent civilians, many of them children. We all should be distraught over the death and suffering. I applaud the students’ passion for justice and their willingness to expend their time and energy to address the tragedy of this conflict.
The case in question, however, involves complexities that I will briefly review.
Notre Dame’s standards of conduct require—as do parallel regulations at other universities—that campus demonstrations be registered to ensure compliance with appropriate time, place and manner regulations. On the evening of Thursday, April 25th, an unregistered demonstration took place in front of the Main Building at roughly 5:00 p.m. and later moved to the South Quad. That demonstration was generally compliant, and it dispersed voluntarily at approximately 11:00 p.m.
On Thursday, May 2nd, a second unregistered demonstration began at roughly 4:00 p.m. in front of the Eck Visitors Center. At approximately 8:15 p.m., the group moved to the quad in front of the Main Building to continue the demonstration. The protesters were told that the day was a study day for our students—a time devoted to allowing our students to prepare for finals—and the new site was near residence halls. The group was told that it would have to disperse. Group leaders said they were intent on staying, and asked to be warned when arrests would begin so each individual could decide whether to disperse or be arrested. Several members of Notre Dame’s administration spoke with the protesters at 9:30 p.m. for roughly 30 minutes in an effort to avoid arrests. When the group was told at roughly 10:00 p.m. that arrests would commence, several members remained in the quad and were arrested.
While some letters we received complained of a “disproportionate response” by University police and administrators, I believe the response was measured and appropriate to an unregistered protest gathering about the Middle East war, at a time when such protests have led to violence at several campuses across the nation. Notre Dame police and administrators carried out their duties with patience, discretion and professionalism, and I commend them for their work.
The students who chose to be arrested on May 2nd will face the University Conduct Process and any charges filed by the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office. The University’s Conduct Process is intended to facilitate the reflection and growth of individual students, as well as protect the rights of everyone on campus. I am confident that those administering the process will act in the interests of the students and the campus, taking into account the circumstances and motivations of those involved. I’m confident as well that our County Prosecutor, Ken Cotter, will treat these cases with the discretion and judgment he has shown our students in the past. The Prosecutor’s Office provides a pretrial diversion program offering a path that allows those charged to avoid consequences that might damage future prospects. Whatever the motivation for their decisions, I believe it is important that those arrested go through these processes, reflect on their decisions and consider the consequences of them.
The University of Notre Dame is committed to freedom of expression and the right to protest, but it is equally committed to enforcing restrictions of time, place and manner of demonstrations to ensure a peaceful and orderly campus. To attend to the former and neglect the latter would be to fail to respect the rights of others who live and work on this campus. Moreover, the restrictions in question are part of a body of policies and regulations that allow the essential work of the University—that of inquiry, teaching, learning and the growth of our students in mind, heart and spirit—to proceed unimpeded. It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that happens.
I add, in conclusion, that I hope the current challenging moment stimulates more vigorous study, thought and discussion of the complex moral, social, geopolitical and human realities of the Middle East war. A university’s primary priority should be the contest of ideas, not of disruptive protests; it should be about informed, rational conversations, not chants. President-Elect Fr. Bob Dowd and Provost John McGreevy are committed to facilitating such conversations and dialogues, and I hope faculty, students and staff will join us in distinguishing Notre Dame as a leader in conducting respectful, open and reasoned exchanges.
Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.
President, University of Notre Dame
May 13, 2024