Beat Story #2-Protests

With spring just around the corner, it's the season not just for pick-up soccer games in Monroe Park, but for protests on the VCU campuses.

According to Lt. David Q. Welch, commander of support services for VCU Police, the most common groups to stage protests on VCU property are abortion rights, animal rights, and anti-war groups.

But not just any group is allowed to congregate on campus. First, the group must contact the university and apply for a permit in order to use the space they request.

“The police department may be called on to identify any issues relevant to the group, but this is a rarity,” he said.

Next, the VCU Police identifies what issues are being protested and the number of protesters that is estimated to participate. Background information is gathered about the group and used along with the information provided on the permit to determine how much manpower is needed and what kind of issues may arise from the protest.

Shannon Le Corre, a VCU freshman involved with Voices for Planned Parenthood, or VOX, says that protesting on campus lets organizations reach people that they may not be able to reach otherwise.

"A lot of students are ignorant that there are student groups and people that are looking to change things," she said.

Problems have arisen when protests that were scheduled to remain stationary turned into marches and blocked traffic on the streets, or when the large crowd attracted noise complaints from buildings nearby the protest site. Controversial subjects have also caused both bystanders and VCU students to complain about the issues being protested.

Kyoung Pak, a VCU junior studying biochemistry, says that of all the types of protests held on campus, those with religious overtones should not be allowed.

“What happened to separation of church and state?” he said, referring to the political doctrine that advocates religious and government institutions be kept separate from one another.

John Paul Jones, a law professor at the University of Richmond, points out that the belief that a legal norm would control protests held at a public university isn't accurate.

“Even if one were to make the assumption...that the Establishment Clause erects a wall 'separating church and state', it only suggests what VCU might do. The First Amendment does not command a student to do anything or prohibit her from doing anything; it merely speaks to governments who would react to what she does or doesn’t do,” he said.

Laura Warren, a VCU junior studying English, believes that protests on campus are annoying at times, but that the college setting is the best opportunity for people to express their beliefs and protest for change.

“When we're older there's not going to be a common place for getting together and expressing ideas,” she said.

VCU Event and Conferences Services office does not have any requests on file for protests or rallies to be held at the Commons in upcoming weeks, but recommends that those interested in staying up to date on events held at the commons to refer to the virtual EMS calendar at http://www.ems.students.vcu.edu.