How the university has responded to campus protests

Protesters gather at the Bell Tower during the ICE Out Protest on March 11. | DYLAN CASTELLUCCIO / THE TEMPLE NEWS

More than 200 people gathered at the Bell Tower and marched through Main Campus onto Broad Street on March 11, in protest of student Jerome Richardson’s arrest in Minnesota during a demonstration against Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, The Temple News reported. 

The protest was organized by the Temple chapter of The Revolutionary Communists of America, the Philadelphia chapter of Socialist Alternative and multiple other organizations.  Both RCA and Socialist Alternative are not registered as official student organizations in the Owl Connect database. 

All on-campus demonstrations are subject to University Guidelines for Demonstrations, monitored by the Office of Ethics and Compliance. Demonstrations must have reserved space ahead of time. They cannot impede civilian and pedestrian traffic, block access to Temple property or use voice amplifiers in a way impedes academic instruction, according to Temple’s protest guidelines.  

This could place the March 11 demonstration in violation of Temple’s guidelines. 

Evan McLoughlin, an RCA member involved in organizing the demonstration, said that turnout at the protest far surpassed what they initially expected. This required organizers to alter their plans during the demonstration. 

“We kind of left it up to how many people actually showed up to decide on the route itself,” said McLoughlin, a junior computer science major. “And because so many people ended up showing out, we decided to take the walk around Cecil and Broad.” 

The university did not make a public statement about the March 11 demonstration. 

The last major on-campus demonstration was a “Dis-Orientation Rally” organized by the Temple Action Solidarity Council on Sept. 5. More than 50 people gathered at the Bell Tower, protesting for the support of Gaza and full university divestment from Israel, The Temple News reported. 

Several of the organizations in the coalition were not officially affiliated with the university, like Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine and the Immigrant Rights Action Group. One of the coalition organizations, Jewish Voice for Peace, is registered on the Owl Connect database as a student organization. 

Temple deemed the rally as a safety hazard and a violation of campus demonstration guidelines, emphasizing the presence of unaffiliated organization participating alongside students, President John Fry said in an announcement to the Temple community the day after the demonstration. In his statement, Fry called attention to the fact that individuals not associated with the university participated in the protest alongside students. 

The Temple chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace was placed on social probation until January 2027 following an investigation from the university, The Temple News reported. 

Student organizations must reserve spaces for any indoor or outdoor events through a request to be reviewed by the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, according to the Temple University Policies and Procedures Manual.  

One of the registered organizations involved in the planning of the March 11 protest had tried to reserve the Bell Tower for the demonstration but whether or not they had succeeded was unclear, making organizers play by ear and rely on turnout to prevent any university action, McLoughlin said. 

“As far as I’m aware, there was no communication with the university in either direction,” McLoughlin said. “And I’m fairly confident that if there had been any, I would be aware of it.” 

A member of TASC previously told The Temple News that they had attempted to reserve space with the university before their September demonstration, but were denied permission. 

Megaphones were used by protesters at both demonstrations, and both protests moved along Broad Street and through traffic. 

“Peaceful protests and the open exchange of ideas are a core part of university life, and we respect the right of our community to express their views,” a spokesperson for the university wrote in an email to The Temple News, regarding the March 11 protest. “It is important that demonstrations remain peaceful and follow university guidelines, so they do not interfere with the educational process or operations of the campus.”