BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana University released findings Thursday regarding an international law firm’s independent investigation into the events on Dunn Meadow in April 2024.
The investigation by Cooley LLP was sanctioned after 55 protestors were arrested on Dunn Meadow on April 25-27 while protesting the war in Gaza. The charges were later dropped.
The findings of the six-week long investigation were published in a 77-page report.
The arrests followed a decision the night before by university administration to ban encampments in the meadow. During the three-day span, some protestors refused to remove their tents and were arrested and removed by Indiana State Police.
“IU has a decades-long history of inconsistently enforcing its policies, which has caused confusion and frustration and makes governance difficult,” the report states.
The report also concluded that while the decision to change Dunn Meadow policy was permissible, making said change the night before the planned encampment caused “a number of unintended negative consequences.”
Included in the report were eight recommendations Cooley concluded the university should implement to improve its policies, safety and communications:
- IU should approve a new expressive activity policy.
- To establish clearer and more consistent policies, the IU president should direct a review for gaps or inconsistencies between university-wide and campus-specific policies and make recommendations to the Board of Trustees on necessary changes.
- IU should implement adequate training and communication about its policies and appropriate audit procedures to ensure the consistent application of policies.
- IU should establish a plan for implementing any new policy related to expressive activity.
- IU should clearly communicate this plan to relevant stakeholders and set expectations regarding the Indiana State Police’s involvement.
- IU should impose predictable and consistent conduct consequences for violating any new policy.
- IU should increase funding to the IU Police Department in order to hire and retain more officers and bolster existing training and technological capacity.
- IU should consider utilizing campus-wide communications to alert the IU community of encampments or other large-scale or disruptive protests.
- IU should consider adopting a policy of not issuing official statements about public matters that do not directly affect the university’s core functions.
- IU should improve communications involving critical constituencies on campus.
“We sincerely appreciate the depth and detail of Cooley’s independent review and will leverage their insights to move forward with purpose, guided by our core values and tirelessly pursuing our top priority: a safe campus with freedom of speech for all.” said IU president Pamela Whitten.
Following the report, the university has begun work on a new policy that provides a clearer set of guidelines for expressive activity in Dunn Meadow.
The Indiana University Board of Trustees to meet July 25 and 29 to discuss the new policy, which, if adopted, would take effect Aug. 1.
