MSU officials respond to President Trump’s anti-protest threats

On March 4, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social threatening severe repercussions for “illegal” campus protests. These consequences included expulsion or even arrest for American students, deportation for international students and funding cuts for universities that participate in or allow these alleged “illegal protests.” 

According to the Guardian, this message was posted in the wake of protests involving antisemitism at universities such as Columbia University, Northwestern University, Portland State University and the University of California Berkeley. 

Despite President Trump’s post, students at MSU have freedom of speech and can protest and say what they feel. The act of protesting is not illegal and not a reason for expulsion, according to MSU Spokesperson Michael Becker. “The MSU free expression policy details activities which are not protected by the First Amendment, but those unprotected activities may not all be illegal,” he said.

“The University's free expression policy and practices align with all relevant federal, state and local laws,” Becker said. As long as a protest does not violate the school’s code of conduct, it is legal and welcomed, according to him.

 “Sanctions against individual students, such as suspensions or expulsions, are the result of the student disciplinary process,” he explained. 

Relevant factors when considering expulsion include the student’s conduct, offense type, severity of damage and more, Becker said. “Typically, the sanction of expulsion is reserved for multiple and repeated violations — as in the case of academic misconduct — or severe acts of violence or harm to others. 

“Every case is unique and has its own circumstances, and so it is not accurate to say that a certain sanction is always applied to certain violations,” Becker said.

Dean of Students Matthew Caires is the administrator who determines whether a student who violated University policy requires a meeting, a learning course, suspension or hearings. “Sanction is a judgment call,” Caires said.

He explained that expulsion is rare and that, in the 14 years he has worked for MSU, he has expelled only six students. To be expelled from MSU, a student must have multiple felonies or commit an act of serious violence and harm such as aggravated assault or non-consensual intercourse, according to him. 

“At the end of the day, our student conduct system [is] based on students’ learning and growing — it's not about punishing,” Caires said. 

On March 7, there was a rally on MSU’s campus regarding recent funding pulls and concerns over federal actions. Environmental engineering student Levi Bala, who participated in this rally, explained his worries due to Trump’s harsh actions toward universities. “Attending a protest like that helped reassure my concerns and fired me up to put more effort for change,” he said.

MSU has a free speech website where students can learn about their First Amendment rights. Students have the right to freedom of speech, but this speech is not always free from consequence. 

Offensive or distasteful speech does not necessarily violate University policy or the law, according to the website. Additionally, the First Amendment prohibits universities from controlling student expression because of the conveyed message. 

Some examples of unlawful exercise of free speech include challenging to fight or fighting, threatening or abusive language, disrupting a lawful assembly or public meeting and exclaiming a false report of warning or danger.  

“The freedom of expression is integral to the purpose of a university which is, ultimately, education,” Becker said. According to him, the University protects students’ rights by providing them with information on how to exercise their rights within the bounds of University policy and the law.

To learn more about free speech on campus, visit https://www.montana.edu/freespeech/rights.html.