Update: a dean in Madison told me to bring a printed copy of the speech policy to every event, and it saved me on Tuesday | Campus Free Speech - Discusd
Update: a dean in Madison told me to bring a printed copy of the speech policy to every event, and it saved me on Tuesday
Last fall a dean at UW Madison gave me one piece of advice during a free speech training: always carry the actual printed speech policy with you, not just have it on your phone. I wrote it on a sticky note and mostly forgot about it, but I started keeping a folded copy of the 12 page policy in my backpack. On Tuesday our student group hosted a speaker in a common area and a staff member came up and said we needed to move inside because of a noise rule. I pulled out the policy and read the exact section that says common areas are open for expressive activity, page 7 if anyone wants it. The staff member looked at it, made a call, and we stayed. I'm not saying printed paper is magic, but the phone version always dies at the worst time. Has anyone else had a staff member back off once they saw the actual written policy?