Open Meeting Law Meets University Encampment Policies
From a June 27 Massachusetts AG opinion:
We find the facts as follows. Like many college campuses, UMass Amherst was the site of demonstrations during the 2023-2024 academic year, stemming from events in the Middle East. On April 29, demonstrators established an encampment, including tents, on campus property and made certain demands of the University. Construction of the encampment violated UMass Amherst Regulations for Use of Property, Trustee Doc. T90-079 (the “Land Use Policy”), which required pre-authorization of any structures.
Chancellor Reyes decided on April 29 that the encampment would not be allowed to remain on University property; protesters who refused to remove encampment structures after several explicit warnings would be subject to arrest for criminal trespass. Among the reasons for Chancellor Reyes’s decision was his concern that tolerance of an encampment established in violation of the Land Use Policy would set an undesirable precedent in the event of future protests. Following discussions with University administration, demonstrators voluntarily removed the encampment on April 30.
At noon on May 7, demonstrators were observed unloading pallets onto the South Lawn of the UMass Amherst campus, again in violation of the University’s Land Use Policy, to construct a second encampment. After the demonstrators ignored a notification that structures and tents were not allowed on the South Lawn, staff of the Demonstration Response and Safety Team (“DRST”) entered the newly established encampment and asked them to disassemble a wooden barrier being constructed. DRST issued two additional warnings that day. As part of the third warning, demonstrators were advised of steps the University was taking in response to their demands and were further told that although they had the right to expres
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