by James A. Bacon
In about two weeks summer break is over and students go back to college. You know what that means — they’ll be setting up their dorm rooms, reconnecting with friends, and organizing anti-Israel demonstrations.
In an email letter to the University of Mary Washington Board of Visitors obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, Virginia Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera urged the Fredericksburg university to prepare for more protests. Mary Washington was the site of major demonstrations last academic year, along with Virginia Tech, Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Virginia.
“We have asked each institution to take proactive steps to update policies and improve communications channels before students return this fall,” Guidera wrote. And in bold face, she added, “I cannot overemphasize the critical importance of completing this necessary work within the next couple of weeks before students return to campus.“
She continued:
At a minimum, institutions should update their codes of conduct in five key areas: (a) disruptions of school functions; (b) violations of federal, state, and local laws and ordinances; (c) unlawful masking; (d) erection of encampments/tents; and (e) facility usage by affiliated and non-affiliated persons/groups. On July 31, the Attorney General sent a memo to your university counsel with proposed language that the Governor has asked each institution to adopt….
As we enter a new school year, it is critical for all of us to maintain open lines of communication. Our education team will continue to work in partnership with the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security and the Attorney General’s team to provide campus leaders and boards with up-to-date information and tools to support you.
Governor Glenn Youngkin has encouraged university presidents to send their campus police chiefs to meetings for regular updates, she added.
Bacon’s bottom line: College campuses have gone quiet while most students are gone for summer. I don’t expect pro-Palestinian forces have been idle — indeed, the Free Beacon quotes pro-Palestinian groups saying that student militants have been planning for the fall. Meanwhile, things likely will heat up as the nation goes into peak presidential election mode.
The Youngkin administration is prepared. Are Virginia’s universities? Will they adopt Team Youngkin’s policy recommendations? If so, will they respond to the sense of urgency by calling special Board of Visitors meetings before the school year begins, or will they just wait for regularly scheduled meetings when protests might already have begun?
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