Amplified Sound Editorial  

The University of Connecticut released new policies on Aug. 21 around the acceptable usage of amplified sound outside official university functions, according to The Daily Campus. Specifically, the use of amplified sound, such as loud music, megaphones and acoustic instruments, not part of a permitted university or student union function, is only permitted from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. during the week. In these acceptable periods, it must remain under 85 decibels. This comes alongside other changes to student policies that include an expanded ability to put students on interim probation or suspension and an expanded definition of disruptive behavior. These revisions have received statewide media coverage and heavy criticism as an undue restriction of student’s free speech.  

This is not an isolated incident, but a part of a nationwide push on college campuses to enact policies restricting students’ ability to protest. From the University of California’s many campuses to Harvard Square, additional restrictions on tents, masks, the term “Zionist” and loud demonstrations have reshaped the ability of students to make their voices heard, especially on matters of military divestment and support for the state of Israel.  

Specifically focusing on changes at UConn, the Daily Campus Editorial Board rejects these new policies as an attempt to restrict students exercising their right to free speech. Regardless of the issue, these policies make it extremely difficult to be heard by the administrators, who are capable of making change at this university. The Editorial Board has previously written about how peaceful protest and civil disobedience have a lauded history at this university, yet these policies hypocritically disregard the past and the lessons this university claims to have learned from it.   

These policies also give far too much power to administrators to shut down “disruptive” speech, the definition of which is solely for them to decide. This leads to selective enforcement of these policies, which has seen criticism from campus groups. Grace Easterly, president of the UConn Graduate Employee and Postdoc Union, spoke to reporters about how amplified sound policies were rarely enforced in recent years with union demonstrations using megaphones and chants. In other examples from 2019 and 2022, students saw large protests on racial justice and sexual violence go unrestricted, despite gathering hundreds of students and using megaphones.  

UConn is restricting students’ speech on the issues they care about or are only able to gain permission to speak out on through official channels, like scheduling with the Student Union or other student life offices. This fundamentally dilutes the speech in question and allows for the university to better contain actual dissent from the status quo they do not approve of.  

It is for these reasons that the Editorial Board urges students to push back against these new policies, regardless of their opinion on the myriad of issues which define the political landscape of UConn. Free speech is not just limited to students advocating for demilitarization, environmental concerns, justice for sexual violence or any other cause; it is the lifeblood of universities themselves. A college campus is not just for classes, but for discussion and active dialogue about the world and what goes on in it. UConn, in its actions here, actively restricts this campus from developing an engaged, civic culture by giving students more reasons to think twice before speaking their minds.