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Student organization event guidelines regarding audience conduct and objects present at events where access to the venue can be regulated
Student organizations hosting events on-campus have the right to establish reasonable rules on how audience members conduct themselves and what audience members may bring to their event venue. This right exists whether the event is open to the public or limited to a specific audience.
Nonsense. It is a public event at a public university. Of course, there should be rules for behavior, but the right to videotape should not be interfered with.
Reasonable rules in the event venue may include prohibiting activities such as video recording, taking photographs, distributing flyers and leaflets, carrying signs,using flash photography, using cell phones, and interrupting a speaker with questions or statements during a period of time of an event not scheduled for questions and statements. (Italics mine.) In my view, only the italicized statement is true. That would constitute disruption. In addition, carrying signs into an indoor event would be too cumbersome for all concerned, but not at an outdoor event.)
Event rules are appropriate if the following conditions are observed in their establishment, communication and enforcement by the event organizers:
1.
Include all rules in the event information entered into the Triton Activities Planner (TAP) system in order for Student Affairs staff members and UCSD Police to be informed about them prior to the event.
2.
If an event speaker has specific requirements (e.g., no video recording, flash photography) as a condition for speaking at the event, include these conditions in the speaker’s contract.
Said contract cannot supercede the law.
3.
Ensure that event rules are applied uniformly to all audience members and are completely unrelated to audience members’ viewpoint concerning the topic of the event. The rules must be enforced uniformly.Individuals may not be charged with a violation of these rules based solely on their viewpoint relative to the topic of the event.
That has been violated often at other universities.
4.
The event organizer may engage in activities it prohibits (e.g., video recording, taking photographs,distributing flyers, etc.). Conduct the activity in a manner that makes clear to the audience the event organizer is engaging in it and not audience members. For example, limit the number of event organizers engaged in the activity, station them away from the seating area, and have them wear something that clearly identifies them as part of the sponsoring organization.
5.
Include event rules in all event publicity in order to notify audience members in advance.Don't see it here.
http://ucsdmsa.org/joomla/index.php/events-and-programs/jip
6.
Post the rules prominently outside all entrances to the venue using sign(s) of sufficient size and location(s) sufficiently prominent that audience members can read them before entering the venue.
7.
Work with your CSI advisor to arrange for a Student Affairs staff member, security staffing, and UCSD Police Officer(s) to be present at the event to assist in the enforcement of the event rules.
In this case, the MSA has brought in its own security. Where are the campus police?
8.
Review the event rules with the security personnel and station them at the venue entrances to make sure audience members do not bring prohibited objects (e.g. video cameras, signs, leaflets) into the venue.
a.
If an individual insists on bringing prohibited objects into the venue, ask security personnel to not let the individual in, ask the individual to wait outside the entrance and contact the Student Affairs staff member assigned to the event to speak with the individual.
9.
Designate an event moderator who should announce at the start of the event the rules and the consequences for violating the event rules. Consult with your CSI Advisor on the exact wording of the announcement several days before your event.
This is what the event moderators (MSU members) tried to announce at UC Irvine last week. I informed them they were wrong and needed to get a campus police officer if they wanted me to stop filming. They backed down.
10.
If a violation of the rules occurs inside the event venue, the event moderator should consult with the organizers of the event and the Student Affairs staff member assigned to the event to determine if the moderator should ask the audience member to cease the behavior. If the answer of the event organizer is“yes,” the moderator should address the audience member, state the behavior that is in the violation ofthe event rules, and request the audience member to cease the behavior.
11.
If an audience member continues to violate the rules despite the request to stop, the event organizers should notify the designated Student Affairs staff member who will notify the UCSD Police Officer(s) at the event. The Student Affairs staff member and the UCSD Police Officer will ask the audience member to cease the behavior.
And the officer would be wrong. (At that point, I would personally follow the directions of the campus police officer and make a complaint after the fact.) Again, the events at UCSD this week are being held under MSA private security. Where are the campus police? It is their duty to be present at any event where emotions can spill over into violence. This issue clearly qualifies. It is the most contentious issue on most university campuses today. It is they who can best determine how to respect the rights of all concerned.
12.
If after more than one request to stop by the Student Affairs staff member and the UCSD Police Officer, the audience member continues with the behavior and it is clear the audience member has willfully disturbed the event, the event organizers may notifythe UCSD Police Officer that they would like to perform a citizen’s arrest on the audience memberfor willfully disturbing the event in violation of section 403 of the California Penal Code.
a.
The UCSD Police Officer will explain the Citizen’s Arrest Form and ask the event organizer to complete it and sign it.
b.
Once the form is signed, the UCSD Police Officer will instruct the audience member to leave the event and if the audience member does not comply with this request the audience member may be arrested for disturbing the event in violation of section 403 of the California Penal Code. Using their professional judgment, UCSD police officers may attempt to obtain compliance with the rule without resorting to a physical arrest of the subject(s).
13.
If the audience member continues the behavior, the UCSD Police Officer will escort the audience member from the event venue and may subject the audience member to arrest for disturbing the event.
14.
If the disruption involves multiple individuals and/or the person(s) cannot be removed in a safe manner, the event may need to be terminated or temporarily cleared. This decision will be made by the UCSD Police in conjunction with the Student Affairs Staff and event sponsors.On Thursday, Cynthia McKinney is scheduled to speak. What if she brings her New Black Panther P:arty goons to the event as security, a group that the Southern Poverty Law Center has rightly designated as a hate group (Duh)? Will the university cede its control over to this bunch too?
As much as I hate to rely on the ACLU for an opinion, here is a position they took at Central Michigan University. The facts are somewhat different in this instance.
http://www.aclu.org/technology-and-liberty/university%E2%80%99s-absolute-ban-videotaping-without-permission-unconstitutional-say
Somebody needs to bring a lawyer to this fight. The audience right to videotape is being violated. I am hardly surprised given the craven submission of the UCSD administration to the students over the years, but it is time for somebody to give some sound legal advice to this institution.
7 comments:
If the Goons that are brought into the MSA event are not authorized law enforcement officers, they are considered citizens. If these goons impersonate law enforcement/security, they put themselves into an unlawful position. As a citizen, one is not previleged to tell anyone not to go anywhere on public property, nor detain anyone or prohibit anyone from free movement. I this citizen priveleges are violated, the offenders are liable for criminal and civil justice.
I agree, someone with a lawyer on their arm can challenge these UCSD rules for campus events, at the event and perhaps make huge money in law suits.
Squid
Here is a handy guide to photographers rights when taking pictures in public places. It is clear that photographers hae the right. If the right is challenged the provides tlking points. If the challenger continues to obstuct your rights as a photograher, there are legal ramifcations with civil and criminal consequences. UCSD and the MSA are not above the law, although they think they are.
Here is the photographers rights guide:
LINK:
http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm
Squid
Your interpellations are too facile Gary. If this IS a written policy, it is prima facie the rules of the game. I don't know of statute law specifying a right to video any gathering on any public university campus.
If you have a case, it would rest on the foundation that these are publicly-funded universities, therefore full rights of free speech and expression apply on all university property.
It is not wise to refer vaguely to "the law" without specifying which law, and citing statutory source or judicial precedent.
Siarlys,
Let's say a public university had a written policy that only students of a certain race could take a math class. Prima facie rules of the game?
UCI understands-after having the issue forced by a Republican state politician in 2007 that the law was on our side. UCSD may have to learn the law the hard way.
UCSD may indeed have to learn the law the hard way. But someone will have to do a little more homework than you evidence here in order to prevail.
If UCSD had a rule that only students of a certain race could take a math class, it would be highly vulnerable to judicial challenge, but if it WERE a campus regulation, it would have to be formally presented to a court with citations to what constitution or law was being violated by the regulation.
Should the campus chapter of Act-Up have a right to video tape meetings of the Christian Legal Society? Probably not. Would Act-Up have a right to video tape an open presentation to which the public was generally invited? Probably so.
If the university has a viewpoint-neutral general policy that video taping any sponsored event on campus requires the approval of the sponsors, then it would be a close question whether anyone has a legal right to video tape such events over sponsors' objections.
With a few hours of solid legal research on the subject, someone MIGHT make a good legal case. If they did, Squid's proposal is a good one -- real sworn police officers trump hired goons, even duly employed ones.
Ah, I see the full text is up. On its face, the regulations are viewpoint-neutral, and therefore it would be some work to establish that there is a constitutional violation.
Many venues open to the public prohibit filming, notably live theatrical performances, art museums, and the Supreme Court of the United States. I believe these instances are all reasonable, and I know of no reason to consider them unconstitutional.
I know of no blanket legal principle that everyone has a right to video tape any event in any public space. UCI has rules that do not authorize event organizers to ban video taping, and the event is on university property, therefore, the event organizers cannot on their own authority declare it prohibited.
UCSD does have such a written policy, and its not a foregone conclusion that the policy is "against the law." There is a bit of "I want it, therefore I have a right to it" here, characteristic of gay marriage advocates and early seventies hippies.
You might have a case, but its not open and shut, and you haven't really made it yet. I would hesitate to support a policy that NO group may EVER ban photography during an event for ANY reason.
Siarlys,
I didn't know you bwere a Supreme Court Justice in your spare time.
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