'Orwellian:' Government officials critical of IU, ISP for 'heavy-handed' protest response

“Heavy-handed.”

“Without transparency.”

“Downright Orwellian.”

These are some of the terms with which Bloomington and Monroe County government officials are criticizing Indiana University administrators and Indiana State Police for their response to protests against the Israel-Hamas war on Dunn Meadow.

Protesters have gathered on that historic protest spot since Thursday. Indiana State Police have arrested more than 50 people. On the eve of the initial protest, IU’s administration changed a decades-old policy regarding structures, such as tents, on Dunn Meadow, an action that three lawyers said likely violated the protesters’ constitutional rights.

IU President Pamela Whitten and IU Provost Rahul Shrivastav have said in a statement that they changed the policy and brought in the ISP because of the "expectation of a high number of external participants." Local officials said that rationale is “disingenuous.”

Fact check: Statements from IU, ISP: Snipers, external participants, free speech

County Commissioners Julie Thomas, Penny Githens and Lee Jones unanimously approved a statement Wednesday morning to denounce actions by the university and state police.

Commissioners, who each read portions of their statement, said they were “shocked” by the arrests during a peaceful protest.

“Not only was this heavy-handed response entirely disproportionate, but the 11th-hour change to IU's assembly policy lacked transparency and is itself antithetical to all that Indiana University has, historically, supported — namely academic freedom and the freedoms granted to each of us in the Constitution of the United States.”

Commissioners said the notion that the changes were made in the interest of public safety was “disingenuous and downright Orwellian.”

Bloomington City Council: Police response to protests 'unacceptable'

The Bloomington City Council, too, issued a statement to “denounce” the “severe departure from over 50 years of IU policy” and said the changes were made “without transparency or adequate process to involve affected stakeholders.”

Council members also asked the new policy be rescinded immediately.

“The Indiana State Police response used force far in excess of what was necessary,” council members wrote. The ISP’s “violent response to peaceful protest is unacceptable.”

“We, as elected representatives of the residents of Bloomington (including IU students, faculty, and staff), decry the display of and use of force by the Indiana State Police during the rally as well as the IU administration’s denial of free speech rights in Dunn Meadow,” council members wrote.

Of the nine council members, only Isak Nti Asare, an IU faculty member, did not sign the statement. Asare did not reply to an emailed message. Council President Isabel Piedmont-Smith said via email Asare "declined to sign but did not give me a reason."

NAACP: IU, police response a 'violation of ... civil rights.'

The actions by IU administrators and state police have received criticism from other local groups, including the Monroe County NAACP and the executive committee of the IU-Bloomington American Association of University Professors.

“All these acts in violation of student rights, civil rights, and human rights have been carried out by an IU administration that now stands against the values of free expression and learning that have characterized Indiana University for over 250 years,” the NAACP wrote in its statement.

The organization demanded that in light of the “gross violation of the protesters’ rights,” criminal and disciplinary charges be dropped against peaceful protesters.

The AAUP wrote the police action on Thursday was “an egregious violation of Indiana University values and the academic freedom principles the administration purports to honor.”

The professors also wrote the administration’s defense of its actions are “utterly disingenuous.”

“Regardless of individual feelings about the nature of the protest itself, about which faculty will surely have strong disagreements, we ask all Bloomington faculty to condemn Thursday’s actions,” the AAUP wrote.

IU has declined repeated requests to make IU President Pamela Whitten or Provost Rahul Shrivastav available for an interview. IU spokesman Mark Bode has not answered emailed questions about the rationale and timing for the policy change and has instead referred to prior statements from administrators.

Boris Ladwig can be reached at bladwig@heraldt.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Monroe County, Bloomington council, others address IU protest response