BOARD OF REGENTS’ STATEMENT
ON DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR
The following is the policy
of the Board of Regents regarding disruptive behavior in any institution of the
University System:
The Board of Regents of the
University System of Georgia reaffirms its policies to support fully freedom of
expression by each member of the academic community and to preserve and protect
the rights and freedom of its faculty members and students to engage in debate,
discussions, peaceful and non-disruptive protest and dissent. The following
statement relates specifically to the problem described below. It does not
change or in any way infringe upon the Board’s existing policies and practices
in support of freedom of expression and action. Rather, it is considered necessary
to combat the ultimate effect of irresponsible disruptive and obstructive
actions by students and faculty which tend to destroy academic freedom and the
institutional structures through which it operates.
In recent years, a serious
problem has appeared on many college and university campuses in the nation.
Some students, faculty members, and others have on occasion engaged in
demonstrations, sit- ins, and other activities that
have clearly and deliberately interfered with the regular and orderly operation
of the institution concerned. Typically, these actions have been the physical
occupation of a building or campus area for a protracted period of time or the
use of display of verbal or written obscenities involving indecent or
disorderly conduct.
These actions have gone
beyond all heretofore recognized bounds of meetings for discussion, persuasion,
or even protest, in that: (1) acquiescence to demands of the demonstrators is
the conditioning for dispersal, and (2) the reasonable and written directions
of institutional officials to disperse have been ignored. Such activities thus
have become clearly recognizable as an action of force, operating outside all
established channels on the campus, including that in intellectual debate and
persuasion which are at the very heart of education.
The Board of Regents is
deeply concerned by this problem. Under the Constitution of the State of
Of equal or even greater
importance, such action of force as has been described above destroys the very
essence of higher education. The essence is found in the unhampered freedom to
study, investigate, write, speak, and debate on any aspect or issue of life.
This freedom, which reaches its full flowering on college and university
campuses, is an essential part of American democracy, comparable to the jury
system or the electoral process.
For these reasons and in
order to respond directly and specifically to this problem, the Board of
Regents stipulates that any student, faculty member, administrator, or
employee, acting individually or in concert with others, who clearly obstructs
or disrupts, or attempts to obstruct or disrupt any teaching, research,
administrative, disciplinary or public service activity, or any other activity
authorized to be discharged or held on any campus of the University System of
Georgia is considered by the Board to have committed an act of gross
irresponsibility and shall be subject to disciplinary procedures, possibly
resulting in dismissal or termination of employment.
The Board reaffirms its
belief that all segments of the academic community are under a strong
obligation and have a mutual responsibility to protect the campus community
from disorderly, disruptive, or obstructive actions which interfere with
academic pursuits of teaching, learning, and other campus activities.
The Board of Regents
understands that this policy is consistent with resolutions adopted by the
American Association of University Professors in April, 1968, and by the
Executive Committee of the Association for Higher Education in March, 1968,
condemning actions taken to disrupt the operations of institutions of higher
education.