Editorial: We Must Come Together, Now

Months into Jay Bernhardt’s administration, the climate at Emerson shifted drastically. It’s almost hard to remember now, but we used to be a loud campus. We weren’t afraid to make our voices heard, take up space, and declare our beliefs openly, even when we disagreed with one another. Our school is uncharacteristically quiet now.

At the start of this academic year, the administration rolled out its infamous “interim” protest policy without defining an end date or soliciting community input. To make matters worse, over the summer it had ignored countless attempts by union leaders and student organizations to collaborate on a new policy.

This authoritarian and punitive anti-protest policy did not arise solely from the April encampment; it is the culmination of longstanding efforts by Bernhardt’s administration to silence dissent at Emerson. Months prior to his inauguration, the protest policy was rewritten to forbid direct action inside Emerson’s buildings, and in December 2023 the ECPD began to interfere with student organizations’ activities. 

On Monday we witnessed the inauguration of Trump, a president who doesn’t believe in freedom of the press, social justice, or organized labor. The only way to resist such tyranny is to organize. How can we do this under the existing protest policy? We can’t. So we will create a new policy. One that is written by us, for us. Before it’s too late, we must unite and assert the values we believe in. We will speak up and speak loudly, because expression is necessary to evolution. Join us.

-Right to Protest Coalition