Back to school: Will protests continue to be part of life on campus?

By Kendell Fitter, Deirdre Walsh, Abigail Ruck, Timothy Steves and Conor Robbins

Students are back on campus, and following encampments, protests and negotiations that took place at a number of colleges this past spring, educational administrations have been at work over the summer developing plans as they emerge again. Student safety in the new school year has been the central focus for many. At the same time, balancing students’ right to make their voices heard with considerations for other influential stakeholders across their institutions has weighed heavily on campus planning.

Protests are already returning during the first few weeks back at school, and tensions remain high amidst the ongoing geopolitical unrest and an increasingly contentious political environment ahead of a forthcoming U.S. election. Against this backdrop and as university and college leaders face new tests on how to effectively manage challenging dynamics through the new school year while staying true to their institution’s core mission and values, we offer the following guiding principles:

1. 1. Maintain commitment to policies. With new policies in place across many campuses, we’ve seen institutions clearly articulate those policy changes in videos and letters from university leadership, on signs across campus quads and in welcome back lectures and gatherings. Wavering on response to demonstrations or making additional, inconsistent policy shifts risks losing credibility and control. It will be important to communicate consistent messaging and protocols throughout the semester to stakeholder groups in line with the organization’s guiding mission.
   2. Understand where the chatter is coming from. In 2023, social media accounted for more than 80% of all mentions related to campus protests, making online monitoring and sentiment measurement key tools in planning a communications strategy. Among those mentions, nearly 80% were negative toward universities and their administrations, signaling that leaders should be mindful of ongoing sentiment and potential negative responses when making public statements.
   3. Maintain clear and direct lines of communication to strategically engage with key stakeholders. Map stakeholders in advance of key announcements and campus updates – who are they, where are they and who needs to hear from school leadership first? Identify relationship managers and cadence of delivery and develop succinct, tailored messaging that accounts for stakeholder needs and priorities. Engagement is a two-way street – establish a place for students, faculty and community members to go with questions, ideas or concerns.
   4. Leverage public channels strategically. Consider using publicly owned media – websites and blogs – to set a public record for the university’s stances and procedures when dealing with on-campus protests or related matters. Those pages will set a baseline for public engagement on the topic. When the media comes knocking on the institution’s door, leverage what has already been posted publicly as a valuable conduit to reaching your stakeholders, while still prioritizing communications directly to core stakeholders. Public statements aimed at the media should be weighed carefully as direct conversation with priority stakeholders should always be the clear path.

With another school year of unprecedented challenges for higher education underway, university leadership has re-entered a complex environment and should prepare for important decisions and corresponding communications. Consistent, direct and clear communications will be fundamental to safely continuing instruction and day-to-day operations, while upholding the institutions’ mission and values amid potential and ongoing demonstrations and unrest.