Students Defy Protest Policy

With a court ruling backing them, a group of Irvine Valley College students Thursday defied a school policy on demonstrations by playing Bob Marley tunes through an amplifier during a protest in front of the Student Services Center.

About half a dozen members of the Student Liberties Club handed out fliers telling students about two years of conflict with the administration. The music, though amplified, was not loud enough to be heard inside the center.

A school policy created last spring prevents the use of amplification in all but a few designated areas on campus. Students claim the policy--and its aggressive enforcement at the college--is aimed at stemming their attacks on the college’s president, Raghu Mathur. His tenure has been clouded by criticism since his appointment in 1997.

The students, however, won a federal court ruling this week striking down key portions of the policy, and they exercised their newfound freedom in the face of administration efforts to enforce the policy.

Moments after the music started Thursday, Armando Ruiz, the school’s vice president of student services, attempted to turn off the amplifier. Student Diep Burbridge turned the unit back up.

Ruiz told her and others in the area: “You’ll be facing disciplinary action if you continue this. The board policy says no amplification.”

Wendy Phillips, an anthropology instructor and faculty advisor to the club, predicted that such confrontations are likely to get worse on the already beleaguered campus.

“As these types of incidents continue to occur, they are going to become more serious,” Phillips said. “[The administration] is already looking at five separate lawsuits.”

Ruiz’s action Thursday would likely provoke another suit, she said. Indeed, Burbridge said she would take legal action against the district “right away.”

“Everything we’ve done has been constitutionally protected,” Burbridge said.

Most students seemed entirely unconcerned by the conflict as they passed through a gantlet of anti-administration signs posted along their way to class.

“The main problem here is that most students are completely unaware of what’s happening to them,” said club member Sam Stimson, 22.

“The whole reason this policy came about is because of the protests,” he said. “It would be OK with [officials] if we were having a school spirit day out here and saying how great our school is.”

Burbridge and two other students had challenged the policy in a lawsuit filed Aug. 31 in U.S. District Court. Claiming that the policy violates their 1st Amendment rights, the students sought an injunction preventing the board from enforcing the policy.

U.S. District Judge Audrey B. Collins in Los Angeles issued a temporary ruling in late September that struck down parts of the policy.

The district’s Board of Trustees revised the policy Monday to allow demonstrations on almost any part of campus but maintained the prohibition against using amplification in all but a few designated areas.

Among the areas where amplification still is not permitted is the highly visible plaza in front of the Student Services Center.

But on Tuesday, Collins issued a final ruling that is more critical of the policy than her temporary ruling.

“When a large gathering is expected, those engaged in speech and advocacy activities understandably want and need amplification equipment to ensure their message is heard by their intended audience,” she wrote.

The college district, she said, could not demonstrate any school interest, “much less a significant one,” that is helped by limiting group gatherings and restricting the use of amplified sound to three “preferred areas.”

Ruiz declined to comment Thursday on the board’s revised policy or the judge’s ruling.