Demonstrators march in support of Palestinians, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, US, Feb. 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/David Ryder

The University of Washington is halting the enactment of new policies on expression and peaceful assembly which would restrict unauthorized pro-Hamas demonstrations in order to squelch a clamor of protest erupting across the campus community over its allegedly censorial nature, according to local news reports.

President Robert J. Jones has reportedly confirmed that the new rules, proposed in July, are in abeyance until university officials reach a new consensus regarding, among other things, the just distribution of punishments handed down when protesters destroy property or perpetrate other serious offenses. According to The Seattle Times and other local outlets, students have strongly objected to the fact that in such instances demonstrators could be held accountable for damage to property that was caused by other students

“The proposed amendments are intended to improve the effectiveness, consistency, and administration of the university’s student conduct process by clarifying expectations, simplifying procedures, and updating provisions that have become outdated or no longer reflect current law, university operations, or best practices,” the document says. “The revisions also improve the organization of the conduct code, making it more accessible and easier for students, university officials, and decision makers to understand and apply.”

The new rules would also ban certain clothing items — surgical masks and keffiyehs, for example — with which demonstrators concealed their identities to evade being identified and captured by law enforcement.

In spring 2025, a pro-Hamas student group calling itself “Super UW” commandeered the University of Washington’s Interdisciplinary Engineering Building (IEB) and refused to leave unless school officials accede to its demand that the institution terminate its partnership with Boeing, whose armaments manufacturing they identified as a resource aiding Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

The illegal demonstration involved students establishing blockades near the building using “bike rack[s] and chairs,” burning trash — while setting off sizable fires — that they then left unattended, and calling for violence against the police. Law enforcement officers eventually entered the building equipped with riot gear, including helmets and batons, and proceeded to arrest over two dozen protesters. About 30 individuals who occupied the building were arrested and charged with trespassing, destroying property, and behaving disorderly, as well as conspiracy to commit all three, according to law enforcement.

According to a local National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate, current students are skeptical of the new policies and have associated its contents with the Trump administration, which opened a federal civil rights investigation into the University of Washington in April.

“We are changing our student code of conduct policy as the federal government says UW isn’t handling protests on campus enough,” UW graduate student Francisco Dojenia told local NPR affiliate KUOW. “They just so happen to have these proposals to our student code of conduct, which really affects the right to protest on campus … It seems a bit too much of a coincidence.”

A UW spokesperson told the outlet that the university is only ensuring that the code of conduct fosters “transparency, fairness, and accountability.”

UW is not the first higher education institution to reform its policies on expression and assembly in response to concerns signaled by both the federal government and the Jewish community.

In 2024, for example, Princeton University issued new guidance on free speech and assembly which covered a range of activities undertaken by anti-Zionist protesters on college campuses during the height of the pro-Hamas student movement.

“While Princeton does not regulate the content of speech, it may reasonably regulate the time, place, and manner of expression to ensure that it does not disrupt the ordinary activities of the university,” the university said at the time. “The university also enforces rules prohibiting discrimination and harassment. A wide range of protest activity is allowed, but protests must not create a hostile environment (or otherwise violate the law), or significantly disrupt university operations and events.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.