Dear Campus Community,
At SJSU, peaceful activism for social justice is in our DNA — every day we are reminded of this when we walk by the Victory Salute statue commemorating Spartans Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Summer Olympics or the Arch of Dignity, Equality, and Justice. We are proud of the longstanding traditions and values that ensure San José State is emblematic of a place that embraces intellectual diversity of ideas, opinions and feelings.
I have listened to many members of the Spartan community who share our core values to cultivate inclusion and equity-mindedness in all that we do. We will continue to foster a community that listens and shares diverse perspectives in and outside of our classrooms, guest lectures, student events, social media and across the broad array of activities that occur everyday on our campus.
Over the past few weeks, protests and encampments have been taking place across the country at colleges and universities. This morning, President Joe Biden commented on the state of protests at higher education institutions across the nation, drawing a line between peaceful protest and breaking the law. As a campus community, we must work together to uphold constitutionally protected activities, including freedom of speech and the right to protest, while ensuring a safe and healthy campus community.
The safety and well-being of our Spartan community remains our highest priority — violence, hatred and bigotry have no place on this campus, and speech that promotes a hostile or harassing environment is prohibited by the law and CSU policy.
As a reminder, the Presidential Directive on Freedom of Expression and Time, Place and Manner (TPM) serves as the university’s policy allowing for free expression while promoting safety and avoiding disruption of the university's normal operations.
I encourage you to review the TPM policy. It is important to note that encampments are in violation of the TPM policy unless there is written approval provided by an authorized representative of our Facilities Development and Operations (FD&O) department. SJSU students, faculty, staff, visitors, and/or organizations will be held accountable for vandalism, damage or misconduct.
If you have any questions about this policy, please reach out to:
In closing, the California State University Office of the Chancellor released a statement regarding divestment. As a member of the CSU system, SJSU stands with the Office of the Chancellor’s sentiments.
Sincerely,
Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson
President
(She/Her/Ella)
