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Chancellor Andrew Martin’s record on free speech
Chancellor Andrew Martin has made free speech a significant aspect of his administration since becoming chancellor-elect of WashU in 2018. After last year’s protests and dialogue, some WashU community members supported Martin’s response while others have called for Martin to step down for perceivably suppressing free speech. Student Life looked at Martin’s record on free speech over the past six years to examine how he has enforced policies about speech on campus.
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Past Free Speech Statements
Martin was appointed chancellor-elect in 2018. During Martin’s first year, he did not issue any online statements, which shifted in the wake of a contested presidential election, a storm on the Capitol, and the death of George Floyd. During the 2020 election cycle, Martin emphasized the importance of hearing from diverse perspectives on campus to further our understanding of the world.
“Diverse perspectives help us learn, grow, and uncover knowledge and truth in a way that homogeneity simply cannot,” Martin wrote in October of 2020.
However, expressing those perspectives has limits, according to Martin. In the aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection, Martin condemned the attack, stating violence cannot be justified through freedom of speech.
“In politics, there will be disagreement. But violence is never the answer,” Martin wrote.
The following year, a student removed American flags on Mudd Field commemorating the lives lost during 9/11. Martin wrote a statement saying that the student who removed the flags caused harm to WashU community members.
“Students have the right to express their viewpoints, but they also have the obligation to respect others’ expressions,” Martin wrote.
In the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7, Martin said he supports the expression of free speech in multiple mediums, including protests.
“Expressions of concern, displays of support — and protest — are all anticipated and should be welcomed and protected on university campuses, here and elsewhere,” Martin wrote.
In the same statement, Martin also called the phrase “from the river to the sea” harmful, one of the few times in which he stated that a specific piece of rhetoric is hateful in his term as Chancellor-elect.
“The hatred associated with the phrase ‘from the river to the sea’ is well understood by most in our community,” Martin wrote. “Its contribution to the community is ill will, anger, distress, and sadness.”
In Martin’s subsequent statement in January 2024, Martin praised WashU’s commitment to “grace, understanding, and respect for one another, even amid strong emotions and, at times, passionate disagreement.”
“We will not always agree, but we must always be civil. That’s the bare minimum of what we should expect of each other.”
Martin also spoke about free speech in a two-day course he taught on the topic in April of 2024 which he has taught annually since 2020 alongside Lee Epstein, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Southern California.
Protest Responses
Martin’s first year as chancellor of WashU began with tackling a three-year-long movement calling for the University to provide free child care and a minimum wage of $15 an hour to all employees as part of the larger Fight for $15 movement, a movement that was relatively uncontested amongst WashU community members.
The first major protest during Martin’s tenure at WashU took place on Sept. 8, 2019 at the Student Activities Fair, when students advocated for WashU’s minimum wage to be raised, at which no arrests were made.
On April 13, 2024, approximately 12 students and St. Louis community members received court summons for protesting for Palestine in Graham Chapel during an admitted students day event. This event sparked controversy in the ongoing days as many students vocally opposed the protest, with some calling it offensive and others saying it was ineffective.
Martin wrote in a statement the following week that the protest “[ran] counter to who we are” as it disrupted a business operation of the University and therefore violated the Demonstrations and Disruption policy.
His hope, he said, is for the WashU community to engage in dialogue without breaching the expectations that come with being part of this community, including respect for one another.
“We are firmly committed to free expression and allow ample opportunity for voices to be heard on our campus, but we expect every member of our community to recognize their responsibilities to the community and to respect our policies.”
Encampment Responses
On April 15, 2019, eight individuals, who occupied Martin’s office as part of a larger protest for the minimum wage to be raised, were arrested by the Washington University Police Department as a week-long encampment was set-up by WashU and St. Louis community members on Brookings Quadrangle. During this time, Martin did not make any statements online.
In the months after the Fight for $15 encampment, the University increased minimum wage to $15 for all University employees except graduate students. Martin made the announcement on June 25, 2019 citing the movement’s efforts as part of the reason for the change.
“I have recommended that we take this step because it is the right thing to do. The University’s current minimum wage is well above the regional average, as well as federal and state mandates,” Martin wrote. “Nonetheless, we always are open to considering ways in which we can further support our employees. I thank those who have brought this issue to our attention.”
The 2018-2019 academic year was also the same year that the no-encampment policy was established at WashU.
Approximately five years later, 100 of the 250 WashU students and St. Louis community members attempting to set up an encampment on-campus on April 27, 2024 were arrested by police from multiple jurisdictions later that evening.
In the week after the April 27 encampment, Martin issued a statement saying this was not an expression of free speech and instead an action of harmful speech and behavior.
“Some of the protesters were behaving aggressively, swinging flagpoles and sticks. Some were attempting to break into locked buildings or to deface property. There were chants that many in our community find threatening and antisemitic. When the group initially set up in front of Olin Library, our police dispatch received numerous calls from students who were inside the library, terrified that they were in harm’s way,” Martin wrote.
Martin said, in the end, it was the protesters’ choice to be arrested.
“We never want to have this type of interaction with members of our community or our neighbors,” Martin wrote. “They chose to stay and be arrested.”
Many of the individuals arrested and involved in the encampment that day were St. Louis community members, which Martin emphasized in his statement addressing the event.
“We do not allow anyone — particularly individuals who are not directly affiliated with WashU — to violate our policies, create chaos, instill fear in our community, and prevent us from engaging in our regular educational activities and campus life,” Martin wrote.
When asked about the University’s commitment to the St. Louis community at the beginning of this year, Martin stated he has made the St. Louis community “central” to his administration but “there’s a line that they can’t cross.”
Free Speech Actions This Year
This year, Martin has hosted several free speech talks and published an op-ed in the Hill stating his position on free speech at WashU.
In his Sept. 4 op-ed, Martin said the encampment policy, which stifled protests last semester, encourages “civil dialogue.” However, on a visit to Student Union on Sept. 10, 2024, Martin said he is open to reconsidering the encampment policies at WashU.
Martin has also hosted a number of events focusing on free speech, including a panel with Student Union president Hussein Amuri on Sept. 4, and another with Washington Post journalist Michael Isikoff and Epstein on Sept. 9.
At the event with Isakoff and Epstein, multiple students began to protest as Martin spoke.
“I think it’s great,” Martin said in reference to the protesters. “You know, this is an opportunity for members of the community to express their opinions, and expressing opinions and thoughts is exactly what academic communities are all about.”
In a subsequent free speech talk on Sept. 9, 2024, Martin said “young people are willing to abandon democratic processes for autocracy.”
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The definition of free speech is a contentious one, with many holding differing opinions on the distinctions between free expression and hate speech. In Martin’s statement immediately after Oct. 7, he offered WashU his definition.
“Freedom of speech is a constitutional right with an implicit social contract — one which anticipates that respectful, responsible members of the community will each do their part to live our shared values,” Martin wrote.
Martin says our adherence to this virtue in the face of hardship will define the WashU community.
“In times of stress and challenge, we find out who we are,” Martin said.
University spokeswoman Julie Flory declined to comment on Martin’s free speech actions during his term as chancellor-elect of WashU.