After Barnard released a new list of community expectations, the Barnard chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) released a statement condemning the expectations, claiming they were “designed without community input” and “issued without warning.”

On September 11, Barnard published a list of community expectations to their website and sent them to students via email. This list came shortly after Columbia University Apartheid Divest’s (CUAD) protest on September 3, which culminated in front of the Barnard gates and resulted in the Alma Mater statue on Columbia’s campus being temporarily vandalized with red paint. A week later, the Barnard chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) released a statement condemning the new expectations.

The eight community expectations compile policies and rules from the Student Code of Conduct, the Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment, and the Policy for Safe Campus Demonstrations, among others. They include both general expectations of anti-discrimination and ones that seem to specifically reference the campus protests and Columbia’s encampment in the Spring 2024 semester, such as, “Residence halls are a home and place of respite for those who live on campus” and “We respect College property as our own.”

On Barnard’s website, users can click on the individual community expectations for more explicit regulations, including presenting an official Barnard or Columbia ID upon entering campus and agreeing to temporarily remove face coverings that do not appear in a member’s ID photo. The website lists examples of ways to comply with each community expectation as well as actions that would be considered violations of them. Such prohibited actions include, for example, “Holding signs or banners or otherwise distributing printed material that is not assigned coursework in a way that disrupts classroom or laboratory sessions” and “Holding or posting signs or banners from residence hall windows or balconies.”

According to the website, “Many in the Barnard community have requested examples and explanations of community expectations flowing from the College’s policies and rules.” It also clarifies that the listed examples are not exhaustive.

On Wednesday, September 18, the Barnard chapter of the AAUP released a statement condemning Barnard’s new community expectations “in the strongest possible terms” on the grounds that the expectations were “designed without community input, issued without warning, and as vast as they are vague.” The AAUP chapter claimed that the expectations “create a pretext for a dangerous infringement on freedom of expression and academic freedom.” According to the statement, the AAUP “ reject[s] the legitimacy of these policies and condemn[s] any use of them to discipline community members.”

Barnard’s AAUP chapter has been vocal in its criticism of Barnard’s administration over the last several months, including voting unanimously for no confidence in Barnard’s President Laura Rosenbury in April. Earlier this month, Barnard’s Professor Frederick Neuhouser, professor of German and Philosophy and the President of the Barnard AAUP chapter, wrote an article titled “Barnard and Columbia in Crisis: 1968/2024,” comparing Columbia and Barnard’s approaches to dealing with student protests in in both years.

In the article, Neuhouser argues that over the last few decades, students and faculty have been given less of a voice in the decisions that the administration makes, particularly when it comes to student disciplinary procedures, as evidenced by their inconsistent application in response to the 2024 protests. According to the AAUP’s statement from yesterday, the College’s new community expectations “accelerate the President’s ongoing dismantling of faculty governance and revision of college policies. As a result, faculty find that the votes they take are non-binding and faculty input on committees inconsequential.”

The statement also reads, “Barnard College has a long and proud institutional history, built by a community whose expertise in, and practice of, shared governance, academic freedom, and freedom of expression has been central to its success. The Barnard AAUP urges the administration and the Board of Trustees to immediately rescind these policies and to make these community decisions a community matter again.”

In response to AAUP’s statement, a Barnard College spokesperson said, “We share the faculty’s commitment to free speech and academic freedom and to ensuring the College remains a welcoming and inclusive place that fosters students’ learning and development. We look forward to working with faculty, students, and staff to achieve these goals.”

The full text of Barnard AAUP’s statement on the new “Barnard College Expectations for Community Conduct” can be found below.

On Monday, September 23, President Rosenbury sent an email to the Barnard community regarding the recent Expectations for Community Conduct. She stated that the expectations are not policies, but are rather “designed to spur reflection and discussion about the application of our existing policies and rules.” She invited community members to share feedback on the expectations in a form, which will be open until October 14. Rosenbury also clarified that individuals are permitted to speak “so long as they are not perceived to be speaking on behalf of the College or an office, department, or center of the College.”

The College has already begun making changes to the Expectations for Community Conduct website. For example, Barnard previously listed an example violation of the expectations as “Employees posting signs on their office doors supporting a geopolitical viewpoint or perspective.” However, as of September 23, that violation example has been removed.

Statement from the Barnard chapter of the American Association of University Professors on the new “Expectations for Community Conduct”:

Barnard AAUP condemns in the strongest possible terms the new “Barnard College Expectations for Community Conduct” issued on September 11, 2024. Designed without community input, issued without warning, and as vast as they are vague–these “expectations” create a pretext for a dangerous infringement on freedom of expression and academic freedom. We reject the legitimacy of these policies and condemn any use of them to discipline community members.

Not only do these ad hoc policies contravene the college’s mission to facilitate intellectual risk-taking, but they accelerate the President’s ongoing dismantling of faculty governance and revision of college policies. As a result, faculty find that the votes they take are non-binding and faculty input on committees inconsequential. Despite a No Confidence Vote in the President and repeated attempts by faculty groups to work collectively to foster shared decision-making, faculty and academic staff find themselves working in conditions that they increasingly have no say in. Barnard College has a long and proud institutional history, built by a community whose expertise in, and practice of, shared governance, academic freedom, and freedom of expression has been central to its success. The Barnard AAUP urges the administration and the Board of Trustees to immediately rescind these policies and to make these community decisions a community matter again.

Barnard via Barnard’s website

Editor’s Note: This article was updated on Friday, September 20, at 6:58 pm to include the statement from Barnard’s spokesperson.

Further article updates were made on Monday, September 23, at 4:03 pm to include information from an email by President Rosenbury on the recent community expectations.