ORLANDO, Fla. – The University of Central Florida Board of Trustees approved a new policy on Tuesday regarding special events and protests protected under the First Amendment.
While most of the policy remains unchanged, there are a few notable adjustments. This includes reducing the daily allotted time by two hours, operating from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. during the week, and 8 a.m. - 10 p.m. on weekends.
“The board has always prohibited camping on campus as a way to prevent overnight events. We also prohibit the kind of tents needed for camping,” Vice President and General Counsel Youndy Cook said.
In May, protesters filled Memory Mall at UCF. Under the new policy, similar events cannot occur more than five days in a row.
Other longstanding rules remain, such as no outside organizations and no threats of violence.
Critics argue that the policy crackdown is targeted toward pro-Palestinian protesters.
“We tried to get this started a year ago, but we were delayed. We strive to review our regulations every five years and noticed these were last updated in 2018,” Cook said.
However, exceptions remain for UCF football games and other athletic events that are officially sponsored by the university.
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