“Yes, I agree.” You re-apply the icepack. “While I believe whole-heartedly in the student’s right to free speech, those rights end when violence begins.”
For the first time, Thompson notices your injury. He points at your head, “Are you OK, Olivia?”
You wave his concern away. “It’s nothing. The real problem is that if our students don’t feel safe on campus, our enrollment rates will continue to decline. It wouldn’t take that much to shut us down.”
“That’s why we need zero tolerance measures,” Thompson nods. “We’ve been lucky so far. As a Christian institution, we haven’t been a magnate for activists the way the big public universities are. But with the political tension in this country, I think these demonstrations will get worse before they get better."
A shiver runs down your spine as you remember the terror you felt when you thought the crowd would surround you. “I want cameras, armed guards, and some mechanism to communicate with the police when unauthorized crowds start gathering.”
Thompson flips open the document in front of you. “That’s all in here,” he says enthusiastically. There’s a distinct gleam in his eye. “In addition, I’ve outlined new procedures for requesting permission to make political speech on campus… and new criteria for denying it too.”
“Good,” you start reading the details. Marcus was nothing if not thorough. “You’ve thought of everything.”
Are you sure about this plan? Do you want to reconsider what’s at stake? Or do you want to move forward and face the consequences?