Straws in the Wind - Part 317

From The Dartmouth: Since its launch in August 2023, the College’s Open Expression Facilitator program has supported more than 150 campus events. The program trains staff members to intervene in the case of “disrupt[ive]” protests, according to civic engagement, expression and learning director Ed McKenna, who manages the program. The program fits into the College’s broader commitment to dialogue and free expression by supporting “all events,” especially debates and events featuring high profile guests, McKenna said. Recent examples include events with former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., former Vice President Mike Pence and former U.S. transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg. An OEF serves as a “viewpoint neutral” presence who can address disruptions at such events “if necessary,” according to the Office of Student Life website. Eighteen staff members currently serve as facilitators. 

The OEF program “is a support system to ensure that those events can go forward,” McKenna said. “And obviously, that’s important for dialogue.” The College’s approach to advancing dialogue and its position of institutional neutrality have enkindled mixed reactions on campus. But regarding the OEF program specifically, McKenna said that he “feels confident” that there is community trust in facilitators.

...According to McKenna, in the two years since the program’s inception, there has been one disruption at an event where facilitators were on hand... College spokesperson Jana Barnello wrote in a statement to The Dartmouth following the event. “When attempts to resolve the situation were unsuccessful,” the Hanover Police Department arrested and charged the two protestors with disorderly conduct. In such cases of disruption, an OEF first defers to the event’s host to address the disruption, McKenna said. If the disruption continues, the OEF then addresses the disruptors by “informing” them of Dartmouth’s Freedom of Expression and Dissent policies — which prohibit disruptions that “interfere with those activities or with the ability of audiences to see, hear or otherwise engage with” an event — and “requesting” that they “stop the disruption or leave.” If necessary, the Department of Safety and Security steps in by “telling” disruptors to leave the space. If police are present, they are responsible for physical removal...

Full story at https://www.thedartmouth.com/article/2026/04/sanchez-three-years-in-a-look-into-dartmouths-open-expression-facilitator-program.