Advocacy Toolkit

4.2) How to Properly Demonstrate, March, Protest, and Petition

The university administration has policies that outline how students can protest peacefully, safely, and correctly. In the policies, the university emphasizes the need to “ensure orderly conduct of classes and university functions.” In other words, protests should not interfere with classes or the function of the university as a whole. The university recognizes the right to expression and peaceful assemblance, and respects the rights of all community members. If a protest is taking place off-campus and students associated with Kent State University are participating in the protest, they are reminded to follow state, federal, and local laws.

4.22) How to Demonstrate, March, and Protest

Creating a demonstration, march, or protest can take a lot of work, but here is a simple guide to help you make change. (This guide was adapted from the Campus Free Speech Guide on How to Plan a Peaceful Protest)

Build a group of like-minded people who feel passionately about an issue and agree that peaceful protest is the best way to create awareness and change on the issue.

Exchange contact information and designate someone in charge of planning (where to protest, outreach, who is bringing what, etc.) or opt for a more open, less structured way of organizing.

With your group, come up with the goals you want to accomplish, the message you want to communicate, and the audience you are trying to reach.

At Kent State University, free speech that does not incite violence or destruction is protected under the First Amendment.
If organizing a protest, be sure to read the University Policy Regarding Demonstrations, Marches, and Speakers to ensure you are following university policy and restrictions.

Be sure to inform the school of when and where the protest is occurring so they know what’s going on. This also allows them to help ensure the safety of those protesting. The university is here to help you organize safely and peacefully.

Spread the word! Reach out to others through social media and other connections you may have to ensure a good turn out for your event.

Go out and accomplish your goal! Speak your mind on the issues you are passionate about. Remain peaceful. Know your rights as protestors to advocate for yourselves during the protest.

4.23) Faculty Marshals

The Faculty Marshals are a group of Kent State current and emeriti faculty members who volunteer for the committee, and complete an annual training. Members serve a three-year term, with no limits to the number of terms they serve. Per the Kent State Faculty Senate, the charge for Faculty Marshals is: The Faculty Marshals shall act as observers and liaisons between administration and students during university-wide gatherings and times of possible unrest. As observers, they are important sources of information to the Faculty Senate and the faculty as a whole. They will be trained in coordination with the staff observers, but report to the Chair of Faculty Senate.

4.24) Demonstrations and Marches Team

PR (Policy Register) 4-03: The university recognizes the exercise of the rights of expression, conscience, affiliation and peaceful assemblage. The university is equally mindful that a reasonable and orderly calendaring and assignment of university facilities, resources and personnel, consistent with the civil liberties expressed in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, are necessary in order to assure the pursuit of educational programs, to accommodate the needs of all persons, and to respect the rights of all members of the university community. The Demonstrations and Marches team consists of members of the Division of Student Affairs, led by the Director, Kent Student Center & Involvement, who volunteer to support student’s rights to assemble and demonstrate on campus. While the team is largely observant of student demonstrations, it is charged with enforcing University Policy when necessary. Members of the team will complete an annual training on crowd dynamics, de-escalation, and review of university policies.

4.25) How to Petition

Petitioning is a good way to respectfully show university leadership how the student body feels about a certain issue. Below is a short guide on ways to petition.

Meeting with university leaders who pertain to the change you seek to create prior to creating your petition is a good way to get them involved in the process. Sometimes just meeting with university leaders will bring to their attention student concerns for the first time. Try to meet with university leadership before creating your petition, because you may agree on a solution to the issue without even needing to create a petition. This is not a requirement. Only a suggestion that may end up resulting in an easier solution.
If you decide to have a meeting, maintaining contact and communication with university leadership will help make your change more persuasive and cooperative.
If you need assistance finding out who to contact in university leadership, visit the Student Leadership Suite located on the second floor of the Student Center, or fill out the Change in a Flash Google Form, describe your idea for change, and ask for assistance in contacting university leadership.

Change.org is a great resource to create an online petition for free. Follow these steps:

Choose the scope of your petition (local, national, or global)
Topic: Pick the topic that best fits your petition, or select “other”
Title: Create a petition title that describes what you want to change
Description: Tell your story and write a description of the community impact you aim to achieve
Image: Add an image to your petition for more visual appeal (optional)
Log in or sign up
Add a phone number
Preview and publish the petition
Share the petition with people who share your vision of change to get more signatures

A written petition works well when someone has enough time to collect signatures and plan for a proper, respectful delivery of the petition. Follow these steps (This guide was adapted from the Resource Centre’s article on Organizing a Petition):

State your goal: Clearly state what you want to change. Make it personal and specific.
Describe: Include a description of why the change is important and make sure those signing your petition are aware of accurate information regarding the issue.
Make a table: Create a table including columns for signers’ names, Kent State email addresses, and phone numbers. This will ensure that signatures are authentic, and will provide for further contact if necessary.
Gather signatures: Once you have created the petition, get out and get signatures. The more volunteers you have, the better. Go somewhere on campus with a lot of student traffic and gather as many signatures as you can. Use social media to spread the word about your petition.

After closing your online petition or gathering a sufficient amount of signatures on your written petition, set up another meeting with university leadership. In this meeting, go over the results of your petition and create dialogue on how to create change together. Stay open to university leadership’s thoughts and opinions, and tell them your plan to best make the changes a reality.