Oya Hill is colloquially known as the “free speech” zone on Keene State College’s campus. However, the main difference between Oya Hill and tabling for the student center is registration.
According to the college’s student handbook, “Freedom of speech, expression, and assembly are fundamental rights of all persons and are central to the mission and purpose of Keene State College.”
People inside and outside of the college are allowed to request a space in the student center. They are also allowed to set up a location beside Oya Hill without filing any forms so long as an event is not taking place at the college.
An example of people using Oya Hill for free speech, which The Equinox reported in a Dec. 9 article, would be when the Monadnock Autonomous Student Union held a vigil for Palestinian lives lost in the current war in Gaza.
The Coordinator of Building Operations in the student center, Wade Newer, said in order to reserve a table you must, “go onto 25Live and request a venue. Basically for a free speech thing that would be one of the tabling spaces in the atrium.”
Usually it is people within the college that request a table, but others have too. Organizations such as the Peace Corps, Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Girl Scouts make appearances in the Student Center.
Newer said people need to submit their information in 25Live and fill out the form to find a space and time available. They will either approve or deny the request, but Newer says it is rare a request will be denied.
He said he denies requests, “Maybe once or twice a month and it is because there is either something else going on, the space is already taken or it is in conflict with another event that is going on.”
One note would be in order to sell things you must also pay a fee. According to Newer, the college does not monitor what people sell or do.
Sometimes people do not like what is being advocated for at the tables in the student center. Students are within their rights to protest the tables, however, if physical threats are a concern, Campus Safety will appear to make sure things do not get violent. The Equinox reported in a Sept. 28 article Campus Safety was called when students protested a campaigner of Vivek Ramaswamy to make sure everything was orderly.
The Director of Campus Safety and Compliance Chris Buckley said Campus Safety is called, “based on the facts and circumstances of each event.”
He said if there is a concern someone may call Campus Safety and say there is a problem at a specific location. The person must also state the nature of the supposed issue to see if Campus Safety will respond.
Although tabling at the Student Center is free with reservations, political tabling must go through the American Democracy Project (ADP) office run by Accreditation and Assessment Officer Kim Schmidl-Gagne. In order to work with Schmidl-Gagne, you must be a recognized local, state or national candidate.
On top of student center tabling, Schmidl-Gagne said she likes the geographic location of Oya Hill as a free speech zone.
“I do not think we would want to have it on [Fiske] Quad because of the classrooms and things that are there if anything gets loud,” said Schmidl-Gagne. “Maybe at some point we should think about the new amphitheater being a better spot, but it is new.”
The amphitheater she referred to is the space where the Bushnell Apartments used to be.
Schmidl-Gagne says people may choose Oya Hill over Student Center tables because while forms are necessary for the Student Center, they are not for Oya Hill, but they still exist. She says as long as people at Oya Hill do not cause disruptions, the college and Campus Safety are not likely to curtail their operations.
Nico Brazill can be contacted at
nbrazill@kscequinox.com
In an earlier version of this article Chris Buckley’s name was spelt incorrectly. The Equinox apologizes for this error.
