Carnegie Mellon University – “The Fence”

In July 2025, a message was written on the Fence at Carnegie Mellon University, a longstanding campus landmark and informal student expression forum where members of the CMU community paint political statements, protest messages, and organizational announcements on a large boundary fence. On July 15, 2025, students painted “SHAME ON YOU” and “NO RAPISTS ON OUR CAMPUS,” referencing sexual abuse allegations raised in civil litigation involving President Donald Trump shortly before his expected appearance at CMU’s Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit. After university staff painted over the message, students repainted it, and CMU facilities staff removed it again. On July 16, 2025, President Farnam Jahanian announced that the Fence would temporarily be taken offline while the university reviewed its governance. CMU characterized the message as anonymous and “personal, ad hominem,” while students argued that the removal undermined the Fence’s role as a student expression space.

CMU reopened the Fence on July 21, 2025, and on September 4, 2025, established a Fence Working Group composed of students, faculty, staff, and alumni to examine the Fence’s history, expressive function, and university oversight. During late 2025 and early 2026, students organized petitions and events calling for formal protections preventing administrators from altering or removing messages once painted. On April 6, 2026, students delivered a petition to President Jahanian seeking stronger free speech protections. The Working Group submitted its final report on May 15, 2026, recommending that the Fence remain a student governed space while establishing clearer guidelines for stewardship and limited university intervention. CMU released the report on June 12, 2026.

In June 2026, CMU removed several Fence messages related to the Israel Palestine conflict. On June 14, 2026, the university removed language from a message referencing “Free Palestine” and containing the phrase “by any means necessary,” stating that the language could reasonably be interpreted as threatening. On June 30, 2026, and again on July 3, 2026, CMU removed the phrase “Death to Zionism” from another message, stating that it violated university standards regarding threats and could reasonably be viewed as threatening. CMU maintained that the removals were based on the content and context of specific messages rather than viewpoint, while students and advocacy groups criticized the actions as censorship and viewpoint discrimination.

The removals prompted additional criticism from Palestine Legal and other advocacy organizations, which argued that CMU had improperly restricted anti-Zionist and pro-Palestinian political expression and created a chilling effect on campus speech. A July 27, 2026 letter from advocacy groups urged CMU to protect political expression on the Fence and stop removing messages based on viewpoint. CMU maintained that it was balancing expressive freedom with its responsibility to address messages it determined could threaten members of the campus community.

On July 15, 2026, a recording surfaced of President Jahanian’s comments during a staff council meeting regarding the July 2025 removal of the “NO RAPISTS ON OUR CAMPUS” message. Jahanian stated that the decision was intended to protect the university, its reputation, and members of the CMU community, including international students, from potential consequences associated with the message and Trump’s appearance at the university. He stated that the decision was not based on opposition to criticism of Trump but on concerns about the message’s impact. Some students and faculty argued the comments showed that institutional and reputational concerns influenced the removal decision, while CMU stated that the recording reflected the challenges of balancing free expression, institutional responsibility, and campus safety.

As of July 2026, CMU continues to consider the Fence Working Group’s recommendations while students and advocacy organizations call for stronger protections against administrative removal of Fence messages. CMU has stated that it remains committed to preserving the Fence as “a cherished tradition of student expression” while balancing that tradition with its responsibility to maintain a safe and respectful campus environment.