288
A university administrator’s office.
A university student speaks to the administrator.
Hani: You seem to be just looking for ways to say, “They broke a rule.”
Administrator: Not at all.
Hani: But these are all new rules.
Administrator: They’re clarifications.
Hani: They’re new clarifications this semester.
Administrator: All of these have been written to work within the existing framework of protest. Of free speech. At the university.
Hani: Which is…?
Administrator: Very important to all of us.
Hani: And so what happens if our protest goes past 10 pm?
Administrator: It can’t go past 10 pm.
Hani: And it has to start after 3 pm?
Administrator: Because of the surrounding classrooms, yes. We’ve posted the new policies on campus, and I don’t know if you’ve met them…
Hani: We’ve met them.
Administrator: …but there’s now a support team for any kind of expressive activity happening here. In terms of explaining…
Hani: The expression.
Administrator: The expressive activity, yes. How it can be best expressed on the campus.
Hani: And it says here, “three days.”
Administrator: Three business days to get your application approved.
Hani: Approved. See, this is new.
Administrator: Many people have to apply for many different sorts of approval on campus, but yes. And I just want to say. I mean, I feel that I should say that, personally, I was very impressed by your convictions. I admire what you did. I came to one of your events. I’m against violence. In general.
[Pause]
Hani: So, three days?
Administrator: Three business days, yes.
Hani: And we should just hope for university approval? And what if this is a spontaneous protest?
Administrator: Then, I would recommend contacting a member of the Expressive Activity Support Team.
Hani: After 3 pm?
Administrator: No, they’re responsive before 3 pm. But yes, not after 10 pm.
Hani: And no encampments.
Administrator: Campus is not a campground.
Hani: No one said it was a campground.
Administrator: No, that’s not my phrase. That’s not what I’m personally saying. I’m just reading from the official document here. We need to show, we need to stress, that tents cannot be used.
Hani: Or they have to be packed away by 10 pm.
Administrator: Yes. Absolutely. Or just don’t bring tents. I would not involve tents.
Hani: You wouldn’t.
Administrator: Well, this is not a, you know.
Hani: They harm the grass.
Administrator: Yes, as you saw, they do harm the grass.
Hani: We don’t want the grass feeling harmed.
Administrator: No.
Hani: Feeling any pain.
[Pause]
Administrator: So. Does all that sound acceptable to you?
Hani: I saw that the university used spray-on grass to erase any evidence of the encampment.
Administrator: It’s actually called hydro-seeding.
Hani: I’m sorry?
Administrator: Sometimes it’s called hydro-mulching. It’s not precisely spray-on, is what I’m saying. It’s sort of a slurry mix of grass and seed, and there’s some dye. There’s mulch, water, and fertilizer. And I know the colour right now is sort of an unnatural green, but it’s got a very fast installation time, and it should soon be back to normal.
Hani: Okay.
Administrator: So does that…? I hope I’ve explained the university’s stance.
Hani: Was the hydro-seed expensive?
Administrator: It’s not cheap, certainly.
Hani: But you found money for that?
Administrator: There was, yes, funding, a budget, yes, for the hydro-seeding.
Hani: Is that the same budget that paid for security guards?
Administrator: I believe those are two different budgets. So. I believe that’s true. We do, of course, have a limited amount of funds at the moment.
Hani: It’s a really bright green, isn’t it?
Administrator: The hydro-seeding? Yes. Very effective.
[Pause]
Administrator: Have I explained everything fully here? Have I fully explained?