This post was updated Oct. 20 at 11:41 p.m.

Members of the UCLA administration discussed interim Time, Place and Manner policies and answered written questions during a virtual town hall Oct. 15.

New TPM policies went into effect on an interim basis Sept. 3, updating policies that had been in place since 2018. The policies include restrictions on the use of amplified sound, as well as restrictions regarding areas designated for “public expression activities” – which have been restricted to the areas surrounding Bruin Walk and Murphy Hall.

The policies are currently in a 60-day public review period during which administration is collecting feedback from students, student groups, student leadership and faculty. As part of that process, UCLA administrators, including Director of Administrative Policies Anna Joyce, Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus Life Mick Deluca and Administrative Vice Chancellor Michael Beck, spoke at the town hall event.

However, the meeting did not provide an opportunity for verbal public comments, statements or speeches.

A spokesperson for UCLA said in an emailed statement that the format of the town hall’s Q&A portion was designed to address the large number of presubmitted and live, written questions and to ensure the town hall “remained focused on the specific topic.”

[Related: UCLA announces new Time, Place and Manner policies, limits public expression areas]

“All the comments come to the Compliance Office, and we reviewthem, along with the TPM committee and policy owners,” Joyce said. “We review and consider each comment and then we’ll update the policies as appropriate and then go through the finalizing process, as we do with all policies.”

The process to replace the policies began in 2018, and it was later accelerated in response to new requirements from the California State Legislature and the UC Office of the President, Deluca said.

As part of this year’s state budget agreement, the state legislature directed the UCOP to create a framework for consistently enforcing protest rules while withholding $25 million from the UC until a report was submitted detailing those plans.

The town hall began with a presentation from Joyce and Deluca, who discussed the process by which the policy changes came about and key provisions of the new policies.

Following the presentation, Joyce, Deluca and other members of the UCLA administration – including Beck – answered questions about the interim policies in a question-and-answer format that included both presubmitted questions and questions submitted as part of Zoom’s Q&A feature.

Multiple participants asked questions regarding administrative responses to TPM violations. In their answers, several administrators outlined a “tiered response” following initial engagement with violators.

“If there isn’t compliance, then we go through our tiered response on the front line,” Deluca said. “It’s documenting the activity. Is the name of an individual or group identified? We document what the policy is. If it’s related to students and there’s a violation and we have non compliance, it goes to the Office of Student Conduct, which then reviews it under either the individual student conduct code or the group student conduct code.”

Deluca added that individuals identified as having breached policy during demonstrations on campus during the spring were “forwarded to the Office of Student Conduct.”

“Most of our conduct actions on the front endare intended not to be punitive but educational,” Deluca said. “There was a conversation related, and it was indicated to those individuals that they understood that any future action could go on top of the current action.”

Other questions involved new regulations regarding masks after UC President Michael Drake said protesters across the University could not use them to conceal their identity in an Aug. 19 email. Attendees questioned the definition of attempting to conceal identity and when a person would have to take off their mask if asked.

[Related: UC President Michael Drake bans encampments on all campuses]

“UCLA policy requires an individual to identify themselves in response to a designated university official’s request to do so,” said Michelle Sityar, chief of staff for university administration. “If somebody fails to comply with such a request, that may be considered evidence of intent to conceal identity.”

Administrators did not clarify who would be considered a “designated university official” during the meeting.

A spokesperson for UCLA said in an emailed statement that a “designated university official” is an individual “designated or otherwise authorized” by the university “to engage in the relevant operation or function.” The spokesperson added that such officials vary based on the event but may include Student Affairs monitors, human resources personnel and UCPD officers.

One participant asked how the university plans to ensure all events are considered equally under the new TPM policies.

“We are content and viewpoint neutral,” Deluca said. “It’s really more reviewing the logistics, the potential space requests, other activities going on on campus. If things are spontaneously happening, we approach all individuals in the same exact fashion.”

In response to an attendee asking if the list of approved and denied events would be publicized, Sityar said there is no centralized list or calendar where approved and denied events will be listed for the general public. However, she added that the administration is working toward creating a central calendar for public expression events.

“If there’s a department or unit who, for any reason, needs to know what those cancellations are, you can always contact our events office for details,” Sityar said.

Following the current period of public review and comment, the UCLA administration is hoping to finalize the policies by the conclusion of 2024 or the beginning of 2025, Joyce said.