Ball State University: Students Disciplined for Visiting President’s Office

FIRE tells Ball State to lift the sanctions and revise its overbroad and vague policies    

On December 9, 2025, Ball State University charged twelve students with misconduct for attempting to visit the president’s office in November — during normal business hours in a building open to the public. The school claimed that the students’ mere presence in the building was disruptive and that they violated a ban on protests near buildings simply because they visited the building as a group. The majority of the students were placed on conduct probation and required to complete reflection papers and community service. On January 29, 2026, FIRE wrote Ball State urging it to lift the sanctions and revise its Non-Commercial Expressive Activity and disorderly conduct policies, since the students’ charges were based on unconstitutionally overbroad and vague restrictions.