UC Berkeley has become a violent flashpoint for political demonstrators of all stripes in recent months as right-wing speakers like Ann Coulter have announced plans to speak on the famously left-leaning campus.

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Latest line: A good week for Quintero, bad one for Rendon Coulter et al have framed these talks as conservatives standing up for free speech, leaving Cal batting back negative media coverage as a school that values only liberal ideas.

And the university has had enough. Buried in the debate has been the school’s argument that it can’t accommodate every speaker on the exact day student groups want, particularly when the requests come in late, because it has limited venues and security concerns. No more.

Now, Berkeley is rolling out a draft of a policy — which when you cut through the wonkiness — is an attempt to get ahead of possible disputes in the future and bring certain groups (ahem, Berkeley College Republicans) in line.

They’re already putting it to use. The Berkeley College Republicans recently invited the conservative speaker Ben Shapiro to campus in the fall and are framing the invite as yet another fight for free speech. Berkeley told the group it was committed to bringing Shapiro to campus (and even offered to take the unusual step of helping the group pay for a venue if a suitable free space could not be located), but said the organization would have to comply with the new interim policy.

“Like the existing policy, it will support the right and ability of organizations to host speakers of their choosing without regard for the speakers’ perspectives or positions,” the school wrote in an email to the club.

“We believe deeply in the value and importance of Free Speech, and fully support student groups’ right to invite speakers of their choice to campus,” new Chancellor Carol Christ said in a separate statement. “Over the years, we have hosted literally dozens of speakers from both conservative and libertarian movements without incident. The key is for the hosting organization to work collaboratively with the campus through a detailed planning process. I am confident the event will be safely and successfully held.”

It “is important for policies to explicitly address procedures for responding to a new set of security concerns that have recently emerged,” reads a note announcing the new draft policy.

From a PR perspective, it’s not a bad move. It gives the school a politically neutral policy to point at amid all the spin.

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But if the draft holds, student groups will have some serious hoops to jump through. Groups will be asked to request space eight weeks or more prior to major events and submit publicity materials to an adviser for review at least five weeks before the event. If university police think an event requires substantial security, the student organization hosting it will have to meet with the UC police at least six weeks ahead of the event.

Of course, the draft doesn’t say so, but the implication is clear: The school doesn’t want Berkeley College Republicans, or any other group for that matter, springing an event on administrators at the last minute and spinning any issues into a broader controversy.

The policy is set to take effect officially in January after a period of public comment, which is sure to be contentious.

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