Hours before President Donald Trump was scheduled to arrive at Carnegie Mellon University for an energy summit, the school administration early Tuesday ordered the painting over of a provocative anti-Trump message written by student Democrats on The Fence, a century-old campus landmark that serves as a free speech message board.
One side of The Fence had the words “No Rapists On Our Campus,” a reference to Trump in 2023 being found liable in a civil trial of sexual abuse and defamation. “Shame On You” was on the other.
Avalon Sueiro, president of the Carnegie Mellon College Democrats and vice president of Pennsylvania College Democrats, had strong words for the university.
“I’m incredibly disappointed they have essentially silenced our speech,” Sueiro told TribLive. “They’re quietly folding to the pressure.”
In a statement to TribLive, CMU defended its decision, calling the words on The Fence an “anonymous, ad hominem message” that fails to advance discourse.
Trump is expected to participate in an afternoon roundtable at the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit, an invitation-only gathering featuring heavy hitters in politics and business.
After painting the message Monday night into Tuesday morning, the College Democrats left The Fence unattended, believing their message would not be altered.
“We have had exchange with Secret Service through an intermediary continuously for a good couple of days,” explained River Sepinuck, communications chair for the College Democrats. “I believe on Wednesday or Thursday, we were told that The Fence would not be disturbed, as per policy.”
Elaborate rules govern The Fence, and typically students must physically be present there to ensure their message is not erased or changed.
But when Alexander Werth, a rising sophomore, walked by The Fence at 8 a.m. Tuesday, he found it had been completely painted over black.
After gathering at Schenley Plaza Tuesday morning, a group of CMU students went back to The Fence at 11 a.m. and restored their message.
That prompted a visit from two Secret Service agents, who approached Sueiro and Sepinuck.
Next, Gina Casalegno, CMU’s dean of students and vice president of student affairs, stopped by to talk. She told the students the university had decided that morning to paint over The Fence.
“We obviously had very little time this morning to make a decision, and that’s the decision the president made,” she said, referring to CMU President Farnam Jahanian, who was attending the summit.
Casalegno deferred to Jahanian to explain the university’s decision. She then told the students that the university would once again remove their message by painting it over.
Shortly before noon, CMU staff were painting The Fence white, completely obscuring the anti-Trump sentiment.
In its statement, the university said it supported peaceful dissent and protest, noting that over the past several weeks, students have painted messages protesting the summit.
“The university has supported their right to express these views without hesitation,” the statement said.
While The Fence serves as a “symbol of open expression,” the statement continued, it also requires “a shared responsibility to foster transparency, integrity and respect.”
“Today’s message lacked those elements, and university leadership made a decision to repaint,” according to the statement.
Sara Rose, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, said CMU has the right to order The Fence to be repainted.
“While it’s ironic that Carnegie Mellon University would choose to paint over political messages at The Fence, an area dedicated to celebrating students’ free speech, the university is a private institution,” Rose said. “That means that while some might find CMU’s action distasteful, there are no First Amendment violations here.”
Megan Trotter is a TribLive staff writer. She can be reached at mtrotter@triblive.com.
