CMU’s President Admitted It Was Protected Speech. Then He Ordered It Painted Over.
Carnegie Mellon students were told The Fence was a place for student expression. But the record now shows President Farnam Jahanian acknowledged the censored message was protected, acknowledged attribution was not required by Fence rules, and took responsibility for ordering The Fence painted over anyway.
Students are demanding a formal written policy so protected expression cannot be erased when it becomes controversial, embarrassing, or inconvenient.
New Evidence
The transcript discussed on this page was provided to the coalition anonymously. It is one part of a broader record that includes official university communications, public documents, and the coalition’s correspondence with Carnegie Mellon.
What President Jahanian Said
The transcript does not just raise process concerns. It shows the President’s own words.
“Is this protected by free speech? Yeah, absolutely.”
President Jahanian acknowledged the censored Fence message was protected expression.
Meeting with Farnam, July 17, 2025, 00:12:53–00:12:58
“I will accept full responsibility for this, is that I decided to paint a fence.”
President Jahanian took responsibility for ordering The Fence painted over.
Meeting with Farnam, July 17, 2025, 00:14:41–00:14:47
“The young, these are kids, they don’t know shit.”
President Jahanian described the students behind the message this way.
Meeting with Farnam, July 17, 2025, 00:21:20–00:21:25
“These are young kids who don’t know anything.”
President Jahanian again described students in dismissive terms.
Meeting with Farnam, July 17, 2025, 00:23:06–00:23:10
“It’s no longer free speech. It’s graffiti.”
President Jahanian said this while discussing another anonymous Fence message involving Zionism, Hinduism, and Nazism.
Meeting with Farnam, July 17, 2025, 00:24:53–00:25:00
“But on that day, when the spotlight is on Carnegie Mellon, when 150 members of the press that are here, the nuanced message, whether that’s CMU’s message or it’s a dozen students, is not relevant. It’s just not relevant.”
President Jahanian said the distinction between student speech and official CMU speech became “not relevant” when outside attention was on the university.
Meeting with Farnam, July 17, 2025, 00:17:30–00:17:50
“Can you imagine what Newsmax or Fox and so on would do with this? Would you imagine what would happen on social media?”
President Jahanian pointed to media coverage and social media reaction while explaining the decision to remove the message.
Meeting with Farnam, July 17, 2025, 00:20:20–00:20:29
Protected speech. Painted over anyway. Students dismissed. The standard shifted. Optics won.
If the speech was protected, why was it painted over?
This campaign began with a simple demand: protect student expression on The Fence with clear written rules.
Now the record makes that demand even more urgent.
According to the transcript provided to the coalition, President Farnam Jahanian acknowledged that the censored Fence message was protected speech, acknowledged that attribution had not been required by the rules, and took responsibility for ordering The Fence painted over anyway.
That is the issue.
If protected student speech can be erased because it creates controversy, media attention, reputational concern, or administrative discomfort, then The Fence is not truly protected. Students need more than verbal assurances. They need a formal written policy.
Read The Fence Files
We are assembling the full timeline, transcript references, official university statements, coalition correspondence, Working Group history, and evidence behind the campaign.
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