Photo via Al Jazeera
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Numerous institutions across the United States have reached a critical point in demonstrations following the ongoing violence and distress of the Israel-Hamas war. Pro-Palestine protests are being met with armed threats, suspension, and doxxing. In the height of the Columbia protests, a domino effect occured in institutions nationwide, with Ivy institutions across the forefront. These include Columbia, Yale, and Harvard. Numerous other college organizations have joined in solidarity, and tensions have escalated following the arrest of more than 100 students last week in what was called “an extraordinary step” to uphold the safety of the campus.
The ongoing protests and demonstrations have sparked discourse over the university’s need to balance freedom of speech with campus rules and safety. On Wednesday afternoon, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said that Joe Biden believes free speech, debate, and nondiscrimination are vital on college campuses, noting how ‘students should feel safe on college campuses.’ The protestors are calling for Columbia to back a ceasefire in Gaza, as well as divest from companies that are associated with Israel. These protests are for a clear purpose with cohesive goals and never escalated beyond peaceful. These students were exercising their constitutional right to peaceful protest and demonstration. A lecturer at Columbia Law School, Bassam Khawaja, said that “It didn’t seem like any kind of measures were taken to de-escalate … This was a non-violent protest. A group of students was camping out on the lawn in the middle of campus. It’s not any different from everyday life on campus.”
Columbia president Nemat Minouche Shafik’s decision to call the police on the pro-Palestinian protests has been condemned by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, who called her response “unjustifiably harsh.” She is being ostracized for allowing “anarchy” to engulf the campus. Many entities are now calling for her immediate resignation, including calls from members of Congress to resign. Mike Johnson, the Republican House Speaker, has also called on Shafik to resign, but for what he deems as a “virus of antisemitism.” This statement has been opposed through direct actions by Shafik and by students who make up some of the students protesting. Ilan, a pro-Palestine student protester, exclaimed his dismay with the level of censorship and repression happening at Columbia. “Young American Jews are becoming increasingly fed up with the status quo. We refuse to let what’s happening be done in our name, especially at Columbia.” Another protestor, Twyla, emphasized how “this is a movement for collective humanity and collective safety. And If it’s not trying to tear anyone down. So just like breaking down those perceptions of like, oh, these people are calling for the death of Jews—I am Jewish, and I promise you, it’s not.”
The Gaza solidarity encampment at Columbia has entered its ninth day today, on April 25th. On the sixth day, numerous politicians entered the campus, including New York Governor Kathy Hochul, as well as Democratic and Republican members of the House of Representatives. The democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also commented on the reaction to Columbia’s protest, calling the decision to involve police a “reckless and dangerous act.”
Ilan also spoke of his growing hatred towards Columbia, failing to embody the essential components of what an institution should be. It has lost the trust of its administration, with hundreds of faculty members holding a mass walkout for the president’s decision to police involvement. Ilan says, “A university has to have the trust of its students and faculty to function. That’s part of what makes the university a university, and the fact that President Shafik did not follow the proper procedures and that the University Senate was created post-’68 to prevent something like this from happening again shows the level of failure that this university has enabled.”
As of April 25th, the list of colleges with Gaza encampments includes Columbia University, New York University, Yale University, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Tech, Tufts University, The University of Michigan, Vanderbilt University, California State Polytechnic Uni., University of California, University of Minnesota, University of North Carolina, The New School, Brown University, University of Pittsburgh and the University of Southern California. As the list goes on and continues to grow, it’s time for institutions to stop trying to censor their integral community and begin listening to what they have to say and what they have continuously demanded. Actions undoubtedly speak louder than words, and as of right now, Columbia’s actions are speaking to perpetuate the systemic inequality they so boldly claim to reject.
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This article was edited by Graham Thoresen.
