Students across the nation have made an uproar of pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses such as Columbia University, Yale, University of Southern California and California State University, Long Beach. However, the pushback that some have been met with by police and university administration is hypocritical and extreme.
According to the Associated Press, on April 18, 108 demonstrators at a pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University were arrested and charged with trespassing after New York Police were called by university president, Nemat Shafik.
The events at Columbia University ignited action in students across the United States as they assembled to stand for Palestine, but many were met with a similar fate. Hundreds of arrests have been made since this incident.
The students rallied on campuses, asking for universities to end ties with companies that support Israel. The protests were peaceful.
The way administrations have responded to the protests does not come as a surprise to me though. This isn’t the first time universities have called police forces on student protests.
In 1968, students at Columbia University occupied a building on campus in protest of the construction of a gym and the Vietnam War. Over 700 students were arrested, but the school met their demands and the president of the university later resigned because of the events.
I would consider it a reasonable request. After all, students pay thousands of dollars in tuition. For them to be met with police threats, arrests and suspensions when they ask to have a say in the relations between the school and certain companies is a dramatic response.
I also believe that the actions taken by universities towards protesters goes against everything that they claim to stand for.
On Wednesday, April 24, the Los Angeles Police arrested 93 of the demonstrators protesting against the Israel-Hamas war at USC.
The USC mission statement says, “We strive constantly for excellence in teaching knowledge and skills to our students, while at the same time helping them to acquire wisdom and insight, love of truth and beauty, moral discernment, understanding of self, and respect and appreciation for others.”
Instead of resisting protests and meeting students with police force, universities should be applauding students for standing up for what they believe is right.
I would consider the protests to be a perfect example of the “moral discernment” that is mentioned in the USC mission statement, but it has become clear to me that universities only like when students exhibit these characteristics and align with the university’s views.
According to the American Council on Education, while administrations try to act quick to get rid of student protests, there is substantial learning for students to gain from organized activism. Research has shown engagement in activism can increase identity consciousness, critical thinking and civic engagement.
A peaceful pro-Palestine protest was held at CSULB on May 2 and it was an open and safe space for students and faculty to share their views and make their arguments as to why CSULB should divest from Israel supporting companies.
Universities are doing their students a disservice by disturbing their efforts to stand up for others.
History repeats itself and universities continue to berate students for their efforts. Instead of being quick to detain and rid campuses of protests, universities should be open to working with demonstrators through open discussion.