[Updated 9-29-24]
Elite universities have changed their policies to significantly reduce free speech and free assembly. In response, college students and their faculty allies are having to regroup and rethink how they protest the US-Israel war against Palestine as it expands in the Middle East. On the establishment side, will universities further crack down on students and faculty, wherever peaceful protests might occur?
Campus "Crime and Punishment"
Elite universities like UCLA have dramatically reduced the areas that students can speak and assemble freely, restricting protesters to free speech zones, a common tactic used by the US government during the War on Terror. Universities have also upped surveillance measures and punished students involved in protests, with limited due process.
The visible resistance may now be limited on campuses where students have been detained, assaulted, arrested, expelled, and banned from campus. Foreign students wary of facing deportation may also be keeping quiet, publicly.
In California, Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a bill to update public university codes of conduct "and train students on how to protest
with civility, a response to pro-Palestinian demonstrations that erupted
across the state last spring." The bill was opposed by pro-Paletestinian Groups and the ACLU.
Protests Off Campus
There have been a number of protests against the US-backed war that has expanded from Gaza, to the Occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and Iran. Demonstrations have been held in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, DC and other college towns, including Iowa City, home of the University of Iowa. Those protests will be closely observed and documented by law enforcement.
With the help of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the fossil fuel lobby, states have already crafted anti-protest legislation to reduce public free speech and free assembly. According to the UK Guardian, 45 states have considered new anti-protest legislation since 2017.
Protests on Campus
Over the last week, there were small protests at Penn State University and the University of Arizona. The Penn State demonstration, which had about 60 attendees, was supported by Penn State Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), the Student Committee for Defense and Solidarity (SCDS), the Muslim Students’ Association (MSA), the United Socialists at Penn State (USPSU) and the People's Defense Front - Northern Appalachia. The impromptu Arizona protest was set up by the Party for Socialism and Liberation. At Cornell University, about 100 students protested a career fair that included defense contractors Boeing and L3 Harris. It's not surprising that these demonstrations would be small, given recent crackdowns across the country.
Collaboration Between Elite Schools and Law Enforcement
Will elite schools work with law enforcement at the local, state, federal, and international level to further restrict free speech and freedom of assembly? And university administrators try to quell dissent, will students be more harshly disciplined for planning and engaging in peaceful protests, of any type, on and off campus?
Democratic Protests on Campus: Modeling the Better World We Seek (Annelise Orleck)
Methods of Student Nonviolent Resistance
Wikipedia Community Documents Pro-Palestinian Protests on University and College Campuses
One Fascism or Two?: The Reemergence of "Fascism(s)" in US Higher Education
A People's History of Higher Education in the US
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