Colleges and universities in the United States are witnessing debates and heightened disagreements around student protests, with the Israel-Hamas conflict at its centre. Last week, tensions escalated with the arrest of around 100 pro-Palestinian protesting students from the premier Columbia University.
The university administration called the police following reports of “intimidating chants and several antisemitic incidents” on campus, the Associated Press reported.
Of late, police has detained more than 130 students from New York University and released them with “summonses to appear in court on disorderly conduct charges”. At Yale University, 44 students were arrested for refusing to leave an encampment setup in the campus. Similar cases of protests and arrests have also been reported at other universities.
Student protests have been witnessed in the US after the Palestinian militant group Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, leading to the killings of more than 1,200 Israelis. Israel’s military offensive in Gaza since then has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, with the majority being women and children.
But even before Israel’s military action, students have found themselves at odds with each other and the student administration at many colleges. Here is what is happening.
What led to the protests on campus?
The campuses of Columbia University, Harvard University, and other major institutions have witnessed some tensions over the events unfolding in the Middle East. For long, institutions of higher learning in the United States, which are some of the most prestigious colleges globally, have seen open debates on issues concerning politics and society.
This culture of debate flows from the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which protects free speech and assembly to a very high degree, and the idea of a university as a space where ideas should be exchanged.
After the October 7 attacks, statements issued by the student bodies of a few colleges sparked some criticism. A joint statement comprising more than 30 student groups at Harvard University began with: “We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all the unfolding violence. Today’s events did not occur in a vaccum.”
It further said: “For the last two decades, millions of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to live in an open-air prison,” and that “In the coming days, Palestinians will be forced to bear the full brunt of Israel’s violence.” Almost immediately, there was a backlash against what was seen as a failure to condemn Hamas’s actions.
Why are the groups of protestors opposing one another?
Several Jewish student groups have claimed that anti-Israel protests are akin to antisemitism or hatred towards Jewish people. They have cited protest slogans and placards that are against Israel and Zionism, the 19th century ideology which advocates for a separate state for Jewish people.
Some reports have also highlighted a rise in overall cases of antisemitism in the US ever since the Hamas attack. In the face of the USA traditional allying with Israel, the support for Palestine has also gone against the established policy on such matters.
On the other hand, pro-Palestine protestors have drawn a distinction between anti-Zionist/anti-Israel views and antisemitism. They argue that while the former are only against the political projects that demand Jewish statehood in the Middle East, antisemitism is the hatred of all Jews and not the intention of the protests. Instances of rising hate crimes against Muslims in the US have also been reported since October 7.
Some have also demanded action from universities. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the foremost science and technology institutions, pro-Palestine protests have asked the university to stop its alleged funding from Israel’s Ministry of Defense for some projects, according to the AP.
The dilemma for colleges
For universities who have long championed free speech for the most part, an attempt at balance has not been easy. Since their funding depends on how these protests are viewed by alumni and longstanding benefactors, ensuring their support is another concern.
For instance, former Harvard University President Claudine Gay said in an October 20 statement: “Let there be no doubt that I condemn the terrorist atrocities perpetrated by Hamas. Such inhumanity is abhorrent, whatever one’s individual views of the origins of longstanding conflicts in the region.”
She added: “Let me also state, on this matter as on others, that while our students have the right to speak for themselves, no student group — not even 30 student groups — speaks for Harvard University or its leadership.”
Several heads of universities — including Gay — have also been called to testify at the US Congress, with allegations that they did not stop antisemitism in colleges. Liz Magill and Scott Bok, the University of Pennsylvania’s president and board chair respectively, resigned after the hearings.
Last week, the University of Southern California cancelled pro-Palestine student Asna Tabassum’s graduation speech, citing “safety”.
US politicians have also waded in. While the Republicans have alleged antisemitism in the protests, some Democrats have attempted supporting both sides. US President Joe Biden said on April 22: “I condemn the antisemitic protests.” He added, “I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.”
College as a ground for flashpoints
While the debates here are specific to the events in the Middle East, campuses have long been flashpoints. On May 4, 1970, police shot dead four students on the Kent State University campus and nine others were wounded. The students were protesting the US-Vietnam War and the mandatory recruitment of soldiers for it.
Prior to that, the civil rights movement in the 1960s for racial and gender equality in the US saw students become more involved in politics. “On its fundamental planks—antiwar, antiracism, antipatriarchy—the movement scored major victories,” said a Time Magazine article.
Several university departments focused on black and women’s studies “are a direct result of the movement’s activism”, as is the 26th Constitutional Amendment, “which lowered the voting age to 18,” it said.
Students protest in support of Palestinians on Columbia University campus. (REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs) 
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