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Protests on college campuses
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Anonymous
+1. It’s like University Presidents are CEOs with no actual understanding of college kids. I talked to my college kid (on a so far protest free campus, thank goodness) last weekend. They were having trouble with a housemate’s behavior. And I reminded them that we weren’t in September, when a permanent solution to the behavior was needed to avoid an unpleasant school year. Instead, a light touch and keeping the peach for 10 days would get them through finals and that they weren’t scheduled to room with that person next year. Columbia’s President kow-towed to the extreme right in Congress, because they had cancelled prior university presidents. And then followed through by dealing with theColumbia protestors with a heavy hand *from a war room in DC* with no attempts to deescalate or contain the protestors first. And it backfired bigly. Anyone who actual knows college kids could have told her that would happen. She massively over reacted, and there was a backlash. There is an alternative universe where she ignored the students and dealt with any specific behaviors that were actually violent or threatening (as opposed to expressing a distasteful viewpoint or being annoying, which is the point of protest and is protected under 1A). Had professors flunk kids who didn’t show up for finals. And issued trespassing citations and cut off campus building key card access for kids who were not off campus within 24-48 hours after their last final (the rule at my kids college). And most of the kids would have dispersed before commencement. Then she doubled down on what didn’t work yesterday, and now they took over a campus building. It’s like she had no understanding of college kids and is a Fortune 500 CEO primarily there to make donors happy and have an occasional orchestrated photo op with students. Because that’s what she is. I have no idea why she did not just ignore them as group until the end of the semester, discipline only bad actors, and wait for summer DP vacation, when everyone could take a breath and calm down. Stupid. What she did was stupid. Divorced from the reality of how 18-22 year olds think annd operate. And seemed designed to cause more problems than it solved. |
Anonymous
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Students have stormed and taken the Cabell Library Building at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond! In response, riot police arrived instantly and are now clashing with students in an effort to take back the building and make arrests.
https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/richmond/police-breaking-up-pro-palestinian-protest-on-vcu-campus-arrests-being-made/ Portland, Ore. — As @Portland_State’s president allows the Antifa encampment for Gaza to grow at the library, the militants have begun vandalizing it and the surrounding building. The library has also closed. @UCLA A group of pro-Gaza protesters won't let this Jewish student pass to go to class at UCLA. Portland Antifa intimidates female Iranian professor at @Portland_State She goes off on them for setting up a Gaza autonomous zone on campus: "Get off the campus. None of you have a right to be here!" |
Anonymous
+1000 The issue is not the topic of the protest which no university should really express an opinion on. The issue is the disruption of other students rights to an education, any possible violence against others, non participation by the protesters in their schoolwork and occupation of a building. These individual actions should be dealt with. But whatever they are protesting is not the point. And they made it the point. It’s like they never dealt with kids before. |
Anonymous
I agree with a lot of this. But two extra points: the place where the encampment occupied yesterday is the site of commencement, which takes weeks of preparation. Either the encampment or commencement needs to move, immediately. And also, these tent cities, these encampments, are, either unintentionally or by design, are particularly offensive the way they resemble the current, intractable, homeless tent cities occupying cities all over the country. Cities are grappling with how to properly deal with homeless tent cities amid conflicting laws, safety, compassion, and irate citizens. And now students are doing it too? They may not realize exactly how negatively tent encampments may be perceived. |
Anonymous
Part of the issue is that some faculty have also expressed solidarity with the political points of the protestors. Which was dumb of them. |
Anonymous
This “Palestinian young man” should get down on his knees and thank God that he and his family are out of that hellhole and that he won life’s lottery by receiving a free education at a (once) leading US institution. |
Anonymous
| Expel them and revoke their student visas. Then they can go to Gaza and fight the good fight. Buh-bye! |
Anonymous
+1. You parent wirh commonsense. By |
Anonymous
Why are they calling the protesters Antifa in Portland? Is that their own label? |
Anonymous
Anonymous
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I have been impressed with the way the Univ of Chicago has been handling this:
Dear Members of the University Community, Just a few hours ago, a group of students established an encampment on the Main Quad as a form of protest. This particular tactic is now in widespread use at universities across the country. At some, encampments have been forcibly removed, with police arresting students and faculty in chaotic scenes that are disturbing. At others, encampments have persisted, despite attempts to shut them down with force. In some cases, encampments have resulted in major disruptions to learning and the activities of the university community. Free expression is the core animating value of the University of Chicago, so it is critical that we be clear about how I and my administration think about the issue of encampments, how the actions we take in response will follow directly from our principles, and specific considerations that will influence our judgments and actions. The general principle we will abide by is to provide the greatest leeway possible for free expression, even expression of viewpoints that some find deeply offensive. We only will intervene when what might have been an exercise of free expression blocks the learning or expression of others or that substantially disrupts the functioning or safety of the University. These are our principles. They are clear. Two recent examples illustrate how we bring these principles into real action. First, last quarter a student group secured university permission to cover a large fraction of the Main Quad with a massive Palestinian flag consisting of thousands of tiny colored flags. The exhibit was accompanied by signage exhorting passersby to “Honor the Martyrs,” and it was staffed by students at tables during certain hours. Those students could explain to passersby why they thought it important to feature this installation, why they thought that language was appropriate, and any other views occasioned by their installation. While this protest and accompanying message were offensive to many, there was no question that it was an exercise of free expression. It stood for weeks until the end of the approved time, at which point the student group removed it, making way for others to express their views in that space as they might see fit. This example should make it clear that we approach the issue with no discrimination against the viewpoints of those participating in this encampment. We adhere to viewpoint neutrality rigorously. As a second illustrative example, in November, a group of students and faculty undertook an occupation of Rosenwald Hall, a classroom and administration building. That was a clear disruption of the learning of others and of the normal functioning of the University. After repeated warnings, the protesters were arrested and released. They are subject now to the University’s disciplinary process, which is still pending. In short, when expression becomes disruption, we act decisively to protect the learning environment of students and the functioning of the University against genuinely disruptive protesters. There are almost an unlimited number of ways in which students or other members of the University community can protest that violate no policies of the University at all; the spectrum of ways to express a viewpoint and seek to persuade others is vast. But establishing an encampment clearly violates policies against building structures on campus without prior approval and against overnight sleeping on campus. I believe the protesters should also consider that an encampment, with all the etymological connections of the word to military origins, is a way of using force of a kind rather than reason to persuade others. For a short period of time, however, the impact of a modest encampment does not differ so much from a conventional rally or march. Given the importance of the expressive rights of our students, we may allow an encampment to remain for a short time despite the obvious violations of policy—but those violating university policy should expect to face disciplinary consequences. The impact of an encampment depends on the degree to which it disrupts study, scholarship, and free movement around campus. To be clear, we will not tolerate violence or harassment directed at individuals or groups. And, disruption becomes greater the longer the encampment persists. With a 24-hour presence, day after day, we must for example divert police resources away from public safety for our campus and our community. If necessary, we will act to preserve the essential functioning of the campus against the accumulated effects of these disruptions. I ask the students who have established this encampment to instead embrace the multitude of other tools at their disposal. Seek to persuade others of your viewpoint with methods that do not violate policies or disrupt the functioning of the University and the safety of others. Sincerely, Paul ------- Paul Alivisatos President |
Anonymous
| Antifa involvement is the end to any legitimate protest. |
Anonymous
Why is that a problem? Faculty should be able to comment freely on either side of this and any issue. I mean you have donors trying to influence university positions by threatening to withhold gifts. It seemed crude but influencing policy with money (which is a form of speech) is as American as apple pie. |
Anonymous
It's not that simple. Outside instigators are taking advantage of the idiot 18-22 aged students and their need to test boundaries and fight the system. All it took is one building to be taken and for that example to be followed elsewhere. The protesters are accomplishing nothing, have completely failed in whatever their objectives are, and have only hardened the anti-Hamas opposition of people that haven't been paying attention. |