There’s nothing groundbreaking about protesters’ tactics of taking over university buildings or erecting encampments on college lawns.
These students – knowingly or unknowingly – are part of a long history of radical student organizing. There are echoes of both the protests against the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 70s and more recently, of South African apartheid in the 1980s.
"Every so often, a cause ignites a sustained fury on college campuses across the nation. In 2020, it was Black Lives Matter. In 2011, it was Occupy Wall Street. In the 1980s, it was apartheid in South Africa.
Today, it’s the Israeli military campaign in Gaza."
Here are five books that shine light on a rich history of campus protests in the US that goes back to the 1960s – compiled by veteran journalist Steve Friess.
What started as a peaceful walkout this morning by hundreds of university staff, professors, lecturers in protest against police violence against students last week is now developing and escalating once again.
The riot police are here, hundreds of them are blocking the entrance to the university. After the university staff finished their rally, the students went in and they have built some tents right into the main hall.
The police are now coming in and [the students] are trying to block the police. They managed for a few minutes but now the police car van is driving towards the entrance and everyone here is very much hoping that the same scenario that happened last week is not repeated here.
The protests are against the war in Gaza and they’re also demanding the university to cut ties with Israeli universities but also to protest against police violence and what they say is a violation of their rights to demonstrate.
So far I’ve only seen peaceful protesters and the police is coming in and of course, there’s a lot of trauma after what happened last week so the situation is quite agitated.
Sad but true lesson from #CampusProtests: "#University presidents aren’t leaders anymore. They’re lackeys. They serve the corporations, billionaires, and government leaders on whom they depend. It’s no surprise that, when it comes to the encampments, most administrators have been dutiful subalterns. They don’t lead, they obey." https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/university-presidents-gaza-protests
Prominent Republicans have seized on campus protests to assail what they say is antisemitism on the left. But for years they have mainstreamed anti-Jewish rhetoric.
Unleash the litigation gates! These universities calling the police on their students will be in litigation for years. And those costs don't include the $ NYC is bleeding paying for these cops.:
"In the tented camps and crowded streets of Rafah, the pro-Palestine campus protests in the US have been followed closely.
“We hear a lot of news about students’ demonstrations in American universities … When I saw that, I was very happy that there are still those who stand beside us and in support of us,” said Nevin Abu Shahma, 39, who fled to Rafah from northern Gaza early in the war"
Chief of NYPD cops clearing campus protesters: "You're dealing with children, or teenagers slash young adults, that aren't at the mental capacity you are at as professional police officers."
The Pulitzer Prize Board has issued a statement recognizing the "tireless efforts" of student journalists covering the campus protests across the U.S., highlighting the "great personal and academic risk" they faced. They mentioned specifically the journalists at Columbia University where the Pulitzer Prizes are housed. “In the spirit of press freedom, these students worked to document a major national news event under difficult and dangerous circumstances and at risk of arrest,” they said. Here's more from The Hill.
Students at my institution - the University of Toronto - have joined others across the continent in establishing an encampment on campus. Having been rebuffed by the administration in early April, the students continue to call "on the post-secondary institution to divest from assets that 'sustain Israeli apartheid, occupation and illegal settlement of Palestine.'"
"These student protests against a war that has killed over 34,000 Palestinians, at least two-thirds of whom are women and children, are what professors and administrators love to call a “teachable moment.” Unfortunately, most universities and colleges are failing their academic principles, their students, and their faculty. I wish I could say I was surprised, but after three decades in academia, I am not."
Prof Viet Thanh Nguyen
My faculty association's response to the university's recent letter to students:
"The Administration appears to believe that with the stroke of a pen it can transform freedom of expression from a fundamental right, the protection of which is the sine qua non of the University, into a privilege that the Administration may confer or deny at its pleasure. This cannot stand."
#Abolition#CampusProtests, #Gaza, # BlackMastodon #BlackTwitter Those of you who have followed me for a while know I mostly post about the issue of abolition, information about webinars on community issues, and black cultural music and events. I comment on policing but don’t usually post on it. However, the university protests provide an excellent opportunity to highlight why abolition is needed in this country. 1/7
The protest encampment at UC Berkeley is currently about 150 tents strong, but so far the administration has refused to call police or disperse the group. Classes continue, and commencement is on track to take place as scheduled.
Great news: UK university divests from Israel-linked arms companies following pressure
“The University of York has been forced to divest from weapons and arms manufacturers tied to Israel after a series of protests from a student-led coalition.”
Seeing all these students protesting around the West is giving me some hope for the future, more than any condescending and distant politician will ever give.
Their shitehawk media twats can choke on it as well. Rupert Murdoch, why do you persist?