Dissent in Disarray: Arrests and Protests in Universities
- Bhavya Parameswaran
- May 4, 2024
- 2 min read
What Happened?
Recently, over 2000 students from various universities in the United States have been arrested in connection with protests against administrators for their support of Israel in the middle-eastern conflict, alleging a lack of action to end the war on Palestine.
What do the protestors want?
The protestors' are essentially protesting their school’s connections with Israel. Their demands include a call for divestments (selling of stake) from Israeli companies and advocating a boycott of relations with Israel - to pressure the Jewish state into stopping war.
What triggered controversy?
As protests rage through schools across the United States, at multiple instances, the police have been accused of committing atrocities against protesting students- from physical torture to arrests and detention. While the authorities claim that such ‘precise policing’ has been undertaken only to curb violence at such dissenting encampments, the students opine that their voices are being silenced- raising the question of the freedom to protest in the United States.
Examining the facts
At Columbia University, 112 students were arrested. It was revealed that the protests involved illegal demonstrations and destruction of public property. Additional charges of trespassing and burglary were also leveled against some protestors. Police forces were stationed to ensure safety and will remain on University premises until peace is restored.
At the University of Washington D.C. 200 students gathered, but not a single arrest was made.
Ivy League’s like Harvard have also seen their share of protestors who replaced the American flag with the Palestinian flag in the Harvard Yard, except in this case there was no police involvement. Interviews with students revealed that it was a peaceful protest, and none were disturbed by it. The facts tell us that to be able to justify the harsh measures by the police we need to identify whether the protests themselves were violent or not.
Political Responses
President Joe Biden said that “There's the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos”.
The US Congress also passed a legislation titled the ‘Anti Semitism Awareness Act’ - to prevent rising anti-Israel sentiment from turning into hatred against the Jewish Community (anti-semitism).
The protests highlight the need for balance in Universities- in supporting the right to peaceful dissent while ensuring no violence and the protection of all the students of the universities. Similarly, the protestors need to ensure that while they advocate humanitarian rights of Palestinians in the dreadful war, they don’t propagate anti-semitic sentiments against the Jewish community.
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