M-A Alumni Share Frustrations with Colleges’ Reactions to Israel-Palestine Protests

Ever since colleges across the nation have erupted into protests over the Israel-Palestine crisis, student-led sit-ins and other forms of demonstrations have disrupted student life. 

Student protests and demands have been broadcast around the nation through social media posts and news articles. College administrators have grappled with the task of balancing student free speech and expression rights while maintaining a safe education for all students.

Many M-A alumni voiced concerns over their administration’s handling of the protests, saying that their administrations had misplaced priorities and should have placed more focus on protecting students. The demonstrations have helped raise awareness about the war in the Middle East, but they have also increased division between groups of students with different opinions on the conflict.

Katie Doran ‘23, a freshman and journalist at Georgetown University, explained how the protests “demonstrate how passionately students care about these issues.” 

At California State, Polytechnic University, Humboldt, a pro-Palestinian encampment has taken over the center of campus. Through spray-painting searing messages onto school walls and taking over two administrative buildings, hundreds of students have made demands for the school’s administration to call for a ceasefire.

M-A alum Mezzy Epidendio ‘23, a freshman at Humboldt, has experienced disturbances due to the demonstrations and the school’s response. “Administration kept flying in this huge helicopter and circling the school, which was so distracting. It was crazy,” she said. Humboldt administration also canceled multiple in-person classes and reverted to using remote instruction and working online. Epidendio said, “It was so reminiscent of COVID, and it made it harder to get my work done.”

Epidendio said that the demonstrations provided her with “more insight into the situation and history in general, as well as an opportunity to see how people can take nuanced topics to a completely unwarranted and dangerous level.” 

Universities on the East Coast have also been home to intense protests over the past few months. Since April 17, hundreds of protestors from Columbia University in New York City have set up over 100 encampments in spite of threats from the Columbia administration to suspend students who remain in the camps past 2:00 a.m. 

In November, student organizations including the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) were banned by the administration. Devin Leslie ‘22, a sophomore at List College in the Joint Degree Program with Columbia University, said, “I think the banning of SJP and JVP was a huge mistake. What it really meant was that the protests were going to move off campus, where Columbia would have a lot less control and leverage over the rhetoric used.”

In October, Leslie was taking a class in Hamilton Hall while protesters gathered outside. “It was this crazy split-screen moment: we were talking about how monotheistic religions fight each other and there we were listening to this protest happening right outside,” Leslie recalled. A few months later, protesters took over the building and set up an encampment inside.

Just a few miles from Columbia, protests at New York University (NYU) have led to violence and heavy police involvement, with the administration trying to clear demonstrations and sit-ins.

Ada Cai ‘23, a freshman at NYU thinks that the university’s response to the protests painted it in a worse light. “I think a lot more people have started holding a more negative sentiment towards the university by the way it has labeled the peaceful protests as ‘violent and destructive’ in a school email, and also how police officers started arresting tenured professors,” she said.

After a particularly tumultuous demonstration at Gould Plaza, over 130 people were arrested, only half of whom were affiliated with NYU. NYU also faced pushback for allegedly holding disciplinary hearings for the arrested students.

Katherine Welander ‘22, a junior at NYU, labeled the administration’s response to the protests as “self-serving and overall an incorrect response.” 

“Despite all the communication between the protestors and the administration, the administration still painted the protest in a way that didn’t really agree with what protesters were trying to get across. The faculty and staff were saying that the protesters were dangerous, disruptive and that they were chanting antisemitic chants, but a lot of faculty and staff—and students at the protests—said ‘No, this is not true,’” Welander said. 

At the University of Southern California (USC), similar protests have taken place around campus. Like Columbia, USC canceled the valedictorian’s speech after pro-Israeli students voiced concerns about a pro-Palestinian link in the valedictorian’s Instagram bio. Soon after, the USC administration moved to postpone all honorary degrees, which resulted in an uproar from protesters that led to over 80 arrests by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). 

Alexandra Ornes ‘23, a senior at USC who participated in the protests early on, discussed her views on the administration’s response. “I know [administration] created an immense burden on many students not just from having to go through multiple unnecessary security checks but also just living with the knowledge that their administration wouldn’t hesitate to call the LAPD on them,” she said. 

The complete cancellation of USC’s commencement ceremony marked the second college in the U.S., after Columbia, to cancel its graduation and just one of many to relocate due to interference from protesters. “I don’t think it was disappointing that graduation would be canceled, more so that it was clear that the administration prioritized censoring students over graduation,” Ornes said.

“I think [the protesters] are doing their best in a system that is inherently built against them,” added Ornes. “As I have been getting ready to graduate, I have seen so many political issues in my lifetime—school shootings, COVID-19, the insurrection, electoral college, the Russia-Ukraine War—and it has felt like the government isn’t here to serve its constituents but rather its financial and political allies. It’s left the feeling of disillusionment with myself and a lot of my peers.” Ornes also shared how many of the protests included educational events, including bringing in educational speakers and screening documentaries about the situation in Gaza. 

At UC Berkeley, protesters also set up encampments and small fights broke out between opposing protesting groups. 

Helena Warner ‘23, a freshman at UC Berkeley, recalled the location of many of the protests. “The main forms of demonstrations at Cal were walkouts and continuous protests in big campus centers like Sproul Hall,” she said. “Sather Gate, our main entrance into campus, was blocked off by protesters for an extended period of time and many students set up tents in front of Sproul Hall and slept there.”

After these encampments came to an end after the administration agreed to many of the protestors’ demands, Berkeley students continued to showcase their passion by moving their complaints to the UC Merced administration. There, they will participate in a three-day meeting and voice their views on UC Berkeley’s financial involvement in the war and the disinvestment of Israeli companies.

Warner expressed her views on the protests, saying, “I think my college administration could be better at handling these protests. There have been some instances where protesters have gotten riled up and lashed out at other students, and I think this should never be the case. Free speech and protest is a vital and extremely important right that we have in this country and everyone should be able to exercise that right without harming others.”

Many claim that their protests will not come to an end until negotiations are met by the universities, meaning that they will continue into summer break.

However, Cai believes that the rampant discussion surrounding these protests is starting to decrease. She said, “In the long run, these protests sparked short-term discussion but also died down quickly, which makes me wonder how tangible the impact was.”

Doran said, “I think [the protesters] have put a lot of pressure on administrators. I think they’ve raised a lot of attention, and it remains to be seen where it goes from here.”

“The protesters are definitely making an impact on campus and letting their voices be heard. They are making sure this issue is talked about both on and off campus, which brings them closer to reaching their goals of ending the conflict in Israel and Palestine. I can’t say whether or not they will succeed in reaching their goal, but I do know they are making big waves,” Warner said.