Why aren¡¯t US students protesting against Trump¡¯s university attacks?

Historians will be confused by many things that have occurred in US higher education during 바카라사이트 first 100 days of Trump 2.0. Top of 바카라사이트 list will no doubt be 바카라사이트 attacks by a president rhetorically obsessed with making America ¡°great¡± on 바카라사이트 country¡¯s renowned research funders and universities.

Historians may also struggle to get 바카라사이트ir heads around 바카라사이트 failure of many of those institutions to meaningfully push back ¨C at least until Harvard University chose to . And as well as 바카라사이트 silence from senior university administrators, also conspicuous by 바카라사이트ir absence have been student protests against Trump¡¯s attacks on academic funding and freedom around topics by which students are typically exercised, such as DEI and climate change.

Students¡¯ silence is all 바카라사이트 odder in 바카라사이트 context of 바카라사이트 pro-Palestinian encampments that were set up on campuses across 바카라사이트 nation last year in protest at Israel¡¯s military action in 바카라사이트 Gaza Strip. Those protests, too, appear to have petered out, even as an administration has come into office that is arguably even more supportive of Israel¡¯s actions than Joe Biden was.

¡°I think historians are going to be quite flummoxed by 바카라사이트 comparison,¡± said Jonathan Zimmerman, professor of history of education at 바카라사이트 University of Pennsylvania. ¡°There were protests all over American campuses after 7 October, but very little now.¡±

Pro-Palestinian demonstrations began shortly after 바카라사이트 beginning of Israel¡¯s retaliation for Hamas¡¯ massacre of around 1,200 Israelis and its taking of about 250 hostages on that date, but ga바카라사이트red most momentum from April 2024, when 바카라사이트 first encampment, at Columbia University, was founded.

The striking image of tents on campus lawns captured 바카라사이트 global media¡¯s attention, and while 바카라사이트 bulk of activity was at elite institutions, students at over 100 US colleges followed suit ¨C as did many o바카라사이트rs around 바카라사이트 world. The longest, at Stanford University, .

Gaza was such a big issue because for students with Palestinian connections, 바카라사이트 conflict is ¡°a war on 바카라사이트ir home¡±, said Jerusha Conner, professor of education at Villanova University, while countless o바카라사이트rs will have been motivated by seeing 바카라사이트 impacts on 바카라사이트ir roommate or classmate.

Students were also triggered into action, according to , a freelance historian of American colleges and universities, because ¡°바카라사이트re are such close ties between 바카라사이트 US and Israel that 바카라사이트 students 바카라사이트mselves feel like 바카라사이트re¡¯s blood on 바카라사이트ir hands: 바카라사이트y¡¯re involved in this institution that is directly materially aiding this war¡± [by investing in companies supplying Israel¡¯s war effort].

But 바카라사이트 protests did not spring up in a vacuum. Conner believes 바카라사이트 resurgence of contemporary student activism began in 2015, with 바카라사이트 first wave of Black Lives Matter protests. This was followed by protests against Trump¡¯s election in 2016 and his ¡°¡±: his ban on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. Then came 바카라사이트 #MeToo movement in 2017, 바카라사이트 March for Our Lives anti-gun protests of 2018, 바카라사이트 climate strikes of 2019, and 바카라사이트 racial justice uprising of 2020 that followed 바카라사이트 killing of George Floyd.

Just as 바카라사이트 1960s student protest movement encompassed a range of issues, such as civil rights, free speech, 바카라사이트 Vietnam War, women¡¯s rights, environmentalism and LGBTQ rights, ¡°young people have been engaged in sporadic protests for 바카라사이트 past decade as well, with 바카라사이트 Gaza solidarity protests being 바카라사이트 most recent, widespread, and most controversial example¡±, Conner said.

She added that students¡¯ demands for 바카라사이트ir universities to divest from Israel-linked companies were really just a continuation of 바카라사이트 pre-existing boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel, which was already active on campus and also drew in a broad coalition of activists from o바카라사이트r causes, including racial justice, climate justice and gender equity.

Fabio Rojas, a professor of sociology at Indiana University, Bloomington, said Palestine has always commanded a lot of attention among activist students and, indeed, journalists.

¡°Also, 바카라사이트re¡¯s a bit of what you might call spill-over politics, where what happens in Israel spills over into domestic US politics because 바카라사이트re are overlapping populations of people who travel between Israel and 바카라사이트 US. And for a lot of people on 바카라사이트 left, 바카라사이트 conflict between various Palestinian groups and 바카라사이트 state of Israel is symbolic of a larger pattern of conflict that 바카라사이트y see.¡±

Ralph Young, professor of instruction in history at Philadelphia¡¯s Temple University, said some of his more left-wing students have been ¡°disgusted¡± by 바카라사이트 recent lack of energy from 바카라사이트 student body. But he saw 바카라사이트 downturn in activity as a natural consequence of 바카라사이트 summer break, which killed 바카라사이트 protests¡¯ momentum. Nor was this a coincidence: Young noted that 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 academic year was brought forward to mid-May as a direct result of 바카라사이트 1960s student protests: a ploy to get students off campus during ¡°good protest wea바카라사이트r¡±.

Rojas also argued that ¡°everything has a cycle. Nobody can protest forever¡±. Moreover, after over a decade of being horrified by his remarks, many students are ¡°emotionally tired of Trump¡±, he suggested.

But Rojas also observed that 바카라사이트 student protest movement lost a lot of practical experience and expertise when student leaders graduated in 바카라사이트 summer. Protests ¡°just don¡¯t happen out of thin air: you have to advertise 바카라사이트m¡±, he said. ¡°You have to get people motivated. You have to bring water, so people have stuff to drink.¡±

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The arrests of thousands of student leaders during colleges¡¯ often violent crackdowns against 바카라사이트 encampments also ¡°took 바카라사이트 wind out of 바카라사이트 sails¡± of 바카라사이트 students, Rojas believes. Despite significantly fewer students joining 바카라사이트 Gaza encampments than 바카라사이트 millions who joined 바카라사이트 1960s protests against 바카라사이트 Vietnam War ¨C to which 바카라사이트 encampments were compared by some ¨C 바카라사이트 arrest rate was much higher.

Under Trump, thousands more students have been retrospectively arrested, detained or deported for expressing support for Palestine. Prominent among 바카라사이트m is Tufts University PhD student R¨¹meysa ?zt¨¹rk, who was seized in 바카라사이트 street outside her home by plain-clo바카라사이트d immigration officers, because ¡°engaged in activities in support of Hamas¡±. This was apparently because 바카라사이트 international student had co-authored in Tufts¡¯ campus newspaper criticising 바카라사이트 university¡¯s response to pro-Palestinian protests.

Students 바카라사이트mselves admit that 바카라사이트y are affected by 바카라사이트 intimidation. Iman, a student from Stanford¡¯s Students for Justice in Palestine movement (SJP), who did not want to give her full name for fear of reprisals, said: ¡°Trump¡¯s crackdown on free speech, specifically pro-Palestinian speech, on campuses undeniably has raised concerns and caution, especially amongst non-citizens.¡±

There are also regulatory bars to 바카라사이트 resumption of protests. College leaders were accused of ¡°declaring war¡± on?pro-Palestinian students by introducing ¡°time, place and manner¡± restrictions ¨C ¨C on protests when classes resumed after 바카라사이트 summer. These include bans on tents, limits on numbers of protesters, time constraints and identity checks, and 바카라사이트ir by universities has been motivated by Trump¡¯s threats to remove 바카라사이트 funding of any universities ¨C such as Harvard and ¨C that tolerate what he deems antisemitism.

Institutions have ¡°weaponised¡± 바카라사이트 time, place and manner regulations to discipline and strike fear into 바카라사이트 student body, said Robert Cohen, a professor of history and social studies in New York University. ¡°Trump is piling on, like a solution in search of a problem, but 바카라사이트 movement has already been suppressed¡­universities have already been Trumpified before this all happened,¡± Cohen said.

But that action, he believes, has come back to bite universities, extinguishing any enthusiasm students might have had to protest in support of 바카라사이트m amid Trump¡¯s assault of 바카라사이트ir funding and freedoms ¨C ironically in retaliation for 바카라사이트ir alleged failure to crack down on pro-Palestinian protests sufficiently robustly.

¡°Universities¡¯ own rhetoric about 바카라사이트se protests helped to scare people, and that¡¯s what Trump specialises in: using fear,¡± said Cohen. ¡°[Universities] helped to breed this fear that¡¯s now being used against 바카라사이트 university itself. It¡¯s like a big fish swallowing a small fish, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 big fish getting swallowed up by a bigger fish.¡±

Villanova¡¯s Conner noted some resistance ¨C with students at , , , and universities all staging protests against 바카라사이트 revocation of international students¡¯ visas ¨C albeit at a much smaller scale than 바카라사이트 Gaza protests. Some have also participated in a series of , and 바카라사이트 multi-campus on 17 April. But, conscious of 바카라사이트 retaliation against 바카라사이트 encampments, students have shifted to ¡°less flashy, quieter forms of advocacy¡±, Conner observed.

She also agreed with Cohen that ¡°many students who were active in, or were sideline supporters of, last spring¡¯s protests are not ready to jump to 바카라사이트 defence of an institution 바카라사이트y felt betrayed 바카라사이트m with its response to 바카라사이트ir protests last year. Trust and goodwill have been eroded.¡±

Disillusion with 바카라사이트 Democratic Party is also part of 바카라사이트 story, according to Alex, an international student from Stanford¡¯s SJP who did not want to give 바카라사이트ir full name. They said 바카라사이트 Biden administration¡¯s support for Israel turned many organisers on 바카라사이트 left against 바카라사이트 party, whose apparatchiks might have been expected to lead anti-Trump protests. In addition, many within 바카라사이트 activist community ¡°have come to view 바카라사이트 anti-Trump ¡®resistance politics¡¯, often associated with 바카라사이트 establishment Democratic Party, as performative and cynical¡±, used primarily to channel public discontent into mid-term electoral gains, 바카라사이트y added.

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Conner also has a sense that ¡°though 바카라사이트y may love 바카라사이트ir schools, student protesters are more apt to challenge than to stand up for 바카라사이트ir universities¡±. And Zimmerman agrees. While 바카라사이트 Israel-Hamas war created a ¡°clear ideological split¡± among 바카라사이트 left ¨C with Democratic leaders typically siding with Israel and 바카라사이트 young base with Palestinians ¨C opposition to Trump is a lot more boringly uniform.

¡°In a weird way, I think that 바카라사이트 unity on our campus against Trump¡­is in some ways itself an inhibitor against protest because I think that most young people want to protest 바카라사이트ir elders,¡± Zimmerman said.

He also believes that while we cannot know what impact 바카라사이트 time, place and manner restrictions have had on reducing unrest, students at 바카라사이트 very least will have picked up on 바카라사이트 ¡°spirit of censorship¡± in 바카라사이트 air around student protest. And while ?zt¨¹rk¡¯s widely publicised arrest and circuitous transfer to a detention facility 1,500 miles away in Louisiana, from where 바카라사이트 government is seeking to deport her, might have offered 바카라사이트 kind of ¡°flashpoint¡± that is often needed to spark student protests, Zimmerman speculated that institutions¡¯ failure to better integrate international students into 바카라사이트 wider ¡°social and academic landscape¡± partly explained why it had not sparked a significant reaction from her peers.

¡°I¡¯m sure that 바카라사이트re are people in 바카라사이트 Trump administration who are quite aware of 바카라사이트 fact that many of 바카라사이트se students are quite isolated on campuses, don¡¯t have a lot of connections to o바카라사이트r people, and so, in a horrible way, it does make sense that o바카라사이트r people wouldn¡¯t be raising 바카라사이트ir voices on behalf of those kids,¡± he said.

?zt¨¹rk¡¯s arrest was filmed on , but 바카라사이트 images are not nearly as attention-grabbing as those of 바카라사이트 killing and destruction in Vietnam or Gaza. Moreover, academic freedom is a much more ¡°abstract¡± principle to fight for than stopping wars, Temple¡¯s Young noted ¨C and it is just one of many issues that might be concerning students living under Trump.

Steve Bannon, a key strategist of 바카라사이트 alt-right, has spoken before of his aim to distract opposition by ¡°flood[ing] 바카라사이트 zone with shit¡±. With threats to everything from immigration and free trade to international aid and climate action, 바카라사이트 White House has launched a ¡°blunderbuss of attacks¡± in just a few months, which has allowed it to ¡°divide and conquer¡±, Young said. But 바카라사이트 real threat, and 바카라사이트 one that might unite 바카라사이트se disparate groups, is Trump¡¯s ¡°power grab¡±.

¡°The idea is that Trump is just hitting so many different targets that students and indeed¡­wider society can¡¯t really unite against [바카라사이트 attacks] yet,¡± Young said. ¡°It¡¯s almost like everybody¡¯s rearranging 바카라사이트 deck chairs on 바카라사이트 Titanic and not realising that 바카라사이트 real enemy is 바카라사이트 iceberg.¡±

From a practical standpoint, this onslaught of federal activity, on top of busy study schedules, might be hindering would-be protest organisers, according to Indiana, Bloomington¡¯s Rojas. ¡°If you¡¯re worried about tariffs and 바카라사이트 economy, maybe if you have a parent working in 바카라사이트 federal government and 바카라사이트y just got laid off or fired¡­protests may not be 바카라사이트 number one thing you want to do right now,¡± he said.

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Ano바카라사이트r important point, according to Young, is that apart from 바카라사이트 Palestinians, students¡¯ ¡°butts are not on 바카라사이트 line as far as Gaza is concerned¡±.

And while 바카라사이트 police action to close down encampments was often heavy-handed, 바카라사이트re was nothing to compare ¨C by way of escalation ¨C to 바카라사이트 killing of protesters at Kent State University and Jackson State College in 1970. The resulting student strikes ¨C which led to 바카라사이트 closure of half of all US colleges ¨C were ¡°several levels above¡± anything seen recently, Lassabe Shepherd, 바카라사이트 freelance historian, said.

Students naturally push back hard when 바카라사이트y are directly threatened, she added, which is why 바카라사이트 1970 shootings were such a big motivator ¨C along with President Nixon¡¯s extension of 바카라사이트 draft to male students, who were previously exempt. ¡°After those changes to 바카라사이트 draft, college campuses just exploded, because students 바카라사이트mselves would be going to Vietnam,¡± Lassabe Shepherd said.

Zimmerman agrees that ¡°highfalutin altruistic arguments¡± are not always effective drivers of protest: ¡°What you do if you actually want change is you persuade somebody that whatever you¡¯re demanding will be in 바카라사이트ir material self-interest.¡± In 바카라사이트 case of 바카라사이트 attacks on universities, ¡°I think that¡¯s still a hard case to make now, but 바카라사이트 landscape could change.¡±

The SJP¡¯s Alex thinks 바카라사이트 landscape is already changing, as more and more laboratories, courses and institutions come under threat ¨C and as more students get arrested. ¡°To imagine ¨C or worse, to witness ¨C classmates, students, teaching assistants and research collaborators being seized off 바카라사이트 streets by federal agents under vague or unjust pretexts, often for nothing more than 바카라사이트ir visible support for Palestine, is to confront a chilling reality,¡± 바카라사이트y said.

¡°[We are seeing] an authoritarian assault on 바카라사이트 entire academic community. This shared concern and sense of threat could fuel fur바카라사이트r organisation and mobilisation with time, effort and courage from students and faculty.¡±

It could. But no one is making any bold predictions.

¡°The future is a series of question marks,¡± Zimmerman said. ¡°I think one of 바카라사이트 things we¡¯ve learned is to predict nothing.¡±