The contrast in responses illustrates a sharp divide in how presidents are navigating the spillover from a conflict thousands of miles away that only tangentially touches their campuses. It also highlights how the war between Israel and Hamas has inflamed campus relations in the U.S., putting institutional leaders in the impossible position of trying to balance the competing aims of assorted students, faculty, staff, alumni, trustees and donors.
As protest encampments have popped up at dozens of universities in recent days, administrators have struggled to respond to demands that their institutions divest endowment funds from businesses profiting off the war and/or that they end any academic or business partnerships with Israel, given the tens of thousands of civilians its military has killed in response to Hamas's deadly Oct. 7 attack.
While some colleges have allowed protests to continue-often with a police presence on hand-others have cracked down, sending in law enforcement to remove demonstrators, in some cases applying violent force. Some experts argue that the use of armed force exacerbated the situation, compelling more students to set up encampments on other campuses.
For presidents suddenly stuck navigating an unforeseen and politically charged campus crisis, there is no easy answer.
#university-protests #divestment-from-israel #campus-relations #presidential-responses #student-activism
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