Message from US campuses

Suppressing protests may be politically self-defeating

In a reprisal of student protests against the Vietnam War more than half a century ago, the Israel-Hamas war is sparking demonstrations on campuses around the world. Signs of discontent with the Biden administration’s policies on the Israel-Hamas war have been building for the past six months. Last week, Columbia hit the headlines when the university’s president called in the New York police to clear pro-Palestinian protestors from campus. Following the arrest of 108 demonstrators, including professors, the protests have spread to at least 50 other campuses that include Yale; the University of Texas, Austin; the University of California, Berkeley;