A Brief Report on American Education (It's Messy)

By Nate Parker | Politics | April 25, 2024 |

By Nate Parker | Politics | April 25, 2024 |

Few things terrify an American institute, board, or committee more than free expression, especially when wielded or witnessed by people under 30. For a nation that prides itself on its scientific and cultural advancements, small minds that make the Bomont town council look positively liberal still dominate local politics and education. Case in point: 10 days ago, the Cumberland Valley School District in Pennsylvania canceled an anti-bullying assembly by gay actor Maulik Pancholy (The Office, Phineas & Ferb) because of his “lifestyle choices.” In a rare bright spot, local community members pushed back hard against the school board’s blatant homophobia, and in a special meeting last night some board members apologized for their prejudiced remarks and voted 5-4 to reinstate the assembly. Forty-five percent of the school board failed to come to their senses; still this was a powerful, local pushback against the Moms of Liberty’s bigoted agenda.

News of higher education is less comforting. Columbia University President Minouche Shafik, after making public obeisance to the GOP-led committee investigating reports of alleged antisemitism in higher ed, sicced the NYPD on a peaceful pro-Palestinian protest on the campus’s West Lawn, despite that being the space set aside for peaceful protests. One hundred and eight students were arrested and charged with trespassing. The encampment swiftly reformed, and Shafik has given the protestors 48 hours to clear out before she will again use law enforcement against students who pay more $86,000 annually to attend the school.

Columbia’s overreaction had the predictable effect of inspiring further protests at campuses across the nation. At the University of Texas at Austin, peaceful student protestors were met by Texas DPS officers on horseback and carrying rifles. They herded students and journalists off the grounds and made more than 30 arrests, including a local Fox affiliate photographer wearing press credentials. It was a significantly more aggressive response than Texas DPS managed at Robb Elementary School in 2022, where 376 officers allowed Salvador Ramos to kill 19 children and 2 teachers, and wound 17 more. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who can’t even spell de-escalation, called the protests against Israel’s military campaign hate-filled and anti-Semitic.

Just so everyone is clear, the Governor of Texas announces he ordered the protestors at the public university arrested because he is discriminating against their viewpoint.

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— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw.bsky.social) Apr 24, 2024 at 8:35 PM

Protests at the University of Southern California were met with a similar response that included dozens of LAPD officers in riot gear and wielding “less-lethal” weapons. They arrested 93 people, many of them students, and at least one officer fired a rubber bullet at the crowd after forcing them off campus. This was after the university canceled valedictorian Asna Tabassum’s speech planned for their May 10th commencement. Conflicting reports blame the cancelation on pro-Israel groups complaining about a post on Tabassum’s social media or on alleged threats made to the university about her safety. Regardless of why, Tabassum’s removal from the ceremony significantly added to the tension between students and administration officials.

I encourage people who get stuck behind the pro-Hamas mobs blocking traffic: take matters into your own hands to get them out of the way.

It's time to put an end to this nonsense.

— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) April 16, 2024

It goes without saying that American higher education is in a precarious state. School budgets increasingly rely on private grants and corporate funding, and administrations are happy to curtail student and faculty speech if it means coffers remain full. Minouche Shafik’s crackdown on peaceful protestors after groveling to the GOP was intended to protect her job; instead, Speaker Mike Johnson and a number of other politicians are calling for her head because they consider her response insufficient.

Higher ed administrators need to stop deluding themselves. They can’t satisfy bad faith accusations from politicians who are only outraged by antisemitism when it happens on university property. Compare their current response to milquetoast statements about the Unite the Right’s “Jews will not replace us” chants. The goal is not to make American campuses safe for Jewish students. Antisemitism, like all forms of prejudice, happens on campus. But conservatives view any non-religious school as a liberal bastion and, therefore, a threat. They won’t be satisfied with any response short of shutting down any department or student group that pushes back. Their intent is to curtail student speech in general. College environments are complex. It’s impossible to make accurate generalizations, but more often than not they have more diverse populations than many students’ hometowns.

In a perfect world, they’re exposed to new perspectives and information that shape their worldview. It becomes more difficult to view LGBTQ folks, Jewish, or Palestinian students as “other” when a student sees them every day. Right now, in their urgency to protect institutions and personal reputations from right-wing attacks, administrators are treating student and faculty discomfort as a threat of violence. These are not the same thing. New York Times writer, Columbia professor, and self-proclaimed free speech advocate John McWhorter proves this point with an opinion piece that, if nothing else, demonstrates he should quit teaching music history.

Sorry children, we can't listen to the piece that forces listeners to become aware of the ambient noise, because of the ambient noise

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— Pavel (@spavel.bsky.social) Apr 24, 2024 at 7:55 AM

These draconian responses to peaceful student protests are not intended to make them stop. They are a deliberate escalation. They’re designed to mollify Republican donors and politicians who will never be satisfied with anything short of violence. They want another Kent State. Universities that want protests to end ignore them, or open a polite dialogue. Nothing diffuses a tense situation like an engaged but ultimately powerless member of the administration nodding along attentively as a protest leader speaks. The semester ends in a month. Turn on white noise machines if they chant during exams. If the protestors remain non-violent and outdoors, their disruption is minimal compared to marching hundreds of cops onto campus and mass arrests. Even better, administrations could remember their institution’s role is to educate and support students first, and please sponsors second. But if their goal is to further inflame tensions, spread protests, encourage violence, and convince Americans that higher education campuses are patchouli-scented no-go areas, this is exactly how to do it.