PROTESTS ON CAMPUS – WE ARE ON THE WRONG TRACK !!

The Israel-Hamas/Gaza war, now in its 7th month, has sparked huge protests on campuses of our universities. There is nothing new about campus protests. Students, the only segment of society, feel
less inhibited about taking a position on an issue or simply expressing an opinion. They are also less fearful of consequences. Those of us who have spent our lives in academia would like to believe that our
students are also driven by a sense of morality and idealism. At the core of the current campus protests lie the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which has been going on for almost three-quarters of a century. During this period there have been a number of wars between Israel and its Arab neighbors, all resulting in swift
victories for the former. Never, however, has the conflict lasted so long, played out so vividly on live TV, or retribution been so disproportionate.

To be honest, the current round of hostilities was precipitated by the Hamas attack on innocent civilians and the taking of hostages. It is also true that the conflict in Gaza shows the hopelessness of the Gaza
residents and the failure of legendary Israeli intelligence. The cause/response of the conflict is also intertwined with Israeli internal politics. One can have their own viewpoints, but Palestinians were not
responsible for all or any of the historical prosecutions and wrongs directed at the people of the Jewish faith. Ironically both Palestinians and Israelis are from the same land. In the end, there is nothing glamorous about wars and every dead person is someone’s child, husband/wife, or parent. No winners in this department. What is troubling, however, is how the student protests are being handled by both politicians and university administrators here in the United States. Politicians have no business telling the students how to think and university administrators are the least suited to influence student behavior.

The word university is derived from the Latin phrase universitas magistrorum et scholarium, which according to Wikipedia, means “community of teachers and scholars.” Teachers/faculty are the only
people who can respectfully discuss issues with the scholars/students and have an impact on how the students conduct themselves. Open and free discussion among students and with faculty contributes to learning. Towards that end, we should consider the following to bring the protests under the umbrella of civil discourse instead of name-calling, threats, and further polarization:

1. No outsiders, unless they have a legitimate business, should be allowed on university campuses. University administrators should bar politicians from using the campus to put forward their own agenda.
2. Students are not above the law of the land. Even legitimate protests cannot be a license to break laws. They should be prosecuted for any illegal activities, particularly physical violence, or destruction of property.
3. Regular police should be kept out of campus, if at all possible. Campus security personnel are familiar faces, have relationships with the leadership of student organizations, and are best suited to handle student issues.
4. Faculty task forces should be set up on every campus and they should organize events to discuss ALL issues respectfully and promote respect for each other’s opinion.
5. Campuses are a bastion of free speech and pursuit of truth. If we stifle protests, particularly when we disagree, we would be doing a great disservice.

I am encouraged by the current campus protests. When protests first sprung up against the Vietnam War, the situation was equally divisive. Thousands more innocents would have died in Vietnam if the student protests had not eventually forced our politicians to discontinue war. There were also protests on our campuses against the US Government’s and businesses’ support of the apartheid regime in South Africa. I have seen antisemitism everywhere in America – sometimes overt and sometimes tacit. I have also seen
Islamophobia gains momentum after 9/11. Even after passing various laws, discrimination against African
Americans have not gone away. It is therefore important that we do not try to stifle campus protest in a heavy-handed manner and thus contribute more to polarization. On a personal note, as a professor, it is nice to see our students once again focusing on something else other than personal material gain.

Author: Faisal M. Rahman Ph.D. is a Professor & Founding Dean of the Graham School of Management, Saint Xavier University, Chicago, IL 60655. Contact: rahman@sxu.edu or fmr0007@gmail.com. Cell: 1-312-533-0452