After the Encampments

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Posted on 11/20/2024 4:00:00 AM PST by karpov

You may have noticed that there has been less news this fall than last spring about Middle East-related demonstrations and disruptions on college campuses, a change only partly attributable to the recent presidential election. While a few may lament this as a sign of the dispirited disengagement of our youth, many—including many students, faculty, and administrators, as well as alumni, donors, and other members of the general public—likely regard this as a good thing. Perhaps students and faculty are returning to the real work of our colleges and universities—teaching, learning, and research.

But before we jump to any grandiose conclusions, it’s worth taking the following considerations into account.

First, it is probably true that there is less visible and disruptive activism on campus this fall. The vast majority of the 2024 incidents in the FIRE Campus Deplatforming Database occurred in the spring semester, not in the fall. And a quick internet search yields more recent stories about how speech has been “chilled” on campus than about vigorous protests across the country.

One explanation for this change in atmosphere is that many colleges and universities have adopted new policies limiting the scope of student activism. Neutral “time, place, and manner” restrictions have been deployed to prohibit encampments and the use of public-address systems in ways that disrupt classes, study, and research. Some of these policies may have been adopted under pressure from donors, others in the face of potential federal investigations.

Though the generally pro-Palestinian tenor of student opinion hasn’t changed—and trust me, it hasn’t—students seem less demonstrative about it this fall. Even if they haven’t rededicated themselves to their studies, those inclined to activism may have turned their attention to the presidential election, which hasn’t provoked protests, whatever may be the case after President Trump is inaugurated.

(Excerpt) Read more at jamesgmartin.center ...

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1 posted on 11/20/2024 4:00:00 AM PST by karpov

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