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Estrich: Universities failed on protests
By Susan Estrich
Published: May 6, 2024, 6:01am
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Helicopters were whirring in the sky over campus as violent clashes broke out between pro- and anti-Palestinian demonstrators at the on-campus encampment that UCLA had tolerated for far too long. A university’s first responsibility is to educate, and that means creating a safe and secure environment, which UCLA plainly failed to do. Classes were canceled, a clear sign of failure.
There is no excuse for the violence. As the Jewish Federation Los Angeles said: “The abhorrent actions of a few counterprotesters last night do not represent the Jewish community or our values. We believe in peaceful, civic discourse.”
“Peaceful, civic discourse” is not what’s been taking place at campuses across the country. It does not include setting up encampments, taking over buildings and harassing students. It does not mean a license to ignore time, place and manner restrictions on protests, or loudly threaten violence.
Private universities are not subject to the First Amendment. For all the talk about “free speech,” the First Amendment prohibits only state action to limit speech rights. And the protections it does provide, at schools like UCLA, have long been subject to reasonable limitations on speech that poses a clear and present danger or an imminent threat of harm.
That isn’t to say students and faculty have no rights. Virtually every university recognizes that its responsibility to protect students includes a responsibility to protect their freedom of expression as well as their personal security. It’s a balance, but not an impossible one. UCLA, like other universities, has rules about where and when protests may be held so as to respect that balance. Those rules have been clearly ignored by protesters there and across the country, who have been taking over libraries and classroom buildings, disrupting the schools’ educational responsibilities.
The right response is not to have counterprotesters move in and try to take down encampments. It is for university officials to do that, with the help of law enforcement, if that is what is necessary. Disciplining students for violating rules designed to protect everyone’s rights is not an extreme measure but appropriate.
UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said last week that, while many demonstrators have been peaceful, others have used tactics that have “frankly been shocking and shameful. We have seen instances of violence completely at odds with our values as an institution dedicated to respect and mutual understanding.”
The hard question for Block is why they didn’t do anything to deal with these “shocking and shameful” tactics until the counterprotesters moved in and took matters into their own hands and there was no choice but to call in the police?
Dan Gold, executive director of Hillel at UCLA, said that Jewish students have been harassed around the encampment and that encampment monitors denied access to nearby walkways to at least 10 Jewish students after asking them if they were Zionists. Other professors took issue with Block’s focus on the anxiety and fear felt by Jewish students, pointing out that Muslim students as well were suffering.
Great — UCLA has been failing everyone except the pro-Palestinian protesters, and so have too many other universities who should have nipped this in the bud when rules were broken.
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