Students play a crucial role in America’s long tradition of protest, upholding First Amendment freedoms of speech and assembly. They understand that a democracy depends on citizens holding power accountable, and many have fought to ensure their right to do so on campus.
As universities face pressure from students to address social issues, they can’t ignore their responsibility to protect their rights. But the challenge is to do so without stifling protests or encouraging ones that threaten public safety or undermine the university’s mission.
Student protests have long focused on issues that impact the campus community, from racial justice to the wages of staff. For example, students who burned an American flag at a Brazilian university in 1966 protested the military dictatorship that had seized control of the country. They also pushed their institution to end its investments in companies linked to apartheid.
More recently, students have protested to support migrant communities. Many California colleges are sanctuary campuses, which limit immigration enforcement on college property. But they are not able to stop immigration enforcement from arresting people outside campus buildings or at sensitive locations, such as where classes take place.
Students who are currently taking part in encampments or other protests to urge changes in policies on war-making, policing, and ethical investments free from militarism or apartheid should be aware that changing government policy often takes time. But they can expect that their efforts, like the student activism of the 1960s and ’70s, will continue to shape debates about how and why we should engage in foreign wars and how we should invest our money.
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