Teacher's note: This story contains violent clashes with law enforcement and counterprotestors at the campus protests. As always, teachers should review the video before sharing with class.

Directions:

1. Watch the video and following along with the transcript, if helpful. For the sake of time, you may want to watch just the first three-minutes of the video before the sit-down interview.
2. The video aired April 26, 2024, so be sure to check updates on the situation; for example, the "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" has since been removed by Columbia and more than 100 students were arrested by law enforcement).
3. Answer the discussion questions and read the excerpts about connections to past protests, including the 1968 anti-Vietnam protests and the sit-ins of the Civil Rights Movement. If short on time, jump to the What students can do section.

SUMMARY

As protests of Israel’s war in Gaza spread to campuses across the country, some see parallels between today’s demonstrations and protests of the past. In the latest campus protest crackdowns, police used pepper spray Thursday to clear encampments and crowds of young people at George Washington University in Washington D.C. Nearly three dozen people were arrested.

According to a New York Times investigation and reporting from the Los Angeles Times, the UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles) protests became violent when a counterprotestors attacked individuals, beating them with sticks and using chemical sprays, and knocked down the Pro-Palestinian protestor's barricade and sent fireworks toward the encampment with little to no police intervention for several hours, according to the New York Times.

Other campuses like Brown University and Northwestern have taken a different approach by saying they will hold discussions about divestment (withdrawal of financial investments in companies that contribute to Israel's war efforts), resulting in students taking down the encampment themselves.

Protests that have taken place over the last few weeks on U.S. college campuses have raised comparisons to the Vietnam War campus protests. Specifically, New York's Columbia University's South Lawn protests by pro-Palestinian students have drawn comparisons to 1968 when police were also called to clear protesting students from campus. If time allows, listen to the 6-minute NPR story here.

Link: https://www.wbfo.org/2024-04-26/in-columbia-universitys-protests-of-1968-and-2024-whats-similar-and-different

Columbia University in the past has boasted about how members of its students body exhibited freedom of expression during the Vietnam War protests and made it part of its brand, according to Tyler Austin Harper of The Atlantic in an interview with the NewsHour.

NewsHour interviewed Harper here. Read this excerpt below as it pertains to Constitution rights and if the students were within those rights by setting up encampments as well as the crackdown by law enforcement that has led to many arrests.

Link: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-colleges-are-handling-campus-protests-after-embracing-activism-in-the-past

Next, check out this interview with David French, opinion columnist for the New York Times, who believes the student protestors are not within their rights to protest in the way they've been protesting. French says some Jewish students do not feel safe to move around on campus freely. NewsHour's Lisa DesJardins asks French to discuss what is actually problematic and unlawful conduct in light of the lunch counter sit-ins of the Civil Rights Movement.

Link: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/analyzing-the-debate-over-how-colleges-are-cracking-down-on-campus-protests

News alternative: Check out recent segments from the NewsHour, and choose the story you’re most interested in watching. You can make a Google doc copy of discussion questions that work for any of the stories here.

WARM-UP QUESTIONS

• Who are the individuals and groups featured in this story?
• When did the anti-Vietnam War protests take place at Columbia University?
• What are some connections between the anti-Vietnam War protests and the pro-Palestine protests?
• Why were the students protesting in 1968 and 2024 on college campuses? What were the reasons for the sit-ins during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s?
• How did the response by law enforcement and the actions of counterprotestors affect the protests on college campuses?

FOCUS QUESTIONS

• Did you find it helpful to learn about connections with past protests in U.S. history? Why or why not?

Media literacy: What questions do you have about the varying viewpoints you see regarding the campus protests? Do you think the coverage has been fair? Explain.

Alternative: See, Think, Wonder: What did you notice? What did the story make you think? What would you want to learn more about?

What students can do:

Freedom of speech and peaceful assembly are rights guaranteed under the Constitution. According to PEN America, civil disobedience is a form of nonviolent protest that involves willfully and wittingly violating certain laws. While it is not protected under the First Amendment, it has a rich history in the United States as a powerful tactic that has been used to great effect by the Civil Rights Movement, anti-war protestors, and AIDS activists, as well as many other important social and political movements."

This activity asks you to research a recent campus protest and answer the questions: Were the students within their rights guaranteed under the Constitution? Were these acts of civil disobedience? What about the acts of the counterprotestors?

Link: https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/29/us/pro-palestinian-university-protests-arrests-dg/index.html

1. Have there been student protests on college campuses where you live? Take a look at this map (note: it may be incomplete, so be sure to conduct additional research online).
2. Next, look up some news stories about the protests using local and state news sources as well as national news sources like the NewsHour and the Associated Press.
3. Diversify your news diet: What do you think the expression "news diet" means? You should also research more left-leaning and right-leaning websites since the reporting of the protests have varied greatly from one another and from that of mainstream media. Lateral reading (reading multiple websites) will help you gain a firmer understanding of the protests.
4. Then it is up to you to decide where your beliefs fall while maintaining a willingness to converse with others on the subject. News events are often emotion-filled and that is understandable. However, if you find yourself becoming emotional to the point of argumentation that seems unproductive or stressing yourself out too much by reading or watching the news, don't forget that it's okay to take a break.

Additional resources

1. The NewsHour video below (transcript here) aims to provide different perspectives by students and professors on college campuses. Watch it with a friend, family member, neighbor or teacher. You may hear sides that you agree with and other sides that you disagree with.

Reflect on these questions: What is it the person is saying? What is it you agree or disagree with? Did you learn anything new? What questions do you have? How can you take the knowledge that you gained to better understand your own viewpoint on the subject?

Also, try using historical thinking skills to answer the following questions:

• What historical context is included in the story? What additional context do you need to know?
• What points related to cause and effect were brought up by the individuals in the story? Who stuck out to you and why?
• Were there primary sources included?
• Is there a sense of continuity involved in this piece? Are the events likely to continue and why? How far back in history do the events in the story take place? Why does this matter?

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