Pro-Palestinian protests that roiled university campuses in late April and early May have begun to subside in recent weeks. As summer vacation approaches, leaders at some schools have struck deals with student protesters, while others have called on law enforcement to forcibly remove activists from campuses.
Experts say the unrest is likely to subside over the summer, but could return in the fall as concessions from some universities become clearer.
After Harvard’s term ended, government officials an agreement was reached On Tuesday, protesters joined forces with Harvard to take control of a week-long pro-Palestinian encampment. As part of the deal, the university announced it would lift the suspension of students and bring forward an agenda for divestment from companies with ties to Israel, according to a social media post from the student group Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine.
Administrators at the University of California, Berkeley, also negotiated this week to end the school’s encampment. Berkeley’s chancellor has shifted the blame on whether a sale is possible, but has pledged to review all discrimination complaints related to study abroad programs and agreed to review the school’s foundation’s investment strategy.
Anti-war sentiment persists at many graduation ceremonies this month, with a group of North Carolina students walking out after actor Jerry Seinfeld’s commencement speech at Duke University on Sunday. The comedian, who is Jewish, has been vocal in his support for Israel since the war erupted following Hamas’ attack on Israel last fall.
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Experts said how social movements play out on campus for the rest of the year will depend on developments in conflicts overseas and whether students can maintain recent momentum.
New interest in “socially responsible investing”
Whether protests recur or reach new heights, some of the remnants of the riots could become more permanent fixtures in campus culture, said Todd Ely, an associate professor in the School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado Denver. There is sex.
While the divestment movement on college campuses has a long history, Ely said there seems to be renewed interest in the concept of “socially responsible investing,” also known as ethical investing. As university endowment portfolios have grown in size and complexity over the past several decades, this theme has become a familiar part of student activism. In recent years, students have staged protests at schools over the promotion of socially responsible investing, saying they are profiting from the fossil fuel and firearms industries.
Divestment is explained as follows:Pro-Palestinian demonstrators are calling on the university to withdraw from Israel. What does that mean?
Oversight of investment strategies in higher education reached a new level this year, following student demands for schools to sever ties with arms manufacturers and companies linked to the Israeli government. But university endowments, especially the largest ones, are difficult to track. They are often managed by hedge funds and can hold shares in many different types of companies. By their nature, their portfolios are largely secret.
Concessions at schools like Brown University could be notable landmarks. Administrators at the Rhode Island campus agreed last month to hold a more formal meeting with students to consider sale options. But whether it will result in substantive policy changes is an open question, Ely said.
Still, the conversation is starting in a new place, he said.
“Next year is going to be different,” Ely said. “Universities will have to come to terms with whether our assets should be deployed purely to maximize economic benefit.”
If negotiations between the schools on the next stage break down during the next academic year, the disagreement could spark new unrest.
Will Congressional hearings continue to attract attention?
A central catalyst for the latest wave of campus activism was a Congressional hearing on campus anti-Semitism in mid-April. As Columbia University’s president faced questions at the Capitol, pro-Palestinian student protesters set up tents and occupied the New York City campus, setting the stage for mass arrests that engulfed the United States. The hearing, sponsored by House Republicans, followed testimony in December from the presidents of Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania, which were widely criticized and ultimately forced to resign.
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As students and faculty disperse for summer vacation, Republicans are not letting up.
Rep. Virginia Foxx, RN.C., and other lawmakers will convene more hearings on campus anti-Semitism next week, featuring testimony from several additional university presidents. Kevin McClure, an associate professor of higher education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, said the grilling may not get as much attention this time around.
“This could be a turning point in the political currency that politicians get,” he said.
Could the concessions actually spark further protests?
Lisa Mueller, an associate professor of political science at Macalester College and author of the forthcoming book “The New Science of Social Change: A Modern Handbook for Activists,” says summer vacation can dampen the momentum of campus protests. It is said that there is a high possibility that
“It’s much more difficult to mobilize a mass movement when everyone is scattered to their hometowns,” she says.
But that could change once students return in the fall and some campuses begin deeper conversations with administrators about divestment. Some recent research even suggests that when decision-makers give in to protesters’ demands, the concessions may lead to more demonstrations rather than fewer. Mueller cautioned that these findings are difficult to generalize and are based on data from dictatorships, not democracies.
But even if last month felt like an earthquake of protests, she says universities could still be exposed to aftershocks.
“This may actually be a sign to activists that it pays to protest and that they should do more,” she says.
Zachary Schermele covers education and the latest news America today. You can email us at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele.
