Elizabeth Howell-Egan, a law student at the University of Southern California, is barred from campus because of her role in anti-war protests last spring, but she continues her activism.
She and like-minded students hold online sessions on the war between Israel and Hamas and distribute leaflets outside the campus, which now has checkpoints at the entrances and security guards who require students to scan their ID cards.
“Change is never comfortable. You always have to take risks to make change happen and create a future we want to live in,” said Howell-Egan, a member of the Students for Justice in Palestine group, which is calling on USC to divest from companies that profit from war.
For students protesting the war in Gaza, the stakes are higher this fall as U.S. colleges implement new security measures and policies for protests — all aimed at avoiding disruptions like the pro-Palestinian demonstrations last spring and protecting students from hate speech. Their involvement puts their degrees and careers at risk, not to mention tuition costs, but many say they feel a moral obligation to continue the movement.
Tent encampments – now banned on many campuses – have not yet been rebuilt. And some of the more committed students from last spring have graduated or are still facing disciplinary action. Still, student activists are finding other ways to protest, emboldened by the rising death toll in Gaza and the massive protests this month in Israel demanding a ceasefire.
Tensions over the conflict have been high on American campuses since the war began on October 7, when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostage in Israel. Gaza health officials say more than 40,000 people have died as a result of the war in Gaza.
As pro-Palestinian demonstrations gained momentum across the country, Jewish students faced hostility on many campuses, including anti-Semitic language and signs. Some universities faced civil rights investigations in the U.S. and had to settle lawsuits alleging they did not do enough to combat anti-Semitism.
The desire to be “part of something”
Alia Amanpour Trapp, a senior at Temple University, began the academic year on probation after being arrested twice during pro-Palestinian protests last semester. Within days, she was back on the university’s radar for another demonstration.
When she reflects on the consequences of her activism, she thinks of her grandfather, a political prisoner who died in the 1988 massacres orchestrated by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini.
“He paid the ultimate price for what he believed in. And so I think the least I can do is stand firm and face the issue,” she said.
Trapp, who studies political science, devotes much of her free time to Students for Justice in Palestine, which is what led her to the protest at the start of school on August 29. The group of several dozen demonstrators made several stops, including in front of the Rosen Center, a center of Jewish life that is also home to the Hillel section of Temple University.
Some Jewish students in the building said they were shocked by the demonstration. The protesters used megaphones to have conversations with people in the building, said Temple President Richard Englert. The university spoke of intimidation and launched an investigation.
“Targeting a group of people because of their Jewish identity is unacceptable and intimidation and harassment tactics like those we are seeing today will not be tolerated,” Englert said.
Trapp said the intention was not to intimidate anyone, but to condemn Hillel for his support of Zionism. “To the students who felt threatened or hurt: I am sorry,” she said.
Trapp is appealing a Temple panel’s ruling that she violated the college’s code of conduct last spring. As she reflects on the disciplinary action, she recalls a Temple poster she saw on Interstate 95 after her first visit to campus.
“Because the world doesn’t change itself,” the ad said. That reassured her that Temple was the right fit for her. “I wanted so badly to be part of something meaningful,” she said, “a community committed to change.”
New push for divestment
At Brown University, some students arrested last spring are taking a different approach to pressure the elite university to divert its endowment funds to companies with ties to Israel.
Last spring, the university committed to having its board vote on a divestment proposal in October after an advisory committee discussed the issue. In return, protesting students packed up their tents.
Now students, including Niyanta Nepal, the student body president who was elected on a pro-divestment platform, are trying to put pressure on voters to vote for divestment. They are calling on students to participate in a series of forums and encouraging new students to join the movement.
Colleges have long rejected calls for divestment from Israel, which opponents say veers toward anti-Semitism. Brown is already facing pressure for even considering the vote, including a scathing letter from two dozen state attorneys general, all Republicans.
Rafi Ash, a member of Brown University’s Jews For Ceasefire Now and Brown Divest Coalition, declined to comment on what activism might look like if the divestment effort fails. Ash, a Jewish student who was among 20 students arrested during a sit-in at an administrative building in November, dismisses critics who view the antiwar protests as anti-Semitic.
“The Judaism I learned promotes peace. It promotes justice. It promotes ‘Tikkun Olam’ – making amends to the world,” said Ash, who is on disciplinary probation. “This is the most Jewish act I can do to stand up for justice for all.”
Excluded from campus, but strategies for protests
For Howell-Egan, the crackdown at USC and her suspension only increased her desire to speak out.
“Even though USC could impose sanctions and disciplinary action, I can live with that because I’m standing up for something important,” Howell-Egan said. “There are no more universities in Gaza. We are in an incredibly privileged position to take that risk.”
She is not allowed to attend in-person classes because she was suspended from classes in May for participating in protests at the private school in Los Angeles.
There is a trend toward harsher punishments for students who engage in activism than in the past, including campus expulsions and suspensions that leave students “in limbo for months,” said Tori Porell, an attorney with the nonprofit Palestine Legal, which supports student protesters facing disciplinary action. Howell-Egan sees this as part of a strategy to suppress free speech.
In a memo this month, USC President Carol Folt said there have been peaceful protests and demonstrations on campus for years. “However, the spring semester brought incidents that tested our values, disregarded our policies, sparked fear and required unprecedented safety measures,” she said.
The focus of the USC Divest Coalition, which includes several student organizations, is off-campus for now to engage the broader community and take a cautious approach while students adjust to the university’s new rules, Howell-Egan said.
In addition to public relations work, the students held teach-ins.
“The idea is to improve our skills and our understanding of where we are right now and where we are in this fight,” Howell-Egan said, “especially as we move forward with it.”
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