Pro-Palestinian protests return to campuses adding election complication
Students are barely back on campus, but pro-Palestinian protests have already returned, putting a divisive issue back in the spotlight that Democrats had hoped the nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris might allow them to move beyond it.
Students are barely back on campus, but pro-Palestinian protests have already returned, putting a divisive issue back in the spotlight that Democrats had hoped the nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris might allow them to move beyond it.
While few expect this fall’s protests to match the size or ferocity of last spring’s, when tent encampments roiled campuses and several university presidents lost their jobs amid criticism of their handling of the demonstrations, the new round of protests will come just as Democrats try to organize college campuses to mobilize voters for the November election.
“This isn’t going away. We’re not going away. Young people and their pursuit of justice and equity everywhere is not going away,” said Rania Batrice, a Palestinian-American Democratic strategist.
University administrators spent much of the summer break planning for potential fall protests, with many campuses imposing new policies to crack down and head off potential disruptions.
The University of California and California State University system has imposed a “zero tolerance” policy against camping, obscuring faces with masks, and blocking pathways. The University of Pennsylvania has banned demonstrations in classrooms, offices, residences and many other public areas on campus.
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