Student protesters lift up voices in solidarity against acts of war
On April 17, a group of organized Columbia university students converged on a small patch of East lawn, organizing an encampment of tents in solidarity with the people of Gaza. Over the course of the next two and a half weeks, there would be nearly 300 arrests, numerous evictions, and even more expulsions. Unbeknownst to the students, this would spark the start of a national movement.
Since 1968 on the eve of the Vietnam War, students have held large-scale demonstrations for nearly every major movement on Columbia’s campus. Despite a rich history rooted in such activism, Columbia isn’t the only campus with deep roots in social change.
“College campuses have always been at the forefront of social movements,” West social studies teacher Alyson Niehans said.
Even Wisconsin’s very own UW-Madison was a vanguard in the anti-war movement of the 60s, setting the tone for student protests around the country.
“Students have suddenly felt emboldened to voice their moral outrage at a war that they consider to be illegitimate,” UWO History Professor Dr. Stephen Kercher said. “Students are motivated by really strong feelings about the suffering of people who are being lost in war. The difference now is that in the 60s it was the US that was leading the Vietnam war effort and today, it’s Israel. But given that the US has such strong connections to Israel, that's been the moral concern.”
Whereas Vietnam protesters were protesting the US’s actions directly, the Columbia protest and others can only protest US economic involvement.
“It’s hard to measure the efficacy of protest movements unless they have really clear goals,” Niehans said. “It can be hard to measure the less tangible impacts they have on things like morale and public sentiment.”
There are some who doubt students’ logic, however.
“Students are taking endowments as a sanction to Israel when that may not necessarily be what it is,” social studies teacher Ned Mandeik said. “And should the responsibility be put upon the individual university or the United Nations?”
Another hesitancy some tend to have surrounding this conflict regards which side to take.
“It’s a very tricky subject because as the Vietnam War went on, there was a good deal of moral clarity about how wrong the war was,” Kercher said. “The war in Gaza is a little trickier because the terrorist organization is responsible for starting this conflict back in October.”
UWO History Professor Dr. Michelle Mouton, whose research centers around Nazi-era Germany, factors in the idea of the bystander effect.
“Nazis pretty much got rid of the ability of anyone to protest in sympathy of the Jews; you couldn't speak out. If you speak out in present-day America, someone else will back you,” she said. “That didn't happen at all in Germany because to do any type of protesting would be so dangerous.”
The encampment and subsequent protests lasted nearly 20 more days. On April 30, students took Hamilton Hall, renaming it “Hind’s Hall,” after Hind Rajab, a six year old girl who was murdered along with the four paramedics trying to save her life.
Kercher recognizes the importance of having a global view and using that as a catalyst for change.
“High school students should be paying attention because young people are demonstrating a real sense of concern for what’s going on in other parts of the world,” he said. “They're using the device of protest to call attention to something that they consider to be immoral and that’s significant. It’s important to understand the tension between freedom of speech and violence; knowing your rights and how to exercise them.”
by GJ Zahner & Emma Toney
Published May 20 2024
Oshkosh West Index Volume 120 Issue VIII