US Protests: Why Are Faculty Voices Muted?

The silence of faculty underscores a shift where the pursuit of academic values takes a back seat to preserving financial interests

A merican university campuses erupted in protest last month over the conflict in Gaza. The pro-Palestine protests are still on and have since spread to Europe. These protests have raised fundamental questions about freedom of expression at universities. University administrators (often distinguished academics) have not been able to withstand pressure to silence the protesters. The voices of faculty, too, have been strangely muted.

In dealing with such protests, universities obviously need to strike a balance between allowing freedom of expression and maintaining order on campus. The American Civil Liberties Union has spelt out ground rules that nobody can quarrel with.

First, no viewpoint, however offensive, must be censored or disciplined. Secondly, no student or group should be targeted or intimidated in any way in the name of free speech.

Thirdly, universities can place restrictions on the time and place of protests so that the functioning of the university is not disrupted. Fourthly, the police must be called in only as a last resort. Lastly, campus leaders must not yield to political pressures.

It should not have been difficult for the university authorities to have allowed the protests subject to these rules. Sadly, the situation has got out of hand at many American universities, such as Columbia in New York. Police (including anti-terrorist squads in combat gear) have been called in to clear out encampments of students even where they were not disruptive of normal activities. The universities' response to the protests may be disappointing, but nobody should be overly surprised.