It explicitly states these are pro Palestinian protesters outside Columbia.

That was my primary point. There is a world of difference between that and generally saying Columbia protests. It adds additional facts and context.

I believe in the first amendment. People should be able to say whatever racist and bigoted shit they want and the law should leave them alone if they aren’t being violent (saying things that aren’t direct threats aren’t violent).

So should they be allowed to say that? Yes. Should they say that? No. But the way to deal with people who say unsavory stuff is to publicly ostracize them. If you hold that belief, I don’t want to associate with you. Companies can fire employees who publicly embarrass the company. But students shouldn’t be kicked out for saying dumb stuff. Cops shouldn’t be involved if there’s no threat.

Where the Columbia President screwed up was breaking up the initial small protest that was peaceful. It lit a fuse that brought in more outside forces and increased the volume of the protest. She was probably trying to appease the Stefanik’s of the world by cracking down on unsavory anti-Israel speech. Those people will never be appeased. They should be ignored. She probably dug her own grave by trying to appease them because now everyone wants her gone.



I posted this thread yesterday and I generally agree with the guidelines laid out for how schools should approach protests. Importantly, the content of the speech is no part of the calculus.
[Post edited by WahooMatt05 at 04/25/2024 11:37AM]