Read the Report Introduction Executive Summary Takeaways Key Definitions Literature Review Methodology Report Cards University Profiles Grading Criteria

Introduction

Since 2023, increased student activism in support of Palestinian liberation on college campuses around the United States has raised national consciousness towards Israel's ongoing genocide of Palestinians. The student movement, centered around recognition of these intense human rights violations and divestment from companies materially supporting Israel's occupation in Palestine, has grown dramatically in the past two years. In the spring of 2023, over 100 campuses saw the establishment of Palestine solidarity encampments, calling national attention to the struggle for Palestinian liberation and the financial and intellectual complicity of American academic institutions (Stevens & Honeycutt, 2024). While university responses to these protests have varied in intensity, they have largely directed their efforts to deterring student activism for Palestine.

The emergence of this national student movement along with increasingly repressive disciplinary measures have renewed the ever fraught debate over freedom of speech on college campuses. The First Amendment protects individuals' right to freedom of speech from governmental constraints, and today's Supreme Court operates under an 'expansive speech right' known as the freedom of expression which includes the right to assemble (Bomboy, 2024). However, in the context of college campuses, students' rights to freedom of expression can vary between private and public institutions, and can be subject to time, place and manner restrictions (Bomboy, 2024). As such, the issue of free speech has been central to almost every student movement, from the harsh responses to anti-Vietnam War protests, exemplified unfortunately in the Kent State massacre, to the anti-apartheid movements in the 1970s and 1980s. Actions such as the University of California, Berkeley Freedom of Speech Movement in 1964, introduced directed student mobilizations, and warranted harsh institutional punishments including suspensions and arrests (Wood, 1980).

Thus, the student protests in support of Palestine highlighted in the encampment mobilizations in the spring of 2023 ride on the legacies of these revolutionary moments and legal precedents. However, they have brought forward a new battle for free speech in universities, as students face augmented challenges of institutional and government repression. While the Biden administration did pressure universities to dampen the student movement for Palestine, the Trump administration has introduced a new element of danger for student activists through its weaponization of visa removals and deportations of international students connected to the struggle. Furthermore, the new administration has leveraged federal funding to strongarm universities like Columbia and Harvard University and the UC system into intensifying their policies around student protest, antisemitism, hiring, and admissions.

In response to the encampment movements over the last two years, students have faced an onslaught of institutional repression from a wide array of sources ranging from changes in university policies to pressure from external organizations. At many universities, students who organized encampments faced expulsions, suspensions, and legal procedures which impeded their abilities to continue their education, such is the case for Mahmoud Khalil who was temporarily suspended and is now detained facing a pending deportation order in a Louisiana immigration detention facility. At the same time, some student protestors have found success in accomplishing divestment from Israel at their universities such as University of California, Riverside.

With the start of the 2024-2025 school year, many universities revised and expanded their time, place, and manner policies which restricted speech and expression in many settings. Additionally, these universities dedicated large amounts of their funds towards increased surveillance and security presence. Ultimately, these security measures, introduced under the guise of protecting education, primarily targeted pro-Palestine, Muslim, and Arab students and organizations.

To explore the impact of ongoing changes at U.S. universities on students' academic freedom, particularly freedom of speech, this report will:

  • Document and analyze key instances of student protests across U.S. campuses related to Palestine.
  • Highlight the views of relevant stakeholders (e.g., activists, university administrations, law enforcement, legal experts, student groups) to gather insights on these protests.
  • Assess the role of outside organizations, foreign and domestic, in shaping discourse and advocacy surrounding these protests.
  • Develop a grading assessment of universities' responses to student protests, categorizing them based on effectiveness, student satisfaction, and adherence to free speech principles.
  • Provide recommendations for student leaders, universities, law enforcement agencies and government entities to ensure the peaceful and effective management of campus activism.