On March 4, in response to the increase of college campus protests in support of Palestine, or affiliated causes, President Donald Trump posted, on Truth Social, a threat to pull funding from any college, school or university that allows illegal protests to occur on school grounds. In the same post, he threatens to deport international students and expel or, depending on the crime, arrest American students. Trump has boasted the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Gaza activist of Palestinian descent and Syrian national, who organized protests at Columbia University in spring of 2024, claiming he is the first of many arrests to come. Columbia University has become a primary player within the pro-Gaza protest scene, being credited as a catalyst of campus protests across the U.S., as well as a pinnacle of campus unrest.
As of March 17, around $400 million dollars in government grants have been barred from Columbia and 60 colleges are facing investigations for allegedly enabling anti-Israel activity. Federal officials have ordered, among other things, that Columbia’s Middle Eastern studies program be placed under academic receivership, in which the program funds are controlled by an appointed third party – a move unprecedented in the United States. Therefore, Columbia’s response has the ability to reverberate through the nation and possibly mark the end of pedagogical independence in higher education.
But why is the federal government so concerned about the rise of pro-Gaza activism? Those who oppose the movement regularly confuse pro-Palestinian activism with pro-Hamas activism, a terrorist organization and anti-Israel, and therefore antisemitic. Yet, Elon Musk faced no consequences for gesturing a salute reminiscent of Heil Hitler, followed by telling a far-right German political party, the AFD, to not feel guilty about the country’s past crimes.
Every question we can ask about government under this administration is incessantly nuanced but likely does not involve protecting Jewish people, American or not. As long as Israel remains a democracy, it will continue to be a geopolitical U.S. pawn in the Middle East, serving as a counter to Iran and a moral cushion to uphold American ideology of democracy and antisemitism.
We are making moral arguments, in protest, to those driven by money and power. They, in turn, make moral arguments to capture those of us who are angry, seeking to point the finger at immigrants, women, poor people or any other minorities that have seemingly benefited at my or your expense. The party of free speech, Christianity and constitutional principles has spiraled into anti-intellectualism and sensationalism, because they were adopted as a recruitment tactic rather than an ideology. These topics are not sensationalized in the name of higher values, but to service the anger felt by those who feel politically slighted.
Trump does not care about the legality or volatility of protests; around 1,500 Capitol rioters were pardoned by Trump on Jan. 22 of this year. He does not care about immigrant opinions until they oppose him; he allowed Myriam Witcher, a Columbian-born naturalized citizen, to scream her support on his Las Vegas rally stage in 2015, but openly praised the arrest of Khalil, which led to the revoking of his permanent resident status. Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, commented on Khalil’s arrest, claiming free speech was not relevant to the situation, and instead, “This is about people that don’t have a right to be in the United States to begin with.”
Voters want a fight, but the Democratic Party, which has built itself upon government institutions and more educated populations, is unlikely to harness the sensational anger that is making the GOP successful. Asking it to do so would almost directly contradict its foundation, and if Democrats did, it almost certainly would be the different side of the same vengeful coin. Just 27% of registered voters approved of the Democratic Party in a recent NBC poll, hitting an all-time low.
Every day, we witness political history writing itself — but without a fight, what textbooks will be written? Years from now, children will read about today and ask, “Why didn’t anyone do anything?” As students, as individuals and as people living on American soil, we may have inherited a bad political hand, but it’s not enough to be up in arms and waiting for a savior. Not only is it our responsibility to protect the rights we personally enjoy; we must stand up for those who have no voice. Fight with your wallet, and if that isn’t available to you, arm yourself with knowledge. Above all, stay informed; our rights proving to be infinitely fragile, and as comfortable as we have become, ignorance is a luxury we can no longer afford.
