How should colleges prepare for Middle East protests heading into the new school year? | Opinion

As students return to university campuses for the new semester, administrators feel great trepidation about what might happen. After the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and the Israeli invasion of Gaza, there have been increasing tensions — and protests — on university campuses worldwide .

Last spring, the end of classes saw encampments by pro-Palestinian students at schools across the country, some of which led to violence, and commencements disrupted or even canceled . What should schools be doing as the new academic year begins?

It is essential to recognize that the deep division over the Middle East continues. Many have likened the protests last spring to the anti-Vietnam War protests of the late ’60s and early ’70s. But this comparison ignores a basic difference: Students then were largely united. Now, students are sharply — and seemingly intractably — divided.

For many, the issue is very personal and related to their religion and identity (many students also have family members in Gaza and Israel who have been impacted or killed).

Another difference between protests now and protests decades ago is that everything plays out over social media — everything is there for everyone to instantaneously witness.

Opinion

Campus officials must learn from the experiences of last year and adopt clear free speech policies at the beginning of the year. For example, University of California President Michael Drake announced in August that no camping or encampments would be allowed on UC campuses, that no one can block access to any campus facilities and that masks cannot be worn to conceal identities.

But campuses must make it clear that all ideas and views can be expressed. At times, this may mean that there can be expression of views that we dislike or even find offensive. But college campuses fail if they see their role as protecting students from speech that makes them uncomfortable.

Free speech, though, is not absolute.

There is no First Amendment right, for example, to incite illegal activity, make threats or engage in harassment. In fact, the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Education has been clear that even speech that is protected by the First Amendment may nevertheless require action by the university if such speech creates a hostile environment.

Also, although there is a First Amendment right to speak and protest, this is subject to reasonable time, place and manner restrictions. Campuses must make clear that the disruption of classes, meetings, ceremonies and events will not be tolerated. The First Amendment does not protect speech to silence others or to disrupt.

Although having clear free speech policies on campuses is essential, it is not enough. Campuses must take seriously their educational mission. This includes a responsibility for clearly stating the values of the institution, including with regard to speech.

In a message to students at the beginning of our semester, I reminded them that “I hope that as we choose what to say, we always will be sensitive to the feelings and sensibilities of others. It is inevitable that sometimes there will be disagreements among us, even intense ones, but I hope we always will treat one another with tolerance, respect and kindness.”

Campus officials and faculty must themselves model the discourse we want to teach our students to emulate.

At the same time, educational institutions must educate. They should have programs on the Middle East and on the coming election that provide myriad viewpoints and examples of how people of different perspectives can engage in civil discourse. Schools must have programs that teach students how to talk across differences.

None of this will be easy and there are no guarantees of success. But doing nothing is not the answer — it almost surely will make things worse.

Erwin Chemerinsky is dean and professor of law at the UC Berkeley School of Law.