OPINION: Pro-Palestine Campus Protests

By Dawson Beard, Skyline Desk Chief

ALPINE - Typically, when I write these editorials, I know exactly how I feel about the topic beforehand, and I can articulate my opinions in writing quite easily. However, when it comes to the recent spread of pro-Palestine campus protests across the United States, I find myself at a crossroads. 

I am a First Amendment absolutist. I believe anyone should be able to say anything, anytime, anywhere. While I believe that most protests do absolutely nothing to bring about any meaningful change for their causes, I wholeheartedly support individuals’ right to speak out against perceived injustice, whether I agree with them or not. 

However, my belief changes slightly when these protests lead to violence, academic disruption and criminal activity. 

Recently, the University of Southern California was forced to cancel its graduation commencement due to the unease caused by its campus protests, in which an encampment was set up and university property was vandalized. Four years of hard work and dedication, four years of paying exorbitant tuition, four years of working for a better future, and some entitled pro-Palestine protestors, protesting in support of a war-torn nation thousands of miles away, have no problem disrupting that journey right as it is about to end. 

"It was genuinely devastating," USC senior Melina Feradouni said. "I was sitting in the classroom doing a final review session when I got the email from the provost. It came to the point where my eyes began to water — I was so distraught, I had to ask the professor to excuse me. I was so heartbroken that everything I've worked for has now been taken away."

Across America, universities have implemented, or are threatening, the same course of action if they cannot lower the temperature of campus protests.

Unfortunately, this seems to be an impossibility as tensions only continue to escalate. On May 1, an encampment at the University of California Los Angeles' campus was attacked by a group of counter protestors. It has been reported that anywhere between 15-25 people were hurt and taken to the hospital for treatment following the chaos. Fortunately, no one was killed, but how long do we have until that luck runs out? 

Whether you support Israel or Palestine, I don’t care. I have my opinions, and you have yours. It is your God-given right as an American citizen to voice those opinions and peacefully protest alongside like-minded people. However, no matter what, or who, you are protesting for, there is no excuse for senseless violence, criminal acts, or the disruption of people trying to live and advance their lives.