protest of assignment examples

(Protest of Assignment)

*** take a picture and email poa to [email protected] ***.

You have a right to file a Protest of Assignment (POA). The POA documents any patient assignment that puts you or your patients at serious risk for harm and conflicts with your professional judgment and experience. 

**Download and print the POA form below**

When to file a POA: 

The appropriate time to file a POA is when you deem in your professional judgement that an unsafe situation exists. Once you decide to file a POA, notify a supervisor, which gives management the opportunity to address your concerns in real time. However, you do not need approval from the supervisor to file a POA. Once you have notified management, your POA is filed - the paperwork can follow later though it should be filled out before the end of shift.

When you fill‐out a POA form, be thorough and accurate. Also, document the following information in the “Additional Comments” section:

Individual ratios per RN (e.g., “Nurse Smith had 5 patients”)

Overall acuity per patient assignment

How conditions jeopardize patient safety or ability to take a contractual break

Be sure to refrain from using specific identifiers, especially patient names and MR numbers, in order to maintain compliance with HIPAA guidelines and NYP privacy policies.

All staff on duty may sign one POA form and fill in the number of RNs protesting or an individual can complete one on their own. Above all, ADVOCATE FOR SAFE PRACTICE AND DOCUMENT.

When your POA form is complete, please follow these steps:

Give a copy to the supervisor (some managers refuse to sign, but you still need to give them a copy)

Send your NYSNA Rep a copy. Please take a picture and email it to [email protected] . We no longer have regular access to faxes. 

All RNs who have signed the POA form should keep a copy for their own records. Please keep a copy of all POAs in a binder on the unit. If your unit doesn't have one yet, please reach out to your rep.

What happens to my POA?

Your POA is used in Professional Practice Committee meetings to discuss staffing concerns, look at patterns of units with a high number of POAs, and identify units with a recent increase in POAs. 

POAs are also legal documents. If there is an adverse event on the shift, the POA is documentation that you raised safety concerns through the proper channels and the assignment was carried out under protest. This protects your nursing license! 

    *Download and print the POA form above *

1(888) 812-9098

1( 877) 796- 7291

[email protected] 

EMAIL US AT MSHEXEC@ NYSNALISTS.ORG 

Protest of Assignment

A Protest of Assignment (POA) is a written document notifying the employer and union that a nursing assignment is unsafe. As nurses, we would never turn down an assignment. But as patient advocates, it is our duty to do everything in our power to correct unsafe situations. Filling out a Protest of Assignment can help protect you from malpractice or discipline in the event of an adverse incident. But the most important reason to fill out a POA is to advocate for a change in conditions so our patients get better care.

When to file a POA: 

The appropriate time to file a POA is when you deem in your professional judgement that an unsafe situation exists. Once you decide to file a POA, notify a supervisor or adminstrator, which gives management the opportunity to address your concerns in real tim e. However, you do not need approval from the supervisor to file a POA .

When you fill‐out a POA form, be thorough and accurate. Also, document the following information in the “Additional Comments” section:

Individual ratios per RN (e.g., “Nurse Smith had 5 patients”)

LACK OF BREAK RELIEF OR DOUBLING UP ON BREAKS

Overall acuity per patient assignment

How conditions jeopardize patient safety

Be sure to maintain compliance with HIPAA guidelines and MSH privacy policies.

All staff on duty may sign one POA form and fill in the number of RNs protesting or an individual can complete one on their own. Above all, ADVOCATE FOR SAFE PRACTICE AND DOCUMENT.

What H appens to M y POA & Why is it Important ?

Your POA can be used in meetings to discuss staffing concerns, look at patterns of units with a high number of POAs, and identify units with a recent increase in POAs.

POAs are also legal documents. If there is an adverse event on the shift, the POA is documentation that you raised safety concerns through the proper channels and the assignment was carried out under protest. This can protect your nursing license!

How To Refuse an Unsafe Patient Assignment as a Nurse

What is a safe nursing assignment, when should you refuse an assignment, how to refuse a patient assignment.

You walk into work, ready to spend the next 12 hours taking care of your patients and providing them with the best nursing care possible.  You look at your patient assignment and see you have one extra patient than usual, as well as only one CNA for your entire nursing unit.  Your charge nurse has a full patient assignment too, making her less available to offer help and support.  You hear machines beeping, bed alarms sounding, and patients yelling, and you stop and think to yourself “is this safe?”

Does this scenario sound familiar to you as a nurse?  

Being given an inappropriate assignment can be very overwhelming and stressful.  Your patients need you to show up and take care of them, and your nursing team needs you, and you want to help.

But where do you draw the line, and say “NO”, to a patient assignment?  What is an unsafe assignment, and can a nurse refuse an assignment?

Nurse.org teamed up with nurse-centric companies to give away 100s of prizes during the month of May. Subscribe to our newsletter to learn more!

An appropriate nursing assignment is any patient assignment where the nurse can safely and effectively provide all the necessary care for their patients, and have the necessary tools, training, medications, knowledge, resources, and equipment to perform their nursing duties for those patients.

The definition of a safe and appropriate nursing assignment is variable, has to do with much more than patient ratios alone, and will vary by state and facility.

Per the American Nurses Association (ANA), nurses have not only a right but also an obligation to assess and determine if they can safely and appropriately provide care on any given patient assignment.  They provide this list of questions that every nurse should be asking themselves before accepting any patient assignment.

What does an inappropriate or unsafe patient assignment look like, and what are some reasons you might stop and consider refusing the assignment or asking your leader for changes to the assignment?

Too Many Patients

There are only 2 states in the US that have laws mandating nurse-to-patient ratios , California and Massachusetts.  Some states, but not all of them, have mandatory reporting requirements for staffing.  Others have staffing committees with some nurse members to assist in making staffing decisions, but still no mandated ratios.

You will learn as you gain more nursing experience how many patients are too much for you as one nurse.  This will depend on your unit’s acuity level, patient population, and the individual staffing policies at your facility.

• Inappropriate distribution of patient acuity

5 “walkie-talkie” patients are vastly different from 5 patients on high-level oxygen.  The ability to understand what constitutes high acuity will also come with more nursing experience.  You may not know or understand, what the acuity level is of a COVID patient on continuous BIPAP, until you have cared for that type of patient.

Also take into consideration how many discharges or empty rooms you have, if you have any patients on continuous drips or pain pumps, your patient’s mobility level, and if your patient is scheduled for any procedure that will warrant intense post-procedure monitoring when they return.

A particular patient’s acuity can change with each shift, which means nursing management must be in close communication with the team and get accurate patient acuity updates before making each assignment.

Inadequate knowledge or training

Are you being asked to care for a post-surgical patient on gynecology, when you normally take care of patients recovering from a stroke?  Are you being asked to care for pediatric patients when you have only ever cared for adults?  Maybe you are being asked to do something you think may be out of your scope of practice as a nurse.  This would be a reason to voice concern and ultimately refuse a particular assignment.

No Supplies or Help

Do you have all of the equipment you need to do your job?  Do you know where your code cart is, and can you safely and effectively help your patient in an emergency?  Are your medications stocked, machines in good working order, and can you get extra help if you need it?

If you don’t have all of the above, keeping your patients safe could be a challenge, and this alone would deem your assignment unsafe.

If you find yourself in any of the above situations, or others in which you feel your license and patient safety are in jeopardy,  can you refuse to take the assignment ?

The ANA upholds that “ registered nurses – based on their professional and ethical responsibilities – have the professional right to accept, reject or object in writing to any patient assignment that puts patients or themselves at serious risk for harm. Registered nurses have the professional obligation to raise concerns regarding any patient assignment that puts patients or themselves at risk for harm.”  Read the full ANA position statement here.

It is not only your right as a nurse, but also your duty, to raise concern and ultimately refuse an unsafe, inappropriate assignment.  Here are some tips on how you can bring up these concerns and refuse your assignment as a nurse.

Know your rights, and be prepared to state them

It is solely your responsibility as a nurse to know your rights, as well as your responsibilities, in the state in which you practice as a nurse. Each state has its own Nurse Practice Act, which defines by law what you can, and cannot do, as a nurse.  It also contains your nursing scope of practice.   Visit the NCSBN website to quickly navigate to each state's Nurse Practice Act .

The NCSBN also provides a great decision-making tool to help explain the proper process of determining whether or not a certain activity is within the nurse’s scope.

Be prepared to refer to the Nursing Code of Ethics , and verbalize any statement of your nursing rights when communicating about your patient assignment with your leader.  By knowing your rights as a nurse, and being ready to state them, you can clearly and effectively communicate with your manager why you want to refuse an assignment when placed in an unsafe situation.

Don’t Create a Nurse-Patient Relationship

Before you decide to accept any patient assignment, you need to avoid any activity that could be considered creating a nurse-patient relationship.  There is a fine line between refusing a patient assignment, and nurse abandonment, which also varies state by state.  

For example in Arizona, the board of nursing defines patient abandonment as a nurse severing or ending the nurse-patient relationship, after creating the relationship, without giving handoff or reporting to another capable nurse to take over that patient's care.

Here are some things that may be considered for establishing a nurse-patient relationship:

Viewing the patient’s electronic medical record

Saying hi to the patient, or going into their room at all

Taking orders from a doctor regarding that patient

Administering any type of patient care such as assisting them to the bathroom, taking them a food tray, or administering them any medications.

It is critical to read up on your state’s Nurse Practice Act and get a very clear definition of what patient abandonment is in your state.  Your state’s board of nursing will have the resources needed to give you directions on the correct process of refusing an assignment in your state of licensure.

Do Your Research and Be Prepared

Nurses are always thinking ahead, preparing for what can go wrong with our patients, and ready to act in case of any emergency.  We know exactly what equipment we will need for our patients, and would never allow our patients to be without adequate IV access.

Apply this same principle to the safety of your nursing license, your patients, and your team, by doing your research on the process of refusing a patient assignment correctly.  Study your facilities policies, your nursing rights, and your state’s Nurse Practice Act.

It is your responsibility to know these things, and you don’t want to be scrambling at the very last second trying to do this research when you are being pressured at the moment to take a dangerous assignment.

Keep Everything in Writing

If you do end up voicing any sort of staffing or patient safety concerns, or ultimately refusing an assignment, always make sure you are communicating it to all of the appropriate leaders and follow your chain of command.

Send an email to all members of your leadership team to summarize the situation, and provide thorough documentation of why you are refusing an assignment, with adequate details.

Keep any paper records for yourself, just in case.

Help Find Solutions

Refusing a patient assignment will have an impact on all of the patients in the unit, the entire hospital, as well as the rest of the members of the healthcare team.  It is your right, and duty, to refuse an inappropriate assignment.  But try to be as professional and flexible as possible, keeping the ultimate goal of patient safety in mind.

Can you and your team brainstorm with your nursing leader on other ways to make everyone’s assignments safe and appropriate, such as:

Calling in a resource RN to help with patient care tasks

Re-arranging the patient assignment to re-distribute patient acuity better among all nurses

Obtaining a 1:1 sitter for all confused patients, ensuring their safety and also freeing up your extra time for your other patients?

Better assigning the patients to nurses based on their appropriate certifications, and expertise?

Ultimately you are a team, and you are there for your patients and each other.  The goal is patient safety, and if you don’t speak up and refuse to take an inappropriate assignment, your patient’s well-being and your nursing license are on the line.  

Be prepared to have these conversations, and be well-versed in your rights as a nurse.  By refusing inappropriate assignments, you are advocating for yourself, and your patients, and being a voice for positive change in healthcare.

Amy was surgical PCU/Telemetry unit as a new grad for over 10 years; the last year and a half of that time being Telemetry COVID nursing. She stepped away from the bedside and is currently working PRN as a concierge nurse. Amy has a passion for budgeting. Follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and on her website Real Desert Mama , where she talks about budgeting, saving money, and tips and motivation on how to live a great life and achieve your financial goals through budgeting

Plus, get exclusive access to discounts for nurses, stay informed on the latest nurse news, and learn how to take the next steps in your career.

By clicking “Join Now”, you agree to receive email newsletters and special offers from Nurse.org. We will not sell or distribute your email address to any third party, and you may unsubscribe at any time by using the unsubscribe link, found at the bottom of every email.

F lorida Nurses Association    OPEIU Local 713

SAFE STAFFING FORM

Assignment Being Protested

    EVERY

   patient,    counts,   common objections​.

List the number(s) of the objection statement that best coincides with you objection protest/complaint.  Place that number(s) in the appropriate box on the Safe Staffing Form on the right (i..e. see Form, the 4th text box).

• I was not trained or experienced in area assigned.
• I was not given adequate orientation to the unit.
• I was not given adequate staff for acuity (short staffed).
• The unit was staffed with unqualified personnel.
• New patients were transferred or admitted to the unit without adequate staff.
• I was given an assignment which posed a serious threat to my health and safety.
• I was given an assignment which posed a potential threat to the health and safety of my patients.
• I was involuntarily forced to work beyond my scheduled hours.
• Lack of relief for breaks/lunch.
• Lack of auxiliary help such as housekeeping, pharmacy, clerical, CNA, Tech, Sitter, messengers, other medical staff, or had lack of maintenance/equpment.
• I received an employee injury.
• I became a victim of Workplace Violence.
• My patient was injured.
• Other (write in your objection)

OBJECTION STATEMENT

As a registered professional nurse, I am responsible and accountable to my patients/clients.  Therefore, this is to confirm that I notified my supervisor that, in my professional judgement, today's assignment is unsafe and places my patients/clients at risk for the reasons stated above.  As a result, the Hospital/Agency is fully responsible for any adverse effects on patient/client care.

However, I will, under protest, attempt to carry out the assignment to the best of my professional ability.

• RRMC Nurses Union Contract, Etc.
• Electronic Membership Form
• Disability Sample Letters
• Union Benefits
• Unsafe Staffing Form/ Protest Assignment
• Radio Broadcasts

For Office and Professional Employees International Union home page   click here .

​ For the Florida Nurses Association home page     click here.

Protest of Assignment

Welcome to nysna's new electronic protest of assignment. to get started just pick your facility below., choose your facility.

• What Is a Union?
• Our Executive Board
• Constitution and Bylaws
• Press Releases
• Find your Workplace
• Education and Training
• Steward Resources
• Continuing Education
• Behavioral Health Organizing
• Contribute to C.O.P.E.
• Aspen Healthcare
• California Pacific Medical Center
• Children’s Hospital Oakland
• Dominican Hospital
• Elk Grove Unified School District
• Fountain Valley Regional Hospital – EVS & Food Service
• Good Samaritan Hospital
• Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital
• Hospice East Bay
• Kaiser Integrated Behavioral Health – Hawai’i
• Kaiser Integrated Behavioral Health Services
• Kaiser Psych-Social
• Keck Medical Center of USC
• Kindred Hospital Bay Area
• Kindred Hospital San Diego
• Kindred Hospitals of Orange County
• Kindred Santa Cruz
• Lakewood Medical Center
• Los Alamitos Medical Center
• Los Angeles LGBT Center
• Lyon-Martin Community Health Services
• MarinHealth Medical Center
• Mission Neighborhood Health Center
• Norris Cancer Hospital of USC
• Novato Healthcare Center
• Petaluma Valley Hospital
• Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center
• Providence Hospice of Sonoma County
• Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center San Pedro
• Queen of the Valley Medical Center
• Richmond Area Multi-Services
• Rogers Mental Health
• Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital
• San Francisco Nursing Center
• San Rafael Healthcare and Wellness Center
• Santa Cruz Jail
• Santa Rita Jail
• Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital
• Seton Medical Center and Seton Coastside
• Sonoma County Jail
• St. Joseph Hospitals, Humboldt County
• Stanislaus County Jail
• Sutter Care at Home: Alameda Hospice
• Sutter Care at Home: Concord & San Leandro
• Sutter Care at Home: Sacramento Hospice
• Sutter Care at Home: San Francisco
• Sutter Care at Home: San Mateo Hospice
• Sutter Center for Psychiatry
• The Sequoias — Portola Valley
• USC Verdugo Hills Hospital
• Visiting Nurse Association of Santa Cruz
• West Anaheim Medical Center
• SUBSCRIBE TO NUHW PULSE

COVID-19 Resources

Objection to assignment form.

As healthcare workers, there are times when we feel that management is asking us to do work that is unsafe for ourselves or our patients. That’s why we want to make sure everyone understands their right to object to an assignment.

Please Note: By filling out an objection-to-assignment form, you are not refusing to perform the work assignment. But you are doing so under protest.

Filling out an objection-to-assignment form makes management aware of the unsafe conditions so they have the opportunity to remedy it. If management doesn’t act, filling out the form serves to document the unsafe working conditions, and put the legal liability on management should something bad occur.

Online Form

Fill out an objection-to-assignment form

Instructions

• Choose your facility.
• Fill out the form with your name, contact information, unit where the unsafe assignment occurred, some details about the assignment and the name of the supervisor that you made aware of the situation.
• Click “submit” to email a copy to yourself and NUHW.
• You will then be asked if you want to print or email a copy of the completed objection-to-assignment form to your supervisor. If you chose “email to supervisor,” enter your supervisor’s email and it will be sent to them. If you print the completed form, you can also hand deliver a hard copy to your supervisor.
• If you are unable to print or email the completed form, let your organizer know that it has been completed, and they can forward it to the appropriate supervisor.

Printable Forms

Download Kaiser Form (PDF)

Download Non-Kaiser Form (PDF)

Explore our resources for more information:

• Our Health and Safety How to stay safe on the job organized in Q&A format.
• Navigating Benefits Public benefits and resources for members in California and Hawaii.
• Contact Your Organizer Lookup by location for names, numbers, and more.
• Community Resources Links for mental health, childcare, and other resources.
• Watchdog Taking a look at the tally of government bailouts for hospital corporations.
• Updates for Members Review our recent correspondences with members.

13 significant protests that changed the course of history

Political protests have a rich past, with varied degrees of success in accomplishing what they originally set out to do.

The following historically significant political protests include a decisive event in the Civil Rights movement, two history-changing moments that occurred within one year and the medieval defiance of one man. We added to the list some recent protests that could change history, including the George Floyd protests against police brutality and systemic racism, and the Women's March on Washington. 

The George Floyd protests

The George Floyd protests began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, after the killing of George Floyd — an African American man who asphyxiated when now-former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin pinned him down with a knee on his neck for more than 8 minutes. The protests quickly spread across the nation, with hundreds of thousands of people in all 50 states taking to the streets in opposition to Floyd's death, police brutality and institutional racism at large. As of June 3, the protests have continued nightly, resulting in 12 deaths, widespread incidents of police brutality as well as looting, and the deployment of nearly 20,000 National Guard troops in 24 states.

The March for Science

On Earth Day (April 22) 2017, roughly 100,000 people marched on Washington, D.C., in a non-partisan rally to celebrate science and promote making policy decisions using scientific evidence — particularly on issues like climate change and public health. Like the Women's March, the March for Science was inspired by the election of President Trump. Trump had previously called climate change a hoax and promised to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement on global climate mitigation, abolish anti-pollution regulations put in place by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and cut federal funding for numerous science and research agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Marches for Science were held in more than 600 cities around the world on Earth Day 2017, drawing a global attendance of more than 1 million people, according to the organizers.

The Women's March on Washington

On Jan. 21, 2017 — the day after Donald Trump was inaugurated as 45th president of the United States — more than 470,000 people marched on Washington, D.C., in support of women's rights, and in opposition to misogynistic statements and behavior from Trump. (As of May 2020, Trump had been accused of sexual misconduct by at least 25 women .) The protest garnered enormous international support, with more than 600 marches planned in the U.S. and 81 other countries on the same day. Experts estimate that somewhere between 3.2 million and 5.2 million people participated in the marches in the U.S. alone, easily making the Women's March the largest single-day protest in U.S. history.

The Protestant Reformation

The  Protestant Reformation  began with the quietest and most orderly single protest in this list — the nailing to the door of a German church a treatise on the abuses of Catholicism by Martin Luther, in 1517. However, the movement that followed would ultimately spill blood and tear empires apart.

The Storming of the Bastille

This one act of July 14, 1789, has come to symbolize the entire  French Revolution  and indeed was a major catalyst to the 10-year-long rebellion against the crown. On that day, a throng of Parisians descended on the Bastille (long a symbol of royal authority and excess), beheaded its governor and overtook the prison.

Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now

Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.

Gandhi's Salt March

Another protest against British taxation sent Mahatma Gandhi on a 23-day, 240-mile journey to the coast of India to collect his own salt, which was illegal under crown laws. More than 60,000 people, including Gandhi himself, were incarcerated for participating in the salt march, but it ultimately  turned the tide of world sympathy  towards Indian, rather than British, interests.

The Boston Tea Party

Despite its quaint-sounding name, the 1773 "tea party" was in fact a bitter reaction to harsh new British taxation acts. Over the course of three hours on Dec. 16, more than 100 colonists secretly boarded three British ships arriving in harbor and dumped 45 tons of tea into the water. The unorthodox protest was a key precursor to the American Revolution.

South Africa's National Day of Protest

Nelson Mandela's ANC party organized this anti-apartheid work stoppage in 1950, in retaliation for a new bill effectively allowing the government to investigate any political party or organization. On June 26, hundreds of thousands of South Africans participated in the "Stay at Home," a tactic that was used several times in the next decade. June 26 was celebrated as National Freedom Day in South Africa until 1994.

March on Washington

Martin Luther King's historic "I Have a Dream" speech was delivered during this August 1963 rally to promote racial equality in the United States. More than 200,000 demonstrators gathered peacefully at the Lincoln Memorial in D.C., and the event is credited with pressuring President John F. Kennedy to draw up firm civil rights legislation.

Tiananmen Square

A mass of at least 1 million people, mostly students seeking democratic reform, had peacefully occupied Beijing's Tiananmen Square for seven weeks when the Chinese military  unexpectedly rolled in tanks  to clear them out. Numbers are imprecise, but it is estimated that at least several hundred protesters were killed in the city, drawing harsh criticism from the international community.

Berlin Wall Protests

The concrete division that had separated East and West Berlin for 28 years came down just two months after public protests occurred throughout Germany. Pressure to take down the wall had been growing in 1989 and the demonstrations were the final straw for the East German government, which finally opened the gates on Nov. 9.

Iraq War Protests

Millions of people in cities around the world gathered for anti-war protests in the months leading up to the invasion of Iraq, which went ahead despite their efforts in March of 2003. The biggest crowds occurred in London in conjunction with global marches organized for Feb. 15, when at least 1 million people assembled in what is believed to be the largest ever political demonstration in UK history.

The Orange Revolution

In late 2004, hundreds of thousands of people flooded Kiev's main square to protest the results of the Ukrainian presidential election. Demonstrations continued for 12 days through sleet and snow until a revote was called, reversing the results and putting the opposition candidate (whose party colors are orange) in office instead.

Editor's Note: This article was first published in 2011 and updated in 2020 to reflect new protests and movements. 

Originally published on Live Science .  

OFFER: Save 45% on 'How It Works' 'All About Space' and 'All About History'!

For a limited time, you can take out a digital subscription to any of our best-selling science magazines for just $2.38 per month, or 45% off the standard price for the first three months.

Brandon is the space/physics editor at Live Science. His writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Reader's Digest, CBS.com, the Richard Dawkins Foundation website and other outlets. He holds a bachelor's degree in creative writing from the University of Arizona, with minors in journalism and media arts. He enjoys writing most about space, geoscience and the mysteries of the universe.

'You certainly don't see this every day': Ultra-rare backward-spinning tornado formed over Oklahoma

Asteroid that exploded over Berlin was fastest-spinning space rock ever recorded

Are electric vehicles safer than gas-powered cars? Maybe for the passengers—but not for everyone else.

Most Popular

• 2 James Webb telescope confirms there is something seriously wrong with our understanding of the universe
• 3 Tweak to Schrödinger's cat equation could unite Einstein's relativity and quantum mechanics, study hints
• 4 2 plants randomly mated up to 1 million years ago to give rise to one of the world's most popular drinks
• 5 Deepest blue hole in the world discovered, with hidden caves and tunnels believed to be inside
• 2 Deepest blue hole in the world discovered, with hidden caves and tunnels believed to be inside
• 3 DARPA's autonomous 'Manta Ray' drone can glide through ocean depths undetected
• 4 Hundreds of black 'spiders' spotted in mysterious 'Inca City' on Mars in new satellite photos
• 5 Stunning image shows atoms transforming into quantum waves — just as Schrödinger predicted

• Made by History

Why Colleges Don’t Know What to Do About Campus Protests

Tense protests and counter-protests concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are roiling campus life at American colleges and universities, including cancelled classes and commencements, and numerous student and faculty arrests. Police and university authorities have been accused of “ trampling First Amendment rights ” and conducting unnecessarily violent arrests .

The fraught situation has spotlighted the difficulty of balancing the importance of free speech on campuses with the imperative to protect students from harm. Some students express fears of “ another Kent State ” while others call out antisemitic protest placards and chants . Public colleges and universities are bound by the First Amendment’s prohibition on “abridging the freedom of speech” or “the right of the people peaceably to assemble.” Private universities have more power to restrict campus expression but face other pressures to uphold free speech. 

Free speech absolutists argue that universities must permit all student speech even if it is incorrect or grossly offensive. Others argue that administrators must stop discriminatory hate speech.

Many profess to want a middle ground solution. Yet, despite frequent litigation throughout the late 20th and early 21st centuries, U.S. courts have not provided a clearly defined line to mark when speech and protests cease to be peaceful and lose First Amendment protection. This blurriness has left university administrators in an impossible situation — one that won’t change until the courts and politicians settle on which priority is more important: free speech or order on campus.

Student activism is an American tradition — one that even predates the American Revolution. In 1766, Harvard University disciplined student Asa Dunbar for insubordination after he complained about the lack of fresh food. In response, students staged what author Samuel Batchelder called a month of “violent, illegal, and insulting proceedings.” Only an address from Governor Francis Bernard put an end to the uprising.

The first major wave of modern student protests took place in the 1920s and early 1930s over issues like racial justice and poverty. Administrators used the police and disciplinary proceedings to suppress these protests but found that students and their allies were willing to fight for their rights to gather, speak, and protest.

Read More: Pro-Palestinian Encampments Take Over American College Campuses

At Fisk University, a Black college in Nashville, students accused the school’s white president, Fayette Mackenzie, of dictatorial rule. He banned most extracurricular activities, cut and eliminated sports teams, abolished the campus newspaper, enforced strict dress codes, and solicited donations from pro-Jim Crow donors. Fisk alumnus WEB DuBois, a prominent intellectual and civil rights activist who helped found the National Association for the Advancement of Color People (NCAAP), remarked that “no decent” African American could send their child to Fisk “until Fayette Mackenzie goes.” 

In March 1925, students, led by George Streeter, began parading with placards. They ensured they met their 11:00 pm curfew. Even so, Mackenzie summoned the police, who ransacked dormitories and arrested sleeping students, whose names Mackenzie had provided, on trumped up riot charges. In response, students staged a complete boycott of the campus, which eventually succeeded in forcing Mackenzie’s resignation.

Student protests and speech disputes continued in the ensuing decades over issues including communism and the Spanish Civil War, before reaching new heights in the 1960s and 1970s. Spurred on by the Civil Rights Movement and protest against the Vietnam War, students embraced more extreme methods of crusading for change. 

On April 23, 1968, for example, a protest against racist policies at Columbia University led to students occupying five buildings and briefly taking three school officials hostage. A photo of student David Shapiro sitting behind President Grayson Kirk’s desk while holding one of his cigars became a Rorschach test: for some it was an iconic image of student rebellion, while to others it was an egregious example of a lack of discipline and respect. When police officers cleared the occupied buildings, they arrested 700 protestors, injuring around 100.

The injuries reflected how, in response to protestors’ more extreme tactics, universities and law enforcement began employing more severe tactics of their own. Most infamously in May 1970, Ohio Governor Jim Rhodes sent the National Guard to Kent State University to crush student protests. On May 4, guardsmen fatally shot four students during a peaceful rally opposing the expansion of the Vietnam War into Laos and Cambodia. John Filo won a Pulitzer Prize for his photograph of 14-year-old Mary Ann Vecchio kneeling over the body of the fatally shot Jeffrey Miller.

Four days later, events at a solidarity protest at the University of New Mexico underscored that Kent State was part of a broad pattern after police arrested 131 students, with 11 wounded after the New Mexico National Guard charged at them with bayonets. 

Universities struggled to respond to student protests because courts provided confusing guidance on what type of student speech was protected and when administrators could intervene. Many of the most important cases actually stemmed from incidents in which K-12 schools disciplined children and teenagers.

Crucially, in 1969, the Supreme Court decided Tinker v. Des Moines . School officials had suspended a small group of students including Mary Beth and John Tinker for wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War. Writing for the Court, Justice Abe Fortas famously explained that neither pupils nor faculty “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” Even so, the Court permitted school officials to take action when they deemed protests disruptive.   

This highly subjective standard produced a steady stream of litigation in the years that followed. In Healy v. James (1972), the Supreme Court sided with Central Connecticut State College students who sued after their university refused to recognize their chapter of Students for a Democratic Society as an official student organization. The Court held that administrators “may not restrict speech or association simply because it finds the views expressed by any group to be abhorrent.”

Read More: Scenes From Pro-Palestinian Encampments Across U.S. Universities

Two decades later, in cases in 1991 and 1993, this precedent led lower courts to rule for students who had been disciplined by the University of Wisconsin and George Mason University for “hate speech.” A federal district court judge rejected the punishment George Mason imposed on students who wore blackface at a fraternity event, explaining, “If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.”

Yet, the Healy standard still left blurriness and the Court has only made things more confusing with its most recent student speech cases. In a 5-4 2007 decision , the justices narrowly upheld the disciplining of a student who took a large banner reading “BONG HiTS 4 JESUS” to an off-campus Olympic torch relay. Then in 2021, the Supreme Court lurched back in the other direction in Mahoney v. B. L. , ruling in favor of a student who contested being removed from a sports team after posting an expletive-laden social media post criticizing their school and coaches.

The lack of clarity from the courts has enabled university administrators to continue responding to protests with harsh repression, and sometimes even violence. In 2011, campus police at the University of California at Davis pepper sprayed nonviolent students taking part in a sit-in. And just last week police arrested scores of protestors at the University of Texas (though prosecutors later dropped the charges) ; Emory University , where state troopers also deployed pepper balls; the University of Indiana , and many other campuses.

Until the courts reconcile the obvious conflict between the fact that public schools, colleges, and universities are simultaneously charged with facilitating students’ gatherings and free speech, while also controlling what is said and done on campus, student protests will remain highly divisive, and administrators will find it nearly impossible to respond in a way that satisfies all constituencies.   

While private universities face a clearer legal picture, many of the competing pressures confronting public university administrators complicate their efforts as well. Politicians, journalists, and influencers demand that universities embody the ideal of a "marketplace of ideas,” while also insisting that administrators do something about bigotry and disruption on campus. 

In short, this no-win situation seems likely to persist until courts and politicians determine what a university’s priority should be: free speech or order on campus.  

Jack Hodgson is a lecturer in history at the University of Roehampton, London. He researches the histories of children’s rights and student activism. His first book, entitled Y oung Reds in the Big Apple: The New York Young Pioneers of America, 1923-1934 is forthcoming with Fordham University Press.

Made by History takes readers beyond the headlines with articles written and edited by professional historians. Learn more about Made by History at TIME here . Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of TIME editors .

More Must-Reads From TIME

• The 100 Most Influential People of 2024
• How Far Trump Would Go
• Scenes From Pro-Palestinian Encampments Across U.S. Universities
• Saving Seconds Is Better Than Hours
• Why Your Breakfast Should Start with a Vegetable
• 6 Compliments That Land Every Time
• Welcome to the Golden Age of Ryan Gosling
• Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time

Write to Jack Hodgson / Made by History at [email protected]

Advertisement

Supported by

What the First Amendment Means for Campus Protests

Encampments? Occupying buildings? Demonstrators cite their right to free expression, but the issues are thorny.

• Share full article

By Alan Blinder

Follow our live coverage of the college protests at U.C.L.A. and other universities.

Protesters on college campuses have often cited the First Amendment as shelter for their tactics, whether they were simply waving signs or taking more dramatic steps, like setting up encampments, occupying buildings or chanting slogans that critics say are antisemitic.

But many legal scholars, along with university lawyers and administrators, believe at least some of those free-speech assertions muddle, misstate, test or even flout the amendment, which is meant to guard against state suppression.

Whose interpretation and principles prevail, whether in the courts or among the administrators in charge of meting out discipline, will do much to determine whether protesters face punishments for campus turmoil.

The First Amendment doesn’t automatically apply at private schools.

Public universities, as arms of government, must yield to the First Amendment and how the courts interpret its decree that there shall be no law “abridging the freedom of speech” or “the right of the people peaceably to assemble.”

But private universities set their own standards around speech and protest.

To be sure, private universities tend to embrace free expression more than, say, private businesses. Those policies and approaches, though, are driven by principles like academic freedom and the marketplace of ideas, not constitutional law.

Columbia University, a hub through this round of campus protests and the scene of an enormous police response on Tuesday night, has not forbidden all speech. But its current policy includes a set of rules, such as permissible demonstration zones and preregistration of protests, that the university says are intended to ensure safety while promising that “all members of the university community have the right to speak, study, research, teach and express their own views.”

Legal scholars have said that while the university’s approach may anger students and faculty members, and may even curtail speech on campus, Columbia faces far less legal risk than any public school might.

‘Time, place and manner’ is a crucial standard.

Academic administrators and the courts alike often find comfort in frameworks, and the notion of “time, place and manner” is deeply embedded in case law involving free speech.

Under that doctrine, governments may sometimes regulate logistical details associated with speech. The doctrine is not a blank check for state power over speech — a government must, for example, apply regulations without discriminating against a viewpoint — but it allows for some restrictions in the pursuit of public safety and order.

For university leaders, the doctrine offers a template of sorts for protest policies that can survive legal scrutiny and withstand political backlashes.

“We always thought that time, place, manner — if applied in a fair, open and completely neutral way — was the best mechanism to both allow protest and also to ensure that protest didn’t disrupt academic programming and activities,” said Nicholas B. Dirks, a former chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, which has one of the richest traditions of protest in higher education.

But, Dr. Dirks added, “That’s easier said than done.”

Another important test is ‘imminent lawless action.’

The Supreme Court, soon after World War I, delivered a First Amendment ruling that included the phrase “clear and present danger.” About 50 years later, the court adopted an approach focused on “imminent lawless action.”

That test is important in gauging whether, for example, the First Amendment protects an antisemitic chant. If the rhetoric is intended to provoke an “imminent lawless action” and is likely to do so, it is not considered constitutionally sound. But a chant that fails any part of that standard is protected, meaning that even some grotesquely uncomfortable, distasteful speech may not be subject to discipline by the government.

“The tricky part is when the conduct and the speech are close to the line,” said Timothy J. Heaphy, who was a United States attorney during the Obama administration and later the university counsel at the University of Virginia.

Some threatening behavior on campuses is illegal under federal civil rights law. Two men, for instance, pleaded guilty to using a threat of force to intimidate Black students and employees at the University of Mississippi after they placed a noose around a campus statue of James Meredith, the first Black student to enroll there, in 2014. One of the men was sentenced to prison.

Are encampments covered by the First Amendment?

Although some campus protesters consider their encampments to be a form of speech, the courts have held that restrictions on overnight camping and the like can meet the time, place and manner test, even on public property.

In a 7-2 ruling in 1984, for instance, the Supreme Court ruled that the National Park Service could refuse a request for protesters to spend nights in “symbolic tents” near the White House under its regulations against sleeping in places that were not classified as campgrounds.

“The regulation forbidding sleeping meets the requirements for a reasonable time, place, or manner restriction of expression,” Justice Byron White wrote in his opinion.

“The regulation is neutral with regard to the message presented, and leaves open ample alternative methods of communicating the intended message concerning the plight of the homeless,” he added.

A court would never see a building occupation like the one this week at Columbia, Mr. Heaphy predicted, as a protected First Amendment activity.

“Students occupied the building,” he said. “That’s conduct. That’s not going to last.”

Can universities change policies?

Generally, yes, but, for public universities, the First Amendment still applies.

Again, private universities have more discretion.

At the University of Chicago, the president, Paul Alivisatos, noted this week that while encampments violate school rules, administrators “may allow an encampment to remain for a short time despite the obvious violations of policy.”

Floating that possibility, he cited “the importance of the expressive rights of our students” and said that “the impact of a modest encampment does not differ so much from a conventional rally or march.”

But he signaled the university would not allow its policy to be eviscerated, and he urged students involved with the encampment “to instead embrace the multitude of other tools at their disposal.”

Alan Blinder is a national correspondent for The Times, covering education. More about Alan Blinder

Our Coverage of the U.S. Campus Protests

News and Analysis

The most recent  pro-Israel counter demonstration was at the University of California, Los Angeles, home to large Israeli and Jewish populations. More are planned in the coming days , stirring fears of clashes.

An officer whose gun went off inside a Columbia University building fired it accidentally  as the police were removing pro-Palestinian protesters from the campus, the New York Police Department said.

A union representing academic workers said it would file unfair labor charges  against the U.C.L.A. and potentially walk out over the handling of protests this week.

Exploiting U.S. Divide:  America’s adversaries have mounted online campaigns to amplify  the social and political conflicts over Gaza flaring at universities, researchers say.

A Year Full of Conflicts:  The tumult in Bloomington, Ind., at Indiana University where large protests have led to dozens of arrests and calls for university leaders to resign, shows the reach of the protest movement .

Seizing Hamilton Hall:  Some of those arrested during the pro-Palestinian demonstration at Columbia were outsiders  who appeared to be unaffiliated with the school, according to an analysis of Police Department data.

A Collision Course:  Desperate to stem protests that have convulsed campuses across the country , a small number of universities have agreed to reconsider their investments in companies that do business with Israel. But how?

• Skip to main content
• Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

Campus protests over the Gaza war

As student protesters get arrested, they risk being banned from campus too.

Rachel Treisman

Jaclyn Diaz

Dozens of tents are seen on a lawn inside the Columbia University Campus after students refused to take down the encampment by the 2 p.m. EDT deadline given to students protesting by Columbia President Minouche Shafik. Luiz C. Ribeiro/Tribune News Service/Getty Images hide caption

Dozens of tents are seen on a lawn inside the Columbia University Campus after students refused to take down the encampment by the 2 p.m. EDT deadline given to students protesting by Columbia President Minouche Shafik.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators continue to turn out at schools across the country despite the risk of detention and suspension, with nearly 300 more protesters arrested over the weekend .

At Columbia University, where a pro-Palestinian encampment has catalyzed dozens of similar demonstrations across the nation, student protesters face threats of punishment, with some students already receiving word of their suspension.

On Monday morning, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik announced that in, negotiations over the encampment, faculty leaders and student organizers were not able to reach an agreement .

The university gave students until 2 p.m. ET to disperse and abandon the encampments or else face suspension pending further investigation, according to flyers it distributed on campus .

Columbia University spokesman Ben Chang confirmed to reporters that some students taking part in the pro-Palestinian encampment who refused to leave at that deadline were suspended. It's unclear how many students will receive that punishment.

Chang said the move is required to preserve campus safety.

Hundreds of students at a pro-Palestinian demonstration at Columbia University's campus. Brian Mann hide caption

Hundreds of students at a pro-Palestinian demonstration at Columbia University's campus.

Students who voluntarily left the encampment and signed a copy of a form committing to abide by university policies will be on academic probation through June 2025, according to the flyers. Those who remained past the deadline were told they will be restricted from all Columbia campuses and property and ineligible to participate in classes and academic or extracurricular activities.

"You are not permitted to complete the Spring 2024 semester, including participate in classes or exams in-person or remotely or otherwise submit assignments or engage in any activities affiliated with Columbia University," the notice dispersed on campus reads. "You may lose the semester. If you are scheduled to graduate, you are no longer eligible."

Dozens of New York police officers gathered outside the campus gates about an hour ahead of the deadline.

Many students remained despite the threats, saying they have no plans to leave unless the university meets its demand to divest from companies they say are aiding Israel's war in Gaza. After the flyers were distributed, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine posted on X urging students not to sign anything.

Roughly 100 officers in uniform gathered at Columbia University's campus in the leadup to its 2 p.m. deadline for students to disperse from the encampment that's been up for nearly two weeks. Brian Mann/NPR hide caption

Roughly 100 officers in uniform gathered at Columbia University's campus in the leadup to its 2 p.m. deadline for students to disperse from the encampment that's been up for nearly two weeks.

"We will not be moved by these intimidation tactics. You can see the students are mobilized. There's hundreds of them here today. They will not be moved. We demand divestment, we will not be moved unless by force," Seuda Polat, a Columbia University graduate student, said during a press conference Monday.

Polat continued, "There has been no violence on this encampment. Students from diverse backgrounds have shared their religious observances together. We've celebrated Passover, we've celebrated shabbat twice. This is a place of community, of community learning, not violence."

Police continue to arrest protesters across the country

On Sunday, pro-Palestinian protesters and pro-Israeli protesters clashed at the University of California, Los Angeles, leading to what university leaders described as "physical altercations" and prompting them to increase security measures on campus.

Nearly 300 people arrested at campus protests against the war in Gaza this weekend

At Virginia Tech University, police arrested scores of protesters in the early hours of Monday morning. Virginia Tech Police confirmed early Monday evening that 82 individuals, 53 of whom are current students at the university, were arrested and all were charged with trespassing.

The school had warned of "heavy police activity around the Graduate Life Center" in a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter) starting just after 10 p.m. ET on Sunday, and announced around 3:30 a.m. that the incident " had stabilized ." Social media footage shows protesters chanting at police as they lead people into multiple white vans.

Elsewhere in the state, 12 protesters — including nine students — were arrested at the University of Mary Washington on Saturday evening after refusing to vacate an encampment on its Fredericksburg, Va., campus. University President Troy Paino said in a statement that health and safety concerns had emerged on Saturday after protestors invited the off-campus public to join the encampment.

A man holds up a Palestinian flag as activists and students surround piled barricades at an encampment at at George Washington University early Monday. Kent Nishimura/Getty Images hide caption

A man holds up a Palestinian flag as activists and students surround piled barricades at an encampment at at George Washington University early Monday.

Meanwhile, protests at George Washington University in D.C. are stretching into their fifth day on Monday — the last day of class for the semester — after a tense weekend, culminating in a clash between protesters and police.

Students first set up an encampment on University Yard on Thursday and later launched a second one on nearby H Street after the school put up barricades to restrict access.

The Picture Show

Photos: take a look at campus protests around the country.

Shortly before midnight on Sunday, protesters knocked down the barricades — piling them in a stack in the middle of the lawn — and flooded the lawn, with people remaining there overnight in some 85 tents, the GW Hatchet reports .

GW officials said in a statement early Monday that a group of "approximately 200 protesters from across [D.C., Maryland and Virginia], including professional organizers, activists, and university students, have joined the unauthorized encampment on our campus."

"This is an egregious violation of community trust and goes far beyond the boundaries of free expression and the right to protest," they added. "The university will use every avenue available to ensure those involved are held accountable for their actions."

Schools are alternately threatening and disavowing disciplinary action

Students arrested at Emerson College last week won't face disciplinary action from the school, its president announced. Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Students arrested at Emerson College last week won't face disciplinary action from the school, its president announced.

One question on the minds of many is what, if any, disciplinary action student protesters might face from their schools, especially with finals and graduation fast approaching.

Some universities have suspended — or threatened to suspend — students who have been arrested for protesting, while others have said they will not.

Students have been suspended for protesting at George Washington University , Princeton University , Washington University in St. Louis , Pomona College and Vanderbilt University , according to reports.

Barnard College officials announced Friday that it will allow most of the 53 students who were arrested and suspended after protesting at Columbia University to return to campus. The New York Times reports that suspended students who reached agreements with the college have their access to residence halls, dining facilities and classrooms restored, while others are still working to reach agreements.

Middle East crisis — explained

Across the u.s., pro-palestinian campus protesters risk arrest and suspension.

On Sunday, Jay Bernhardt, the president of Emerson College in Boston — where more than 100 protesters were arrested at an encampment early Thursday morning — said the college will not bring disciplinary charges against protesters, and will "encourage the district attorney not to pursue charges related to encampment violations."

He said it is also taking steps to support students who were arrested, including posting bail for them and providing housing support to those who are required to stay local for court appearances after the closing of their dorms.

"The College has done its best to keep all community members safe every day during these challenging times, but we recognize that we must do more," he added.

In Texas, the Travis County district attorney has dropped misdemeanor trespassing charges against all 57 people arrested during a protest at UT-Austin last week, after a judge found insufficient evidence to proceed.

Law enforcement arrest a pro-Palestinian protestor on April 29, 2024, at the University of Texas at Austin. Michael Minasi/KUT hide caption

Law enforcement arrest a pro-Palestinian protestor on April 29, 2024, at the University of Texas at Austin.

But on Monday, around 100 protesters gathered at UT-Austin and set up a new encampment on the campus' south lawn, according to NPR member station KUT. By mid-afternoon, state, city and university police were on hand, breaking up the gathering.

Elsewhere, some schools are threatening disciplinary action for students who don't comply with directives to leave encampments that they say violate their policies.

Officials at the University of Florida, where students began protesting on Wednesday, said Friday that demonstrators could face suspension and a three-year ban from campus if they violate specific protest rules, reports member station WUFT .

They are prohibited from using bullhorns or speakers to amplify their voices, possessing weapons and protesting inside campus buildings — but also face more vague prohibitions like "no disruption," according to a list circulated late Thursday.

"They also included 'no sleeping' on a campus where students often doze in the sun between classes," per WUFT.

Mass arrests roil college campuses amid pro-Palestinian protests

At Cal Poly Humboldt, officials closed campus to the public on Saturday, several days after student protesters first occupied two academic and administrative buildings. They had previously given protesters until 5 p.m. on Friday to leave with a guarantee of no immediate arrest — but said they would still face consequences.

"This does not, however, eliminate University conduct-related sanctions or legal implications," officials said in a release. "In addition, voluntarily departing in this way will be considered as a mitigating factor in University conduct processes and may reduce the severity of sanctions imposed."

The campus will remain closed until May 10, with work and classes remote through the end of the semester. Officials say they are planning for "various scenarios" for commencement.

At Massachusetts Institute of Technology, president Sally Kornbluth said in a Sunday message to students that their growing encampment violates policies around registering for campus demonstrations and creates a "potential magnet for disruptive outside protestors."

She said rules have been broken, and those who break them — "including rules around the time, place and manner of protest" — will face disciplinary action.

"We are open to further discussion about the means of ending the encampment," she added. "But this particular form of expression needs to end soon."

Northwestern reaches a deal with protesters

Signs are displayed outside a tent encampment at Northwestern University on Friday in Evanston, Illinois. Students and the university reached a deal Monday, allowing the demonstrations to continue, but that mandated the removal of all but one of these tents. Teresa Crawford/AP hide caption

Signs are displayed outside a tent encampment at Northwestern University on Friday in Evanston, Illinois. Students and the university reached a deal Monday, allowing the demonstrations to continue, but that mandated the removal of all but one of these tents.

Northwestern University reached an agreement Monday with students and faculty protesting against the war, as demonstrations continued at other campuses across the country.

The deal was struck five days after students erected an encampment on Deering Meadow, a common area on the university's Evanston campus.

The agreement allows demonstrations to continue until the end of spring quarter classes on June 1, "provided all such activity immediately and continuously complies with University policies," Northwestern officials said in a statement.

The school will allow one aid tent to remain at the encampment on Deering Meadow but is demanding all other tents and sound systems be taken down.

"This agreement also addresses our commitment to protect the safety of our entire community and to ensure the ongoing academic operations of our campus while adhering to our support for free expression," Northwestern President Michael Schill wrote in an announcement posted on the school's website. "The agreement includes support for our Muslim, Arab and Palestinian students. Some of the actions have been discussed for years and some are new. Together, they will strengthen our community."

As part of the agreement, the university has promised to fund two Palestinian faculty members per year for two years and to provide scholarships for five Palestinian undergraduates.

Some faculty are calling for amnesty

Students and faculty at some universities are calling on their administrations not to discipline protesters. Arrested protesters face uncertainty about not only their legal records but the status of campus housing, financial aid and graduation eligibility.

At the University of Pennsylvania , officials say a campus statue was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti and are calling on demonstrators — from Penn and other area schools — to disband.

A group of Penn faculty and Philadelphia-area elected officials signed a letter last week urging university leaders to "respect students' rights to engage in nonviolent protest" by refraining from calling in law enforcement to make arrests and from filing disciplinary and criminal charges against peaceful protesters at the encampment.

"Protesters nationwide face police violence and severe discipline, and the safety and wellbeing of Philadelphia students exercising their rights are among our foremost concerns," they wrote.

In Columbia University's protests of 1968 and 2024, what's similar — and different

Nearly 300 faculty members at Yale University, where 48 protesters were arrested last week, signed a letter condemning what they called "the criminalization of Yale students engaged in recent acts of peaceful protest." They demanded that the university take no further disciplinary action and called on authorities to drop all charges against them.

They said the protesters arrested face Class A misdemeanors under Connecticut law, which carry possible penalties of up to 364 days in jail.

"Threatening students with sanctions of this kind is unconscionable and should not be the means by which Yale responds to peaceful protest," they added.

In a further sign of discontent, faculty members at universities in California, Georgia and Texas have either initiated or passed largely symbolic votes of no confidence in their leadership, according to the Associated Press .

• campus protests
• student protests
• Israel-Hamas war

• Election 2024
• Entertainment
• Newsletters
• Photography
• Personal Finance
• AP Investigations
• AP Buyline Personal Finance
• AP Buyline Shopping
• Press Releases
• Israel-Hamas War
• Russia-Ukraine War
• Global elections
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Election Results
• Delegate Tracker
• AP & Elections
• Auto Racing
• 2024 Paris Olympic Games
• Movie reviews
• Book reviews
• Personal finance
• Financial Markets
• Business Highlights
• Financial wellness
• Artificial Intelligence
• Social Media

Answering readers’ questions about the protest movement on US college campuses

A student encampment is shown at Middlebury College as they protest the Israel-Hamas war in Middlebury, Vt., on Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke)

• Copy Link copied

A wave of demonstrations has spread across U.S. campuses over the last two weeks, led by students who have pitched tents or occupied buildings in protest of the Israel-Hamas war.

It started April 18 when police moved to break up an encampment at Columbia University in New York City. Since then, it has spread to dozens of other campuses from Harvard to the University of California, Los Angeles.

Students are calling on their colleges to stop doing business with Israel or companies they say support the war in Gaza. Some also have asked for amnesty for student protesters who could face suspensions or other discipline.

University officials have negotiated deals with protesters at campuses including Northwestern University . Others have called the police to clear camps or campus buildings, as happened at UCLA .

At least 2,000 people have been arrested at campus protests nationwide in the last two weeks, according to a tally by The Associated Press.

Here are some questions readers sent to the AP , lightly edited for publication.

How many protesters are not students and who are they? Are there outside agitators?

City and campus leaders in some places have alleged protests are being led by “outside agitators” with no connection to universities. Student protesters have rejected the claims. Those who are arrested often include a mix of students and non-students. Some claims about agitators have failed to hold up.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams alleged that “outside agitators” had co-opted the Columbia University demonstration before police officers came and arrested more than 100 people on Tuesday night. Adams referenced a woman whose husband was “convicted for terrorism.”

The woman he cited, Nahla Al-Arian , wasn’t on the campus, isn’t among those who were arrested and has not been accused of any crime.

The New York mayor has also noted many of the tents in the encampment were the same brand — more evidence of agitators, he said. Students who organized it said the tents were simply ordered in bulk.

Others have made similar claims elsewhere. After breaking up a demonstration at Northeastern University in Boston, campus officials said it had been “infiltrated by professional organizers.” Students denied it.

What is the real endgame here? One article states they want the universities to separate themselves from companies furthering Israel’s military efforts. What companies are these?

Pro-Palestinian activists are demanding that universities cut financial ties with Israel and companies that they say support it. Specific demands vary by campus.

On many campuses, students say they don’t know the extent of the campus ties with Israel. Yale is one of many campuses where students are demanding transparency around investments. The school doesn’t make all its investments public, and money can be hard to track after it goes to outside investment managers hired by colleges.

Activists in some places have identified specific ties they want to end. Students at the University of Michigan said the school sends billions of dollars to investment mangers that profit from the war. They cited investments in firms that produce drones and surveillance technology used in Israel.

Michigan officials said they have no direct investments with Israeli businesses and that direct investments make up a fraction of 1% of the $18 billion endowment.

Protesters at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are also demanding an end to research contracts from Israel. They have published the names of researchers who accept money from Israel’s defense ministry for projects that they say help with drone navigation and missile protection.

As for the endgame, a big part of the protests is visibility — protesters say they want their message heard around the world. In that, they have succeeded, as demonstrations have led news coverage in areas including the Middle East.

What percentage of college campuses across America have witnessed violent pro-Palestine protests?

It’s hard to know the exact percentage, but it’s relatively small. More than 2,000 people have been arrested across more than 30 colleges.

By comparison, the U.S. has about 6,000 colleges and universities, including all types of institutions. Those schools serve roughly 18 million students, including undergraduate and graduate students.

Protests have spread to dozens of campuses across the country but violence has been relatively rare.

How does this situation compare and contrast with the student protests in the 1960s? Is there historical context to these protests that could illuminate the current situation?

The wave of protests is among the largest on U.S. campuses in recent history, but it’s still nowhere near as widespread or as violent as student demonstrations of the Vietnam War era.

Some historians say the movement might be the largest of the 21st century, but it doesn’t have a whole lot of competition.

And so far, the violence has paled in comparison to that of previous eras. There have been no bombings, for example, like the one in August 1970 at the University of Wisconsin that killed a researcher. And there has been no repeat of the infamous Kent State massacre.

Still, the movement has drawn comparisons to that era, especially with its roots at Columbia and its echoes of a 1968 protest in which students took over campus buildings to protest the Vietnam War.

Search form

How to substantiate your claims on a protest of assignment form, screen shot 2018-06-14 at 12.02.36 pm.png.

Screen Shot 2018-06-14 at 12.02.51 PM.png

Connect With Us

Sign up for email updates, sign up for text alerts.