by Robert A. Scott
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The Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s response in Gaza prompted demonstrations at over 500 colleges and universities in the U.S., including encampments on more than 130 American campuses. More than 2,000 people were arrested. Allegations of violence were greatly overstated, and often took place away from, not on, a campus. Many demonstrators were from off-campus. Most protests were peaceful.
Several university presidents at elite institutions lost their jobs due to political and donor criticisms of their leadership in the face of alleged antisemitism and conflict over how to handle pro-Peace and pro-Palestine protests. Centuries of anti-Jewish animus went from backdrop to front page quicker than colleges could manage.
Having served for 30 years as president of two institutions, one public and one private, my teams and I experienced numerous incidents of student protest. These included sit-ins blocking passages, rallies in reaction to police killings of Black youth, and challenges to investment policies regarding fossil fuels, among others. After each incident on our campus, or major disruptions at other campuses, my team and I would discuss what we could learn from the protest, how we could have handled the situation better, and what changes, if any, to policies and protocols we needed to make.
This is the time of year when the vice presidents, deans, and I, with some others, would meet off-campus in “retreat” mode (we called them “advances”) to discuss the successes and failures of the past year and plans for the coming year. At times we would bring in experts on various topics, including demographics and communications.
For this fall, the topics should certainly be designed to help the campus cope with student demands, as we know them, including the war in Gaza, investments in the Middle East, and Defense Department sponsorship of university research. The agenda should not only include briefings on the history of the Middle East, preferably by a faculty member, as well as investment policies and allocations, but also policies regarding freedom of speech and academic freedom. Tabletop exercises and role-playing can be effective tools for vetting potential policies and protocols. The risk assessment matrix must be brought up-to-date, as reputation risk rises in priority.
This fall will become even more complicated and conflicted as the presidential election heats up and state and local legislatures borrow from the Congressional Hearings playbook.
Some of the lessons learned this spring include the obvious: these are our students. Our responsibility is to engage them and teach them, not ignore or berate them. Yes, they need to know that actions have consequences and that time, place, and manner policies about protest must be honored. But their demands provide teachable moments.
This relates to another lesson learned: involve the faculty early. In some cases, it seems that the administration called in police before engaging the faculty in planning a response even though the faculty are closest to the students. Some faculty even joined protests because of administrative actions.
Better yet, involve the faculty in planning programs on the conflicts starting early in the fall. This is an opportunity to foster readings, discussions, and debates on the topics of world peace and interdependence. A book such as “The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens” by Richard Haass provides lessons for engagement on issues of misinformation and protest. In our country, schools and colleges are obligated to discuss and celebrate annually the Constitution in September, the 17th this year. And then there is World Peace Day held on Sept. 21, International Day of Non-Violence held on Oct. 2, and World Refugee Day on June 20, all sponsored by the United Nations.
Still another lesson learned is that communication matters; if you don’t take the lead, someone else will and they probably don’t have your best interests as a priority. Silence becomes a vacuum that will be filled.
Finally, leadership and leverage count. Leaders must be visible and use the leverage of relationships with trustees, alumni, neighbors, elected officials, and especially faculty, including public safety, and other students to seek advice and communicate to the community at large and the protesters. Listen to the students and engage them in dialogue. Distinguish between students and those from outside the campus. Consultants can be especially helpful. Calling the police should be a last resort, not a first response.
High on the list of topics for communication are the principles of free speech and academic freedom. A college or university should be a place to explore ideas, where every voice is heard, and voices are not controlled. Free speech is to be freely given even if some find it hateful. Unfortunately, this ideal seems honored in the breach as we see university and school leaders forced from their posts by those who take offense at speech they find repugnant.
Another important principle is academic freedom, the freedom for academic experts to decide what to teach and how to teach without interference. However, in fraught times, we find interference from trustees and elected officials who put a higher priority on caution than on critical thinking. Academic freedom means that students may learn without interference from those on campus or off.
A principle that is often ignored is that the faculty are partners in campus governance. They are stewards of academic quality in fulfillment of the institution’s charter and mission. They are experts who can be called upon for lectures, seminars, and teach-ins to discuss the issues central to protests. Some campuses select a book that all are encouraged to read and discuss in campus roundtables.
Finally, integrity and consistency in communications are essential. The campus and external community must have faith in the truth of what is said. A truism about communication is that compromise is not a dirty word. One can compromise on position without compromising on principle. After all, opposing views can still hold truths.
In preparation for the fall, campus leaders must prepare to maximize response time to incidents and minimize confusion by having clear lines of communication. They must identify key stakeholders and meet with them often. They must ensure that institutional values and priorities are known and that policies will be applied consistently. In this way, we can protect our principles by reflecting on the lessons learned.
