Written by Seemab Hussaini
Across the United States, students are rising up again, just like they have many times before in history. Today, they are protesting in support of Palestine, calling for an end to the U.S. complicity in the violence and occupation taking place in Gaza and the West Bank. And just like in the past, these young voices are being silenced, but increasingly through school discipline, police and military forces, and sometimes through much scarier means.
One of the most chilling examples of this is the recent detainment of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian graduate student at Columbia University, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Khalil was taken into ICE custody while organizing peaceful protests at Columbia, even being denied the chance to attend the birth of his first child. These are not just attacks on one person, they’re part of a bigger pattern of punishing peaceful protest.
As students across the country call for justice, divestment, and the right to speak freely, it is more important than ever to look at the long history of student protests in America, and how those in power have always tried to stop them.
A History of Student Protest in America
Student protests have shaped U.S. history for over half a century. In 1964, students at the University of California, Berkeley, launched the Free Speech Movement, demanding the right to speak out on political issues on campus. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, students led massive protests against the Vietnam War. In 1970, four students were killed by the National Guard at Kent State University while protesting the U.S. invasion of Cambodia. Just ten days later, police opened fire and killed two more students at Jackson State, a historically Black college in Mississippi.
In the 1980s, students organized to push their universities to divest from companies doing business in apartheid South Africa. In the early 2000s, they protested the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. More recently, students have marched against police brutality, mass shootings, and climate destruction. At every turn, students have stood up and spoken out when others were afraid to.
And at almost every turn, these protests have been met with suppression, sometimes violent, sometimes quiet, but always meant to shut them down.
Peaceful Protest Is Not Violence, But Stopping It Is
The U.S. loves to claim that peaceful protest is a basic right. But in reality, many peaceful protests are treated as a threat. Police are called. Students are battered, detained, suspended and even expelled, faculty and staff are also fired. In the case of Mahmoud Khalil, peaceful protest was met with arrest and the threat of deportation, even with the legal right to reside and study in the U.S.
Let’s be clear: peacefully protesting a war is not violent. Asking a university to cut ties with weapons companies is not violent. Sitting on a lawn with signs is not violent.
But punishing protest? That is violence.
When schools threaten students with suspension or arrest, when the government uses ICE to tear families apart, when leaders in power try to silence people instead of listening to them, that is chilling, and that sends a message of fear. That tells people that they must stay quiet… or else.
That’s not democracy. That’s not freedom. That’s oppression.
Mahmoud Khalil’s Letter: A Brave Act of Resistance
While in ICE detention, Mahmoud Khalil wrote a letter to Columbia University. It was calm, thoughtful, and powerful. In it, he called out the university for siding with power and silence instead of standing with students fighting for human rights. He reminded them that true education should encourage critical thinking, activism, and justice… not punish it.
His letter is appropriate and necessary. It echoes the voices of many student leaders before him who, despite being jailed, beaten, or expelled, stood firm in the fight for peace and dignity.
Khalil’s words carry even more weight when you consider what was taken from him. As mentioned earlier, just days ago his wife gave birth to their first child, and ICE denied his request to attend.
Columbia University’s Role in a Dangerous Time
Columbia University is one of the most powerful schools in the country. But right now, it’s using its power in the wrong way. Instead of protecting student protest, they, along with many other universities, are calling the police. Instead of allowing peaceful organizing, they’re punishing those who speak out. And instead of standing with justice, they’re aligning with systems of oppression.
Let’s spotlight Columbia University, as they have a long history of choosing power over people. It tried to stop anti-Vietnam War protests, delayed divesting from apartheid South Africa, and now they refuse to take a stand against Israeli apartheid and occupation. Even worse, they welcome powerful Zionist groups that try to shut down any criticism of Israel’s actions, labeling it as hate when it’s really just dissent.
This isn’t just about Zionism or Columbia. This is about how power works in America today, especially in what many are calling the “Trump 2.0 era.” With rising authoritarianism, growing attacks on immigrants, and crackdowns on protest, the U.S. is becoming a place where freedom of speech only exists if you don’t challenge the system.
This is fascism. And our universities, which should be places of learning and debate, are helping it grow.
Youth Voices Are Brave and They Matter
The students protesting today are not extremists. They are part of a long tradition of justice work. They are doing exactly what students have always done in moments of crisis: speaking truth to power.
Whether you agree with them or not, their right to protest must be protected. Mahmoud Khalil should be free. His family should not be separated. Students calling for divestment should be heard, not silenced.
What we’re seeing now is a test—not just for schools, but for all of us. Will we support the voices of youth? Will we stand up when we see injustice? Or will we let fear and silence win?
This Is a Chilling Time, But We Can Still Choose Justice
It’s hard not to feel scared right now. A student is behind bars for protesting. His newborn child came into the world while he was locked away. Schools are calling police on students instead of protecting their rights. And powerful leaders are working to crush any movement that challenges their authority.
But history tells us something important: these moments don’t last forever. And they don’t win unless we give up.
Support your local organizers. Listen to brave student voices. Speak up for Mahmoud Khalil and every other person being punished for protesting.
Your awareness is a seed to your community’s growth.
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