Yesterday, John covered the ongoing protests at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where administrators briefly managed to clear an encampment on the campus after “negotiating” with the protesters. The respite was indeed brief, however, because agitators were once again on hand to rile up the crowd and move them back into the fray. More disturbingly, some of the protesters took their activities out into the public streets, blocking traffic and bringing normal activity in the area to a halt. The action on campus hasn’t escalated to physical violence, probably because the administration is out there assuring everyone of their right to free speech, etc. But that isn’t bringing them any closer to restoring order and the normal operations of the school.
At MIT, protesters were given an afternoon deadline in which to voluntarily leave the protest site or face suspension. Many left, according to an MIT spokesperson, who said protesters breached fencing after the arrival of demonstrators from outside the university. On Monday night, dozens of protesters remained at the encampment in a calmer atmosphere, listening to speakers and chanting before taking a pizza dinner break.
No arrests had been made as of Monday night, according to the MIT spokesperson…
Many protesters want their schools to divest from companies that do business with Israel or otherwise contribute to the war effort. Others simply want to call attention to the deaths in Gaza and for the war to end.
The situation at MIT may be remaining mostly calm for the moment, though violent rhetoric against Israel and the Jews is still being heard. But the lack of conflict is only being maintained because the administration is largely appeasing the protesters rather than moving to restore order. Short of fully surrendering and cutting ties with anyone or any organization that can be remotely tied to Israel, these protesters aren’t going away. The school clearly can’t afford to do that and we already know that the protesters are well-funded by liberal groups, with many of them doing this as their jobs.
As noted in the linked report, unlike at many other campuses, there have been no arrests made at MIT. That’s because the administrators haven’t asked the police to move in and take charge. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been operating since 1861. Are they simply going to cease operations and turn the campus over to a relatively small number of disaffected students and their pro-Hamas backers, trainers, and agitators? What of the rest of the student body who actually wants to learn and earn a degree? They are paying nearly $60,000 per year for the privilege of attending. Will they even be able to graduate?
As noted above, these protesters will not be satisfied with merely occupying the campus. They are already spreading out and shutting down traffic on the public streets. These sorts of disruptions are illegal and they upset the apple cart of a functional society. We have learned that the students have been working with “trainers” who have experience with previous protests and riots. They learned the tactic of shutting down traffic from the BLM riots of 2020. The longer this is tolerated, the longer it will drag on.
We’re seeing the same thing at the Rhode Island School of Design. Administrators there are outside meeting and “negotiating” with the protesters who took over a campus building yesterday. These are not simply “anti-war” protesters as were seen during the Vietnam War era. This war in Gaza is not America’s war. If they were at least protesting outside of the Israeli embassy and not shutting down universities and streets it might be somewhat understandable. But they are openly supporting terrorism and the destruction of the Israeli state and the Jewish people. This needs to stop. Coddling these insufferable brats solves nothing.