By: Kalieb DeShaw
Following the spread of the anti-genocide student movement across college campuses last spring, university administrations have increasingly cracked down on campus demonstrations. Changes in rules, policies, and procedures have followed even the most moderate encampments and demonstrations. Students at Binghamton University held a two-day encampment, which ended peacefully at the administration's request. Despite this, the administration subsequently revised policies on camping, posting flyers, and holding non-university sanctioned assemblies on campus. Such a response to a relatively mild action is unsurprising. These reactionary measures, contrary to the principles of free speech and expression, are more the norm than the exception in U.S. universities.
Binghamton University presented these changes in policy in a letter to students returning to campus this fall. The letter stated, “No right, however, is absolute,” referring to the First Amendment right of free speech and expression. They continued, “Binghamton will not permit protest and expression that disrupts the University's academic mission, interferes with the free expression of others, or threatens members of the campus community or campus property.” This statement was directed towards Binghamton’s pro-Palestine student activists, though the only group whose actions could possibly warrant such a response are the Zionist agitators whose interests are directly aligned with the administration.
The encampment at Binghamton University began on the night of May 1st, 2024. Counter-protesters arrived before the encampment even started, and as usual, the police presence was extensive. The administration demanded that students in the encampment cease the use of all amplification devices as they attempted to have musical performances. The students complied with the demand. Throughout the duration of the encampment, Zionists surrounded its perimeter and shouted remarks such as “You’re all terrorists,” and “You support the rape and murder of Jewish women.”
On May 2nd, the second day of the encampment, a Zionist student standing with a group of friends just outside the perimeter referred to the students participating as “faggots.” Shortly after hatefully spewing this derogatory term towards his fellow students, the individual decided to enter the encampment and attempted to take the students' food. When confronted about using the slur and entering the encampment, the individual postured himself in an aggressive manner. One of the students was able to defuse this situation by giving the Zionist a bag of chips and asking him to leave. Later that day, students surrounded the encampment in a human barrier and began chanting pro-Palestine slogans. The Zionists began drowning out students with amplified devices, screaming unjustified rhetoric like “You’re all antisemites.” They shouted these accusations into megaphones within feet, and sometimes inches of people’s ears. Some of which expressed pain and hearing impairment immediately afterward.
On May 3rd, around 3:30 p.m. law enforcement, who had been encircling the encampment since it began, started gathering off to the side as more arrived. The Binghamton administration demanded student activists pack up the encampment under threat of arrest and academic sanction. The students once again complied. They packed up the encampment and marched to the “Pegasus” statue. The Zionist agitators and police followed. The Zionists began blaring music through speakers, chanting, and mocking student activists as they attempted to speak on the Israeli-Palestine issue.
On August 23rd, student activists and community members came together once again to speak about the Israeli-Palestine conflict. They met at the “Pegasus” statue, just as they had at the end of the encampment. The atmosphere was much the same. A group of around 50 people were surrounded by police and a group of Zionists. As the group attempted to have speeches, Zionists used speakers to blare music, once again drowning out the voices of others. They continued to chant, dance, and mock students and community members, including two elderly organizers from “Veterans for Peace.” The police and university administrators stood idly by and watched as the Zionists violated their policies.
Binghamton University's campus policies are being unjustly enforced. The action taken by student activists last semester did not transgress the statement of university administrators regarding the rights and safety of Binghamton students. On the other hand, the Zionist response to the action clearly violated these standards. Continuously drowning out the voices of students, calling students slurs, using amplification devices in a way that is detrimental to the health of students—these actions were both threatening and harmful. Did the administrators or police do anything to stop this? No. Did the administration write a letter addressing Zionists who perpetrate this kind of behavior? Of course not. When it comes down to free speech and expression, the administration is interested in one thing, and one thing only: suppressing the rights of students who stand against colonialism and genocide. This is why the student movement must resist their administration's attempts to silence them. They will continue to hold student activists to higher standards than the Zionist entities that aim to silence and destroy them. To every student activist reading this, your power is limited only by your determination to stand up and fight back.