In the latest episode of Democracy’s Future, we hear from students on opposite sites on an issue that has stoked passions on college campuses across the country. A group of pro-Palestinian protesters has been gathering on the Quad at Illinois State University for over a week. The want the university to call for a ceasefire in the war in Gaza. They also want the university to divest from companies with ties to Israel.
Seven of the protesters were arrested and suspended after they staged a sit-in outside the university president's office last week.
Some students say they feel the protests come off as threatening, especially to Jewish students.
The College Democrats at ISU put out a statement in support of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), encouraging them to continue fighting for what they believe in.
College Democrats President Delaney Reynolds, a junior biology major from Kewanee, said she feels the ISU Dean of Students is misusing power.
“I feel as though this has just kind of been a use of power because it is a controversial topic and he doesn’t really want them out there any longer,” Reynolds said. “If we look back further under a previous Dean of Students, we can see that they had something very similar to this and that Dean of Students did not use his power in an abusive way.”
On the opposing side, Students for Life President and ISU College Republicans member Braiden Gonzalez, a sophomore political science major from Frankfort, said he feels ISU is not doing enough to keep the protests from becoming hostile toward other students, Jewish students in particular.
“I wish the university would do more because currently students will be like ‘Oh you’re infringing our First Amendment rights,’” Gonzalez said. “Well, I mean the First Amendment does not protect your right to have a little camp out in the middle of the Quad and chant antisemitic remarks."
SJP has previously said that "notions of antisemitism are unacceptable" and "that attempts at labeling us as antisemitic for the condemnation of a nation's violent actions is nothing short of misinformation."
“I think the university should go up to these guys and be like, ‘Hey, I respect your right to free speech, but you do not have a right to hate speech.’ And then if they continue, they should be like ‘You’re gone,’” Gonzalez continued.
Gonzalez said his biggest concern is Jewish students getting harassed on campus and fearing for their personal safety.
In our next episode, we'll explore an issue where ISU Democrats and Republicans are in agreement: voter access on campus. Both groups want the campus to close on Election Day in November.
Please give us your feedback on this series and let us know if there are certain issues you'd like us to explore. Email us at news@wglt.org.
