At Columbia, Tension Over Gaza Protests Hits Breaking Point Under Trump

Source: NYT

Days after immigration officers arrested a prominent pro-Palestinian campus activist, administrators at Columbia University gathered students and faculty from the journalism school and issued a warning.

Students who were not U.S. citizens should avoid publishing work on Gaza, Ukraine and protests related to their former classmate's arrest, urged Stuart Karle, a First Amendment lawyer and adjunct professor. With about two months to go before graduation, their academic accomplishments -- or even their freedom -- could be at risk if they attracted the ire of the Trump administration.

"If you have a social media page, make sure it is not filled with commentary on the Middle East," he told the gathering in Pulitzer Hall. When a Palestinian student objected, the journalism school's dean, Jelani Cobb, was more direct about the school's inability to defend international students from federal prosecution.

"Nobody can protect you," Mr. Cobb said. "These are dangerous times."

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Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/nyregion/columbia-university-trump-protests.html

I don’t think I’m going to be sleeping very well for *checks notes* the rest of this administration. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/n...

— Daniel Drezner (@dandrezner.bsky.social) 2025-03-12T23:25:17.919Z

Welcome to Donald Trump’s America, where First Amendment lawyers find themselves compelled to advise people that they have no First Amendment rights.

— George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 (@gtconway.bsky.social) 2025-03-12T23:30:24.360Z