The Detroit News- Published June 11, 2024
Hamad: Reconsider campus protest policies
It has been truly heartbreaking to witness the images and videos of police confronting student protesters at different campuses across the country, including in Michigan. These images indicate the United States is not well. Our rights are not being respected.
America has some of the most professional and competent police in the world. The current student-law enforcement clashes and the arguably excessive use of force against the students are damaging to the law enforcement-citizen relationship. No one should forget that these protesting students are stakeholders with rights. The university is like their second home. They are not outsiders, nor trespassers. They are not criminals. These students are America at its best.
There is no doubt police were put on the frontline and in a tough position. Police conduct, live streamed and displayed for all to see, raises serious concerns regarding the short- and long-term impact on police community trust. Criminalizing protest and dissent and calling in the police on protesters is un-American and takes us back to horrible episodes from the past.
It is unacceptable to trample the U.S. Constitution and students’ rights, and destroy the reputation and trust with law enforcement, over a foreign policy issue and a foreign country. Core American values and basic constitutional rights are sacrificed because a small group of well-resourced, hardcore Israel supporters is bothered by the protests.
I have spent decades building bridges between communities and law enforcement. It has taken years to build and rebuild trust. This partnership and the long years invested in building trust are being dissipated with no concern for lasting damage to America itself.
We know that the police are acting on university administrators’ request. But police still exercise judgment. Police must determine what is the appropriate response regardless of university bureaucrats’ requests. Protecting constitutional rights is also their responsibility.
The university administrators under pressure from wealthy donors and politicians have been pushing for a law enforcement solution to a protest movement calling for an end of the war in Gaza. Administrators should put students first, not anyone else.
The U.S. serves as a role model for other nations. This trampling on basic rights weakens the U.S.’s standing on rights worldwide.
Any dictator can crush dissent. Only democracies manage dissent and protest with maximum tolerance and understanding. It is actually a point of pride that democracies do not crush dissent and imprison protesters and dissenters. We are not sure about the U.S. today.
We urge everyone, especially university administrators, to be tolerant of dissent. It is OK to be inconvenienced when constitutional rights are on the line. We urge a reconsideration of policy on campus protests.
Imad Hamad is executive director of the American Human Rights Council.
NewsLink: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/2024/06/11/hamad-reconsider-campus-protest-policies/74045038007/
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http://www.thenigerianvoice.com/news/336386/hamad-reconsider-campus-protest-policies.html
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