Within the first few months of the Trump administration, students have become a prime target for suppression and deportation. From the detaining of Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil for participation in pro-Palestinian protests to the arresting of Tufts doctoral candidate Rumeysa Ozturk for her authoring of an op-ed, this administration’s goal of limiting and punishing free speech is clear. 

This has been coupled with funding threats to universities in an effort to further restrict students’ freedoms; after $400 million in federal funding was cut off from Columbia, the university implemented a series of changes including the banning of face masks, the hiring of “special officers” able to arrest students at will and the placement of academic receivership over the department of Middle East, South Asian and African studies. 

Columbia’s concessions are particularly alarming because they call into question how other universities will react to threats from the Trump administration. When a school known for quickly calling police on pro-Palestinian encampments is cut off from funding due to its “inaction,” it’s easy to see how other institutions might start to worry.    

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Perhaps the most worrying part of Columbia’s response has been the lack of support for its students: When Mahmoud Khalil is taken in front of his wife by and refused any sort of warrant or Yunseo Chung’s dorm is searched by International Customs Enforcement agents under the guise of “harboring noncitizens,” one might hope to see their institution willing to provide legal support. Yet, Columbia has stayed silent in favor of capitulating to the government’s demands.

While USC has put effort into making students aware of legal resources, its recent actions in relation to protesters are following frightening trends. When students from USC Student Coalition Against Labor Exploitation and Students for Justice in Palestine organized around the outside of the campus, USC contacted the Los Angeles Police Department to manage the situation. This quick escalation to calling in legal authorities is worrying both because of its resemblance to USC’s response to last year’s encampments, but also because it creates uneasiness about how the University will respond to the federal government.

When asked about their experience with the protests last year at USC and what the future holds, a student who was detained and wishes to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation reflects that it was “just … traumatizing … I never knew a space I have had to call home for the past four years would treat me in that way, especially for doing something that felt so naturally full of humanity.” 

The student emphasized that, “As a student who participated in trying to exercise my free speech, it felt like those barriers were [insinuating]: ‘You’re here outside of the community, and this is [the University] trying to protect the inside of the community.’”

Universities over the past few years have by no means been perfect, but if there was any moment to start reorienting their behavior, it’s now. When students are being ripped from their families, picked up on the street by agents dressed in everyday clothes or simply having their visas revoked due to political expression, it is necessary that these institutions do everything they can to provide legal and financial support. 

It’s scary to see the places meant to be regarded as havens of critical discussion become increasingly hostile toward opposition to genocide. And while I’m not expecting calls like mine to make them flawless, I do hope to see academic institutions protect their students from harassment by law enforcement. I hope to see them be unwilling to stay silent when their students are detained without reason. I hope to see them, at the very least, do everything they can to protect freedom of speech. 

This is a time to read Mahmoud Khalil’s words, written as he is unjustly detained in Louisiana. He reminds us that students have been at the forefront of change throughout history, whether it be resisting apartheid in South Africa or driving peace movements during the Vietnam War. 

I’ll end with the previously mentioned interviewee’s words, who beautifully articulates that “USC is a leader amongst universities, and many of the times the world is looking at us … We should be protecting our community, the people who make this place, the beautiful University that it is. I think we need to be putting students first … not prioritizing dollar signs.”