The founding of the United States was a radical idea. At least, that’s what we’re taught in our history classes. It was an experiment, built on the will of the people who didn’t want to pay their taxes. We learn about Shay’s Rebellion, the Boston Tea Party, the Boston Massacre. We’re told that standing up for our rights and our community is what it means to be an American.
It’s enshrined in our constitution, the right to free speech and assembly. But have we lost our values? Since President Donald J. Trump took office in January, hundreds of international student visas have been cancelled and some have been arrested. The reason? These students at one point supported a free Palestine.
Mahmoud Khalil, graduate student at Columbia University and a permanent resident with a green card, was the first deportation effort under Trump’s promised crackdown of students protesting Israel’s actions in Gaza, claiming they are antisemitic and pro-terrorism. Since then, those in the U.S. have watched in horror as ICE has targeted and swept student activists off the streets. A doctoral student at Tufts University, Rumeysa Ozturk, was arrested by plainclothes ICE officers on March 25, even though she was on a valid F-1 visa. The arrest came a year after she wrote an op-ed in the school’s newspaper criticizing Tufts’ response to a student government group’s call for divestment from Israel. Yunseo Chung, a legal permanent resident at Columbia University who participated in pro-Palestine protests, is being hunted by ICE at the time this magazine went to print. Here in Philadelphia, so far eight student visas at University of Pennsylvania have been revoked and several at Temple University, though the official reasons why have not been released.
Given all that, is anyone in the U.S. allowed to protest anymore? Though Trump has claimed these moves are to combat antisemitism on campus, many, including Jewish groups, have been quick to note that he really means combatting free speech.
Columbia University has been the epicenter of student pro-Palestine protests. As an institution, Columbia prides itself on being a hotbed for student activism, with a rich history of students opposing the war in Vietnam and South Africa Apartheid. That’s why one junior from the university, who was granted anonymity for his safety, decided to accept his admission. However, he now believes Columbia has gone back on its celebrated history.
“It’s pretty obvious that there’s a contradiction in the way the administration has acted and the way they’ve tried to present themselves to students who are interested in politics,” the Columbia student says.
According to the Columbia student, since the first student protests after Oct. 7, 2023, the university has effectively been gated off. One must have a student or faculty ID card to even access campus, which is disheartening to the anonymous student as the institution was once a community center for West Harlem. Columbia has expelled, suspended or temporarily revoked the degrees of students who occupied Hamilton Hall in April 2024 to protest the university’s ties to Israel. Never mind the fact that that building has a rich history of student takeovers, or that they themselves as a university have been proudly lenient on students who take over buildings.
Columbia is now watching students’ every move. The Columbia Daily Spectator reported that the university has hired private investigators to investigate student meetings and delegates appointed by the Office of the President to monitor protests and warn students of potential code of conduct violations. It was also found that as of 2014 Columbia has about 3,000 CCTV cameras installed, though this number does not include the amount at Barnard College. Last Spring, Barnard used cameras and corroborated with student card swipes to identify a student who allegedly participated in a demonstration. A Columbia spokesperson declined to provide Spectator with the current number of cameras installed, though the student shares he has noticed them everywhere.
“Columbia’s surveillance of their students is, like, unparalleled,” the Columbia student says.
It’s not just Columbia that’s using surveillance as an anti-protest tactic. The Canary Mission is one group that documents individuals and organizations on North American college campuses that “promote hatred” of the U.S., Jewish people and Israel. The website publishes photos and personal information of students and professionals who have expressed outward support of Palestine, or who have just been seen around demonstrations. Some of the students deported under Trump’s efforts have a profile on the site, the New York Times reports, including Ozturk. The group has a promise to inform the public on bigotry, but with actions close to doxxing and fear mongering language, the Canary Mission is a force to scare protestors into submission.
“It was creepy as hell,” said one Temple University student with a profile on the Canary Mission, who was granted anonymity for his safety. “It was so creepy seeing my face on the website, and just the fact that if you search my name, that’s the first thing that comes up. So, it was kind of scary at first.”
Lauren Frank and Kenefere Kamani, two Temple students who also have a profile on the website, were terrified when they found out their information was published. But all three students were quickly relieved when they saw it was just their social media accounts and LinkedIn profiles. Still, the photos on their profiles were from the protests that were entirely peaceful. To them, that being enough to make it onto the Canary Mission sets a dangerous precedent.
The anonymous Temple student quickly became proud after he found out he was on the website. He’s Palestinian himself, and he shares that his mom was also proud, and showed it to all her friends.
“It does make me glad, because I can at least look back and know I stood up for something,” the Temple student says.
Surveillance and publishing information has become a common anti-protest tactic. The three Temple students believe that this is because it scares people. Publishing information like this is threatening and can lead to dangerous situations.
“It’s almost easy, because they’re not really making an argument,” says Frank. “They’re just endangering people in the hopes that they’ll back down. That’s where most of my frustrations are. It’s like there’s not really an effort here.”
The language on the Canary Mission’s website is, frankly, ridiculous. All who show their support for Palestinian people are linked to Hamas, and antisemitism is being conflated with criticisms of Israel, though implying all Jewish people condone the actions of Israel has even greater antisemitic implications. The three Temple students on the website are there for participating in various protests in support of Palestine. The Canary Mission frames these as criticizing “Israel’s war against Hamas,” and implies that these students are supporters of the terrorist group.
Despite the website’s main purpose being publishing people’s information, no information on the Canary Mission’s leadership exists. There’s no physical address listed, no phone number or email to be found. The Contact Us page is a form to report alleged antisemitic individuals.
“I think it’s ironic. It’s ironic that they’re scared of showing any of their information, but they tried to find anything on me,” says Frank. “I just think it’s kind of pathetic.”
So, with people watching protestors’ every move, is it safe for anyone to protest anymore? Many who denounce protesters argue that it should be peaceful, but a majority of them have been, according to the interviewed students. Frank shares that every march she has attended, she’s felt empowered by fighting for a common goal with her peers. Kanmani says that the people are always welcoming, energetic and willing to teach you things.
“Where is there violence? Where are we seeing violence?” questions the anonymous Temple student.
The Columbia encampments last year were perhaps the most demonized by Israel supporters. Rumors of violence and intimidation from student protestors filled the ears of everyone outside the city, but when a New York City councilmember visited, she found quite the opposite. The Columbia student I interviewed participated in the encampments and noted that he never missed a class during this time. It was not nearly as disruptive as the university tried to portray, the student said, and became the hangout for many students. Politicians visited, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; dance groups put on performances in support and meals for different religious diets were provided.
“It felt like the center of the universe,” the Columbia student says.
There’s also a very clear difference between violent protests and disruptive protests. Many universities have demonstration guidelines that prevent protests from impeding the academic process or from blocking pedestrian and vehicular traffic. However, if a protest does not call attention to an issue, if a protest does not make passers-by stop and think about the issue, why are people protesting?
“What’s the point?” asks Frank. “I think disruption is a huge part of effectiveness. That’s a key component to it. You need to have some kind of spectacle so that people see it or are drawn to it. It needs to generally be big and loud, and something that draws attention. It also needs to disturb, because why would people care? Otherwise, if I can just walk around and continue my day, what is the point?”
To Frank, there’s more important issues than people unable to attend class (which, in pretty much all cases students were still able to go to class), like visas getting unjustly revoked and thousands of children dying. Kamani points out that Israel has since broken the ceasefire agreement with Hamas, and if people are angry, they have a right to be so.
“If people want to start…causing disruption or obstruction, I just feel like they have a right to do that,” argues Kamani. “We have a right to disrupt if peaceful tactics aren’t working.”
But, okay, if you think that protests should be kept in a quiet corner for you to not be inconvenienced by it, fine. Boycotting is the best way to do that! It doesn’t affect anyone but the boycotter and the company at stake. The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement outlines a list of companies for consumers and organizations to stop financially supporting.
Well, boycotting isn’t allowed, either! As of 2024, 38 states have passed forms of legislation that prevents state agencies from investing in and working with companies that boycott or support the BDS movement. The Canary Mission’s ethics policy outlines that any individual who boycotts Israel or supports the BDS movement can make it onto their website.
“If you’re going to make me not boycott, then give me money,” jokes Frank.
When Trump posted on his Truth Social account that all foreign students participating in “illegal protests” will be deported and all domestic students will be expelled, people were terrified. People are still terrified, even more so as it becomes clear that not only does our president mean what he says, “illegal protests” are synonymous with ones he doesn’t like. Schools that allow for these demonstrations will have their funding cut, like Columbia University. The Trump administration cut $400 million in federal funds from the institution, and Columbia is turning over student disciplinary records to Congress. To the student interviewed, being a Columbia student means “absolutely nothing.” The university is no longer the activist hub it used to be, and he is not optimistic about the future of student protests.
“There’s some sort of spiritual aspect of the student community that’s somehow going to prevail, but I think that the political conditions in this country are just not favorable,” says the Columbia student. “I would like to say we can just further agitate until things work out. I would love for that to be the case, but I don’t see that being the case, because the Trump administration has shown they are willing to quash any sort of action to a degree that we can’t advocate our way out of this. I think it’s weak, and I don’t really know what to do, and I don’t think anyone knows what to do.”
Can we still protest and stand up for what’s right? Is there still hope? To the three Temple students, there must be.
“I have to have hope,” said Kamani. “I have to. For the sake of the people of Palestine, for Congo, for Sudan. I have to have hope and keep fighting for what’s right.”
