OHIO — As college students gear up for the fall semester, many are preparing to continue protests of the Israel-Hamas war.  

What You Need To Know

  • A shift in consequences for violating campus protest rules may not deter intensified Israel-Hamas protests on large college campuses
  • Experts believe college administrators will have to stay tough on protest rules this year to keep people safe
  • Despite some graduating, new leaders on campuses are expected to emerge to take on the cause 

“Until there’s peace, we could see the protests continue with greater intensity. This time around, the risks and consequences are greater as many schools have changed their protest policies,” said Dr Glenn Duerr, professor of International Studies at Cedarville University.

When asked if the consequences may be a detractor for many students, Duerr said, “It’s a mixed bag, because in Ohio there were eight major campuses that had encampments and ongoing protests, but there were many campuses that did not see very significant protests or pretty minor protests. On a lot of the larger campuses, some of the organizations. Connecting Students for Palestine and Young Democratic Socialists of America are already gearing up for these types of things.” 

Duerr believes that with this being the case, it may pose a significant public safety issue, which is why administrators and local police will have plenty of rules in place to keep people safe. He added that college administrations

“Will have to play hardball in order to try to uphold the ability for other students to go to class for the safety of Jewish students on campus, etc. So it could be a volatile situation. So I think really, ground rules are necessary as students return to class,” said Duerr.