How university campuses respond to concerns about student safety can set the stage for learning or encourage its opposite: divisiveness and censorship.
Almost 56 years to the day after the anti-war protests in 1968, New York City police evicted Columbia University students from an on-campus occupation.
It’s a precarious situation, but pressure from the US and Saudi Arabia, among others, is gradually pushing the two warring sides towards a deal. But a lot can still go wrong.
Prosecuting leaders indicted for war crimes is difficult. But the trial of Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic in the early 2000s offers a potential playbook.
Even if you disagree with their concerns or their tactics, students should not be penalized for thinking critically about world events and trying to bring about positive social change.
Ontario’s Strengthening Accountability and Student Supports Act threatens to undermine university autonomy, and could serve to censor critical thinking and dissent on campuses.
The roots of today’s Israel-Palestine crisis can be traced back to colonial power dealings during World War I – of which the Gallipoli campaign and Anzac legend are an integral part.
In 2015, I saw Jewish and Muslim students forge a set of group agreements so they could dialogue on the Middle East conflict. Initiatives like this or a ‘Semester in Dialogue’ program are promising.
Israel’s latest missile strike on Iran may be more a face-saving exercise aimed at satisfying members of its coalition government than a true escalation of hostilities.