After the crackdown on pro-Palestinian students at US universities last spring, American universities and colleges have reinforced the rules about protests, locked campus doors, and imposed more severe punishment for holding demonstrations, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.
“Universities have seen just under 950 protest events this semester so far, compared to 3,000 last semester,” the American daily cited from a research center at Harvard University.
Nearly 50 individuals have been detained during this school year, compared to over 3,000 last semester, which is thought-provoking, according to Harvard University.
Also, Harvard University temporarily banned tens of faculty members and students from entering libraries after they sat behind the library tables to protest in silence against the war in Gaza.
The report added that Indiana University Bloomington put the protesting students, who had just lit candles for the victims of the Gaza war, under the new prohibition on activities.
The University of Pennsylvania officials and police officers, who were holding zip ties, warned the students against holding any demonstrations.
The chairman of the American Association of University Professors, Todd Wolfson, says, “The restrictions have made people afraid,” as quoted by the New York Times.
Meanwhile, experts believe that the government under US President-elect Donald Trump will “try to force further changes at institutions.”
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