Pro-Palestinian Activists’ Responses to University Adminstrations’ Sanctions of Campus Demonstrations: Content Analysis of News Stories, March - June 2024.”
Location
SU-216
Start Date
2-5-2025 10:50 AM
Department
Sociology
Abstract
Israel's response to Hamas’ October 7, 2024 attack and subsequent invasion of Palestinian territories leading to the killing of over an estimated 40,000 Palestinians and nearly 100,000 wounded, spurred world wide outcry and claims of genocide. This was most evident across U.S. college campuses, whereby supporters of the Palestinian people, and particularly college students, participated in campus demonstrations to denounce the Israeli government’s actions, demand a ceasefire, and calls for divestment from Israel. Yet, despite a long-history of being sites of social justice activism and free speech, some college administrators have denounced Pro-Palestinian student activists’ actions and claims. This raises interesting questions about why there is a marked shift in college administrative criticism of Pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations and sanctions against students who participate in them. Thus, our exploratory research aims to uncover how student protestors interpreted and employed counter frames to respond to university sanctions. Employing content analysis of newspaper articles from March 2024 to June 2024, we found that student protestors employed “Complacency” and “Free Speech” counter frames in response to university punitive actions toward them. The complacency counter frame referred to university’s complacency in genocide while free speech counter frames were used to describe administrators’ attempts to stifle free speech and civil disobedience. Our findings have implications regarding the future of free speech in higher education after the election of Trump and the institutionalization of policies that stifle free speech on college campuses.
Faculty Sponsor
Juan Martinez
Pro-Palestinian Activists’ Responses to University Adminstrations’ Sanctions of Campus Demonstrations: Content Analysis of News Stories, March - June 2024.”
SU-216
Israel's response to Hamas’ October 7, 2024 attack and subsequent invasion of Palestinian territories leading to the killing of over an estimated 40,000 Palestinians and nearly 100,000 wounded, spurred world wide outcry and claims of genocide. This was most evident across U.S. college campuses, whereby supporters of the Palestinian people, and particularly college students, participated in campus demonstrations to denounce the Israeli government’s actions, demand a ceasefire, and calls for divestment from Israel. Yet, despite a long-history of being sites of social justice activism and free speech, some college administrators have denounced Pro-Palestinian student activists’ actions and claims. This raises interesting questions about why there is a marked shift in college administrative criticism of Pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations and sanctions against students who participate in them. Thus, our exploratory research aims to uncover how student protestors interpreted and employed counter frames to respond to university sanctions. Employing content analysis of newspaper articles from March 2024 to June 2024, we found that student protestors employed “Complacency” and “Free Speech” counter frames in response to university punitive actions toward them. The complacency counter frame referred to university’s complacency in genocide while free speech counter frames were used to describe administrators’ attempts to stifle free speech and civil disobedience. Our findings have implications regarding the future of free speech in higher education after the election of Trump and the institutionalization of policies that stifle free speech on college campuses.