Are student’s voices even heard, and if so, do people ever really listen or do they just pretend to? There is a very long history of college revolutionists, starting at the University of California Berkeley in the 1960s when the students fought for free speech during the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam-war era. Nearly 800 protesters were arrested by local police. This rebellion was the start of many, but one in particular was at Kent State University in Ohio during the Vietnam War in 1970. During this, the National Guard opened fire into a sea of protesters and other people passing by. Four were killed and many were injured. US Today said, “The impact of the shootings was dramatic.
In the past few years, there have been a lot of different conflicts that students are trying to resolve. Recently, pro-Palestine protesters have been causing an uproar on university campuses all over the United States and even in some other countries around the world. These crowds of college students started off small at the beginning of April, but as time has gone by, more and more people have shown up for the cause. Though many are peaceful, there are also some who are not protesting safely, even when they think what they are doing is fine. There are still rules they need to follow. The people who are going along the rules want to be heard, but all everyone cares about is getting them off of their campuses. No one is listening to what the protesters have to say, and they think since they are college students, they have no idea what they are talking about. In reality, they see what is going on. Online, they see the injustices Palestinian people are going through. They might not know the whole story, but they see what is important.
Police and law enforcement have been breaking apart protests all over the United States, especially on college campuses where the students are mostly peaceful and non-problematic. The authorities have been cracking down on the colleges which is making people even more aggravated. The New York Times said, “Police officers and university administrators have clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters on a growing number of college campuses in recent weeks, arresting students, removing encampments, and threatening academic consequences. More than 2,800 people have been arrested or detained on campuses across the country.”
Today, thanks to technology, everyone can see what is happening almost anywhere in the world as soon as the event occurs. People can feel empathy for someone they’ve never met, and in this case, they want to do something about it. College students are trying to communicate with everyone that they aren’t children anymore; they have opinions that are important and need to be heard. When they have something urgent to say, they need people to listen, but they aren’t. The police are arresting them, they are getting kicked out of their school, and getting in trouble for something they think is necessary.
The Israele/Palestine problem is serious and needs to be fixed right away, but everyone is focused on fighting the fact that students are right in the matter. In order for people to hear what students have to say they need to do it together. Everyone needs to become united for the cause if they want their voices heard.