Universities shouldn’t indulge protesters who have no regard for the law. Unfortunately, we have already seen numerous colleges meet some or all of the anti-Israel demonstrators’ demands.
The encampment I’m most familiar with, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was allowed to stand for nearly two weeks. It persisted even after multiple antisemitic incidents, including a man reportedly raising a Nazi salute toward Jewish students. Despite acknowledging that the encampment was illegal, university administrators negotiated with and caved in to the organizers. Contrast this with how the university has tried to prevent conservative events from being held on campus. Earlier this year, the university attempted to charge a right-wing student organization more than $4,000 in security fees to host Michael Knowles. It backed down only after it was threatened with legal action.
The University of Florida, which cleared its encampments quickly, set the model for its peers. Rather than legitimize an illegal demonstration, the university sent the message that its rules would be enforced.