New York City Police arrested more than 100 protestors occupying Hamilton Hall at Columbia in what appears to have been a non-violent operation. The university has requested that NYPD maintain a presence on campus for the next few weeks.
The high-profile protests right in the middle of the country’s largest media market has led to intensive coverage, which may have the affect of distorting the popular impression of the anti-war movement overall.
At the vast majority of colleges across the nation, protests have been entirely peaceful, with no arrests and no need for a law enforcement presence. At several major colleges, leaders of the protests have negotiated with administrators to avoid conflicts.
My friend and long-time colleague Doug Foster, who teaches journalism at Northwestern, reports:
“There’s less coverage of places where pro Palestinian student encampments have not been met with punitive sanctions or arrests and confrontations with police. After days of serious negotiations, talks between student organizers and administrators at Northwestern resulted in an agreement to allow the protest to continue until shortly before graduation, with concessions on both sides. If the agreement holds perhaps it’s a model for others dedicated to free speech and also committed to the long struggle against hatred directed at Jews and Muslim minorities.”
But national media coverage has disproportionately featured Columbia on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, as well as the University of Texas, UCLA, and other places where has been some level of violence, arrests or both.
Covering a developing situation like this one is among the most daunting tasks journalists undertake. Finding representative voices who truly speak for the majority of protestors is extremely difficult.
Too often the extremist voices get exposure when they are actually only a small percentage of the whole. This factor gets exacerbated by politicians who seize on the presence of extremists to advance their own agendas.
In this way, entire social movements can be unfairly discredited in the eyes of the general population. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen in this case and that this generation of protestors get to have their authentic collective voice heard.
That is needed as part of an open, honest debate of the issues involved in U.S. support for Israel in the war in the Middle East.
HEADLINES:
Judge in hush money trial threatens Trump with jail after holding him in contempt for violating gag order (NBC)
NYPD officers enter building occupied by Columbia students (CNN)
Violence stuns UCLA as counter-protesters attack pro-Palestine camp (LAT)
Trump won't rule out election violence if he loses to Biden in November: 'It depends' (Business Insider)
Arizona state senator indicted in fake electors scheme and expelled state legislator are tapped for RNC positions (CNN)
Democratic leadership vows to rescue GOP Speaker Mike Johnson as intrigue grows in Capitol (WP)
Florida Abortion Ban to Take Effect, Cutting Off Major Access Point (NYT)
Confessions of a former NPR commentator: The network has changed (The Hill)
Texas just took a big hit in its competition against California (SFGate)
A Massive U.S. Nuclear Plant Is Finally Complete. It Might Be the Last of Its Kind. (WSJ)
Stowaway Cat Gets From Utah to California in Amazon Returns Package (NYT)
The Philippines accused China's coast guard of harassment and damaging one of its boats in a disputed area of the South China Sea and rejected Beijing's position that it had expelled two vessels from the hotly contested shoal. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged his country will invade Rafah "with or without" a deal with Hamas involving the release of hostages.[AP]
In pictures: A lookback at student protest movements in the US (CNN)
Hope Rises for New Talks on Gaza Cease-fire as Israel Scales Back Demands (NYT)
AI is coming for the professional class. Expect outrage — and fear. (WP)
8 Daily Newspapers Sue OpenAI and Microsoft Over A.I. (NYT)
Coachella Organizers Announce Plans To Extend Festival To 52 Weekends A Year (The Onion)
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