In the beginning, the students protesting on college campuses against the Israel-Hamas war argued that their activities were protected speech, immune from government sanction at public universities, and equally free from restrictions at private universities that adopted free speech commitments.
But as the tactics of protestors escalated from expressive demonstrations to blockading buildings, taking over administrative buildings and setting up encampments at the center of university grounds, their free speech argument became increasingly unpersuasive and inapplicable. Free speech doctrine could no longer shield these activities from campus discipline or a municipal police response.
Accordingly, the defense of the protests shifted from freedom of speech to the claim that protests and dissent challenging government action and decisions, whether protected speech or not, deserve special recognition and respect. These arguments are…
