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 Edward Chiao
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In America, we encourage individuals to stand up for what they
believe is right. And there is no doubt the 500 pro-Palestinian
protesters who stormed a UC Berkeley building on Tuesday felt they
were in the right. But sometimes the actions people take in pursuit
of their beliefs infringe on the freedom or safety of others, and
when that happens the law justifiably enforces consequences ““
as the 79 protesters who were arrested during the protest can
attest.
While the protesters had a right to peaceably express their
beliefs, the second they resorted to aggressive behavior ““
regardless of whether or not it was a more effective way of sending
their message ““ they crossed the line where “free
speech” ends and therefore became subject to punishment. Not
only did their speech infringe on the freedom of students to
receive their education that day, a rowdy group of 500 protesters
could easily have lead to vandalism, destruction or serious injury.
In light of that threat, the university was correct in taking
action to end the demonstration, as well as its decision to punish
the student protesters by suspending them for the remainder of the
semester ““ even though the punishment is too severe. The
university cannot have buildings overtaken every time a group wants
to make a statement ““ particularly regarding issues it is
completely uninvolved in like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
However, none of this means students should stop taking over
buildings in protest. When something is wrong ““ as
segregation and discrimination were in the 1960s ““ it is the
students’ responsibility to take action. It only means that
people must be willing to face the consequences, which are, after
all, what makes the action meaningful and effective in the first
place.