Student activism has been prominent on US college campuses for generations, from the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War decades ago to the more recent protests surrounding Black Lives Matter, abolition Roe v. Wade and the latest war between Israel and Hamas.

“Campuses have traditionally been places for the free exchange of ideas, the unfettered pursuit of truth, and the encouragement of students to engage in public discourse,” says Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, an advocacy organization for equity in higher education. .

However, participation in protests has its limitations and sometimes punitive consequences – if laws or campus policies are violated. Here’s what College students should know about participating in rallies, sit-ins, and other protests on campus.

Public universities are bound by the First Amendment—which protects free speech and the right to peaceably assemble—while private institutions are not, experts say.

“In the absence of applicable state law, private colleges and universities can have whatever protest policies they want, including banning all protests if that’s their choice,” says Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project.

“Now, most private colleges adopt free speech principles that at least approximate First Amendment standards. But it’s important to know that those aren’t generally enforceable. So if they decide they don’t like the direction of a particular protest movement, they can change those rules.”

For this reason, especially those attending private colleges must refer to their student handbook and understand the time, place, and manner rules of their campus.

“Even for speech that is allowed, it’s not always allowed in all places,” says Wizner. “That’s because colleges have to function, people have to get in and out of buildings, people have to use libraries. Almost every school will have a rule that prohibits the kind of camping or building takeovers that we’ve seen” with protests related to the war between Israel and Hamas. “However, I wouldn’t tell the student not to do it. I would just make sure they understand that this is civil disobedience. It will probably escalate the reaction.”

Students are protesting to “raise awareness and push for change on issues they believe are being overlooked or mishandled by those in power, especially after expected avenues have failed,” said Stephanie Hall, senior director of college policy education at the Center for American Progress. , an independent policy institute based in Washington, DC, wrote in an email. “This could include concerns about social justice, human rights, etc Environment or internal issues regarding campus policies or administrative decisions.”

But it’s important to have a plan before participating, because “well-organized logistics reduce the chances of dangerous situations,” he says.

“You know the reason,” adds Hall. “Be informed about the issue, goals and demands of the protest.”

During the demonstration, students should be peaceful and non-disruptive, refrain from violence and not resist arrest — if it comes to that, says Zach Greenberg, senior program officer and First Amendment attorney at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a nonprofit organization focused on protecting free speech. at universities.

Not resisting arrest is a hallmark of civil disobedience – breaking a law or policy in peaceful protest and accepting the consequences.

“Document everything usually with a mobile phone” says Greenberg, who is also an advisor to the student association FIRE. “Just put the video on your recording device. This can be a really good tool if they are facing university discipline.”

Students should “know their rights, know the limits of what they can and can’t do, and follow those limits,” Greenberg says.

Pasquerella advises against making unconditional, non-negotiable demands and an unwillingness to “listen critically and with understanding to all sides of the issue. Because if you don’t, you’ll never move the needle. … We all have to come.” into protest situations, regardless of which side we are on, in good faith and with a willingness to engage in humanistic identification.”

Students also need to be wary of outside agitators and “the dangers of ideological filtering,” he adds. “And the messages that they get from certain groups and their movements are not to be co-opted by extremists… They need to strongly oppose any messages of hate, violence that are being spread out there by those who are supposed to be their allies. In the past it might have been easier to distinguish who your allies and who were your enemies.’

Compared to protests in past generations, many people today have access to smartphones. This means that videos and images can be posted social media or online in the blink of an eye, which has both advantages and disadvantages, experts say.

“College students today live in a kind of ruthless world where what they do is permanently recorded and available for anyone to search at any time,” says Wizner. “And that can affect the kind of decisions and risks that some young people want to make.”

Colleges can stop protests and punish students—either by suspension or expulsion—in cases of civil disobedience, which occurs when students voluntarily violate university policies, disrupt campus, or commit any acts of violence.

Legally, college students are considered adults, so breaking the law can result in fines or arrest. Depending on the circumstances, the legal consequences of peaceful civil disobedience are usually not serious, Wizner says.

“If you get arrested at night, you can spend half a day in jail or spend the night,” he says. “You will likely appear in court where the charges will be dropped, provided you don’t reoffend or get arrested again in the next six months. That’s not a guarantee, and of course it depends on what you’re arrested for. The consequences can be different for breaking a window and entering a building at night than for peacefully blocking someone’s right of way.”

However, if students engage in this behavior repeatedly, it can affect the potential career optionsadds Wizner, especially jobs in law enforcement or security. Additionally, private employers can choose not to hire someone if they find the reason for the protest offensive.

“Students should know what potential consequences they face and decide whether the purpose of the protest outweighs them,” says Hall. “In the context of today’s campus protests, we are seeing students overwhelmingly say that their purpose for protesting or their demands on their institutions is worth the consequences they may have on an individual level. That, after all, is the spirit of protest: to give yourself or even your livelihood on the line in the name of a greater cause.”

While students face potential consequences, peaceful demonstrations on campus can have positive results, experts say.

For example, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a group of students marched and protested against University of Rhode Island, taking over an administration building and creating a list of demands in response to racist incidents on campus, Pasquerella recalls.

“The administration has worked with them to achieve common goals in promoting racial and social justice,” he says. “I keep hearing from these students about how it was one of the most meaningful experiences they’ve had in college.”

“Protests can be a learning experience, and that’s what we hope they will do,” adds Pasquerella. “It involved negotiating complex issues with administrators who had power. It involved working with a team to try to achieve a shared goal. And really putting their own sense of meaning and purpose and applying it to what they were doing in the college environment.” , integrate these co-curricular protest activities into their curriculum and capitalize on it leadership role throughout his career. It really increased their ability to do their job.”