This is a place where we ought to be able
to discuss difficult ideas,
and everyone should be able to share their own perspective.
I see students line up for a lot of students
being sprayed with Mace lying on the ground.
Last night's attack was part of a longer campaign to
torment student protesters.
All right faculty at UCLA weighing in now after things
got heated on campus overnight in today's spotlight.
College protests over the Israel Hamas war escalating further from
coast to coast At UCLA,
where classes were canceled today,
demonstrators have been rallying again after dueling protests turned violent
overnight.
Also at the University of Wisconsin and Madison,
there were some protesters refusing to clear an encampment,
defying police. Today at least 12 people were arrested.
There are four officers were hurt in that as well.
All of this according after NYPD officers stormed an occupied
academic hall at Columbia University last night,
arresting more than 100 protesters there and more than
170 others at City College just blocks away.
I want to bring back my panel here,
Marsha, John and Rick. And we're also joined now by
ABC News contributor and SiriusXM radio host Mike Muse for
more on this.
So thank you all for being here.
Mike. Look, we've been watching this play out now for
weeks.
We saw how things played out in New York and
at UCLA overnight.
How What is your assessment of how colleges have been
handling these protests?
Well, one of those images that you just showed Kane
are very striking
to see police officers on college campuses.
College campuses have always been the bedrock of social movement.
That's where students really get to learn their agency and
find their voice.
And just as one of those faculty members at UCLA
was just mentioning,
that's where critical dialogue really begins.
But normally there's always two sides that are listening.
The challenge what we're finding right now is that if
you look at some of the of some people have
been arrested recently across campuses,
the majority or 2/3 or 1/3 of those individuals are
actually those who sit outside of the university system.
And they're noticing that they're becoming outside agitators whose sole
purpose is literally that just to agitate and not to
have discourse.
So when you start having that infused into college campuses,
it's really taking away from the narrative of what the
heart of some of these protesters are really there for.
And college administrators, they're not.
They're not used to handling this type of dynamic,
which is now going to see this trifecta of local
law enforcement and really federal government engaging in how to
best,
you know, triage these situation going forward from a policy
perspective,
from a safety perspective. And also too for following discourse
and the freedom to protest to be allowed.
Right. And and in terms of those outside agitators,
right at UT, we know that a lot of the
people arrested there had no affiliation with the school whatsoever.
But Marsha, to you, I mean,
these protests have thrown the end of the academic year
into a state of chaos.
USC, as we all know,
has canceled its main graduation ceremony as already as a
matter of safety,
watching how things are going right now.
Do you think it's possible other schools might follow suit
there?
Yeah, I I think so.
You know, universities are are looking after one another,
but. And I think that both sides can agree here
that every American has the right to speak out and
make their voice heard
and we. But you need to do so in a
way that doesn't threaten others.
And forcibly taking over a building on campus is absolutely
the wrong way to do things.
It was just what we've seen.
So when it turns to violence,
I think that's when it gets
scary.
It certainly has been scary for a lot of people.
And John, let's talk a little bit more about what
we've been calling these outside agitators that get involved.
It sounds like they're getting involved all across this country.
How do you think law enforcement or the university should
be approaching that part of the situation?
Well, I I think that they should be dealt with
very harshly.
You know, we've all talked about this,
but we've danced around. One thing that hasn't been spoken
there is outright blatant anti-Semitism going on.
And it's not just about if you're disagreeing about Gaza.
And I said before, and I'll say it again,
if those scientists said death to Jews said death to
the Irish like my background or death to African Americans
or death to Hispanics,
we would be outraged. Where is the outrage here?
Right? That's number one. And number and that crosses the
line of free speech.
That's not free speech. You can't stand in movie theater
and yell fire,
right. And you can't be doing what they're doing here.
And this is out of control.
And these people that are not on campus
should be hammered hard in the court of law.
Absolutely. And Rick to you,
there is politics in this protest.
As you know, former President Trump on the stump in
Wisconsin today talking about the arrests in New York.
You have to imagine this potentially could become a political
liability for President Biden as well.
Sure. But I think it's important to know that the
the people that are on college campuses don't represent the
majority of young people or even the majority are close
to it of college students at this moment.
They are certainly vocal. Some of them as Mike mentioned
or outside agitator.
Some of them of course are,
are college students and are likely Democratic voters.
Look, Donald Trump said again today that he wants to
re bring back his Muslim ban.
He says he's stronger ally of Israel than Joe Biden.
If so, if the choice is between Biden and Trump,
I think Biden likes his chances even with some of
the people right now who are making a lot of
noise.
But again, a lot of people are going to have
a lot of issues on their mind this fall that
they don't, that they don't really have anything to do
with the protests that are now roiling these campuses.
And as a note here from UCLA,
they're saying that they have detailed accounts of what happened
on campus last night.
The president is saying that,
but there's some confusion that remains.
And so they've ordered an independent external review.
I know we will continue to talk about this.
Mike, Marsha, John and Rick,
our thanks to all of you.