As a high schooler, IU's crackdown on protests makes me want to enroll elsewhere

I exist within an extremely privileged position regarding educational opportunity.

Throughout my life, due to my parents’ various, seemingly ever-changing positions within multiple colleges and universities nationwide (and the benefits my family and I receive through them), I’ve been reassured that my pathway to higher education would remain simple — minimal distance from family and minimal cost.

My family has been affiliated with numerous college systems, including the universities of Connecticut, Dayton, Colorado State and, currently, Indiana University. Recently, the IU administration has experienced significant criticism due to its controversial and unprecedented response to pro-Palestinian student and faculty protesters, whose demonstrations included encampments at Dunn Meadow, an on-campus area initially designated for demonstrations and diverse forms of expression.

As was the case within numerous protest groups throughout American universities, protesters at IU expressed their discontent surrounding continued university investment/cooperation with companies that provide resources to the Israeli government and therefore actively support Israel’s brutal offensive within the Gaza strip.

Rather than addressing protester concerns, IU president Pamela Whitten altered a longstanding Dunn Meadow policy one day prior to the protests in an attempt to restrict the voices of students and faculty. Whitten’s actions blatantly restricted protesters from establishing encampments as a form of expression, which supposedly provided justification for law enforcement actions the very next day. Protesters were met by police at the direction of Whitten and her administration.

Additionally, although encampments and protester actions were peaceful and remained solely within Dunn Meadow, Whitten cited “student safety” as a primary motive for opposing the encampments and requesting law enforcement presence. This contradicts reality, as protesters neither placed students in dangerous situations nor prevented students from attending class.

Moreover, while increased antisemitism due to pro-Palestinian encampments was cited as a concern by both Whitten and provost Rahul Shrivastav, antisemitic behavior was not recorded within Dunn Meadow or surrounding areas, according to various outlets, including The Herald Times, Bloomingtonian and IU's student newspaper, the Indiana Daily Student.

In fact, numerous Jewish students and faculty members (including IU Germanic Studies professor Ben Robinson, who was arrested while wearing a shirt saying, “Jews say ceasefire now”) supported and participated in protests. Whitten and Shrivastav, who received 93.1% and 91.5% faculty no-confidence votes, respectively, exploited the issue of antisemitism for their own benefit and simultaneously promoted Islamophobic and anti-constitutional rhetoric.

The administration, whose members’ authority outweighs the collective voices of the student body and faculty, actively dismiss the remainder of the population’s ideas, opinions and forms of expression. As an individual who was taught to stand up for what he believes in, I take extreme offense to Whitten’s response to demonstrators — as do many young people throughout places in which pro-divestment encampments have erupted.

The brutal law enforcement response to community members pushing for change was inappropriate and disgusting. Rapid and necessary change occurs through powerful demonstration. Such has been the case throughout history; the Civil Rights movement, women’s suffrage, anti-apartheid, the French Revolution, and the Indian independence movement.

Students and professors affiliated with the university and countless others must, and will, continue to pursue change and maintain the vital integrity of diverse communities within an educational setting.

As I approach my senior year of high school, considerations for the future of my education grow far more complex due to this situation. Although potential financial sacrifice isn’t ideal, forceful sacrifice of my voice, and thus the power to freely demonstrate my beliefs, is something I am wholeheartedly unwilling to accept.

Siddhu McLeod lives in Bloomington and attends Bloomington High School South.