Boston boiled over with protests Friday as students across universities including Boston University (BU), Harvard, and MIT stepped off their classrooms and into the streets, taking up the mantle of solidarity for their peers at Columbia University, who were arrested last Thursday. According to The Boston Globe, Columbia's unrest saw 108 students cuffed for trespassing with BU students vowing to keep the protests alive, chanting "Free Palestine" with signs and percussions at hand to punctuate their cause.
Among these was a BU junior known only as Aaran who—defiant in the face of Columbia arrests—asserted, "If we see [arrests] and we stop protesting things, they won", continuing their thought by affirming that cessation of demonstrations wasn't an option, in a sentiment captured by The Boston Globe. The protests snaked through BU campus grounds and Harvard's historically verdant yards, with messages like "Harvard out of occupied Palestine" and cries to halt the alleged genocide in Gaza, the collective voices striving to create ripples of change through the educational establishments.
At Harvard, a surge of support joined the fray with Harvard law student Lea Kayali commending the Columbia student's bravery, arguing "You cannot arrest the movement. You cannot suspend the movement," during an impassioned address with megaphone in hand, as reported by The Boston Globe. As the demonstrations sparked conversations about the Palestinian cause, Israel's Consul General to New England, Meron Reuben, conveyed concerns for Israeli students, expressing a preference for dialogue over protests in a statement obtained by CBS Boston.
As BU's protest disrupted daily proceedings, Eliana González, a BU senior, pointed out the administration's specific scrutinization of pro-Palestinian students stating that it shows their protests are "working," and the purpose is to disrupt and raise awareness, while Kellie Finley-Call, a BU theology student, highlighted the interconnectedness of the Palestinian liberation movement and the graduate workers' strike, saying "Everybody’s liberation is tied up together," a statement noted by The Boston Globe. New York Mayor Eric Adams, dealing with similar uproars, pointed out that satisfying free speech doesn't equate to a free pass for policy violations on campus.
While no arrests marked Friday's show of opposition at MIT, BU, and Harvard, the demonstrations boldly underscored an ongoing struggle, a combined outcry that not only questions academic institutions' standings on international issues but also they are challenging the confines of campus activism, caught between the halls of learning and the barricades of societal engagement.
