Pres. Biden addresses campus protests
Dozens of universities and colleges are seeing demonstrations over the situation in the Middle East
WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - President Joe Biden weighed in Thursday after days of silence concerning ongoing pro-Palestinian protests at dozens of colleges and universities. He said that students have a first amendment right to protest, but it should not infringe upon the right of other students to take classes and attend graduation.
President Biden spoke out on the issue for the first time since pro-Palestinian protests began on college campuses over a week ago. He defended the rights of students to exercise free speech, but also condemned - violence at universities and increasing episodes of hate speech.
“Make no mistake. As president, I will always defend free speech, and I will always be just as strong standing up for the rule of law. That’s my responsibility to you, the American people. My obligation to the Constitution.”
At campuses such as George Washington University in the nation’s capital, students have erected pro-Palestinian encampments in prominent public areas. Their goal is aimed at protesting Israel’s war against Hamas. Some of those protests have turned violent; for example the unrest has forced the University of Southern California to cancel this year’s commencement.
“There’s the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos. People have the right to get an education, the right to get a degree, the right to walk across campus safely without fear of being attacked. But let’s be clear about this as well. There should be no place on any campus, no place in America, for anti-Semitism or threats of violence against Jewish students.”
In recent days, Congressional Republicans have criticized the President for not speaking out on the campus protests – accusing him of being weak on law and order.
Senator John Cornyn is a Republican from Texas,
“Well, the Supreme Court has said under the First Amendment that time, manner and place restrictions are neutral and so the university can put those in place. People can continue to protest, say what they want. This is a free country, but they need to do so in accordance with those, those rules.”
The President said the protests have not forced him to reconsider his policies in the Middle East. And he gave a stern “no” when asked if the National Guard should be brought in to end the campus protests - as some Republicans have suggested.
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