University of Chicago student Mitch Robson posted a video on X Monday entering the so-called “occupation zone” within the UChicago Main Quadrangle. Upon entering the encampment, Robson was swarmed by masked protesters who followed him with massive flags in an apparent attempt to conceal the identities of the protesters, intimidate Robson, and prevent him from freely walking on campus grounds.
“As a critic of many of Israel’s military operations following Hamas’ October 7 acts of terrorism, I was earnestly rooting for these protestors to be level-headed, nuanced opponents of certain aspects of Netanyahu’s response," Robson told Bongino.com. "Instead, I found them to be nothing more than shallow communists implementing Maoist fear and intimidation tactics to throw a glorified temper tantrum, all while cloaking themselves in keffiyehs and COVID masks to remain anonymous. These people are not deep thinkers; they seek to use whatever cause du jour they can—be it George Floyd, environmentalism, or Palestine—to sow chaos and destruction.”
The UChicago encampment was formed on Monday. That same evening, the school’s Dean Michele Rasmussen and President Paul Alivisatos came out with statements reiterating that the university administration supports free expression but condemns the encampment, lightly threatening to dismantle it in the vague future.
“Given the importance of the expressive rights of our students, we may allow an encampment to remain for a short time despite the obvious violations of policy—but those violating university policy should expect to face disciplinary consequences,” said Alivisatos.
In other words, the university admits that the encampment violates school policy but isn’t going to do anything about it — at least for now.
Likewise, UChicago Dean Michele Rasmussen stressed: “It is vital to remind all members of our community that the University of Chicago does not tolerate violence, threats, intimidation or harassment directed at individuals or groups…”
Yet the video taken by Robson shows pro-Palestine activists intimidating and harassing Robson while walking on campus. Clearly, the university does tolerate the targeting of individuals.
University administrations, who are even more left-wing than professors, only defend the rights of students who belong to protected classes (LGBT-identifying individuals, racial minorities, Muslims, etc.). Therefore, students who don’t join with the pro-Palestine protesters, like Robson, are not worth the university’s time or concern.
Make no mistake, the encampments are exclusionary and anti-First Amendment. Students who have chosen not to protest are now barred from using a section of the school they pay to attend. This tactic is not about simply expressing one’s belief; it's aimed at othering and punishing dissenting students by barring them from campus grounds.
As Alivisatos stated himself, “I believe the protesters should also consider that an encampment, with all the etymological connections of the word to military origins, is a way of using force of a kind rather than reason to persuade others.”
The left-wing bullies at the UChicago encampment and the rest of the college encampments are not facing consequences for their illegal activity because they are left-wing — just like the administration. Indeed, universities across the country are permitting the chaos and targeting of dissenting students because the universities themselves promote the Marxist ideology that sparked encampments in the first place.
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