The way university presidents and their administrations respond to student protesters have come under scrutiny as college campuses increasingly become the venues of choice for demanding action on ire-raising topics.
How presidents react is connected to how they view activism, says Dr. OiYan Poon, an assistant professor of higher education leadership and director of the Center for Racial Justice in Education Research at Colorado State University.
She says that negative sentiments about student activism comes out of concern for liability – that is, altercations and students damaging property.
For example, presidents may think of the violence that broke out in 2017 at the University of California at Berkeley after students heard that conservative media personality Milo Yiannopoulos was to visit the campus, says Poon.
Protests broke out, and the event ultimately was canceled.
“That’s what people have stuck in their minds as what activism is. I think that’s dangerous and very unreasonable,” she says.
Activism is mainly very peaceful and very thoughtful, she adds.
