As New York City’s college campuses brace for protests marking the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and the ongoing war, administrators are hosting events modeling “respectful, open dialogue.”
The sanctioned events reflect a national trend, as universities focus on facilitating peaceful discourse rather than political clashes, experts said. But the gatherings, which are held in university auditoriums and inside campus buildings, come as colleges have imposed new limits on protests and speech. Now, after a relatively calm start to the fall semester, university leaders face a major test starting Monday as both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators mark the anniversary of the widening conflict in the Middle East.
After Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, Israel responded with an ongoing ground invasion and bombardment of Gaza. In New York City, a pro-Palestinian protest movement that began at Columbia University expanded to other campuses in the city. The academic year was thrown into chaos, with the NYPD arresting hundreds of people on campus.
At an “In Dialogue” event at NYU last month, university President Linda Mills was teary-eyed as she introduced Israelis and Palestinians who had lost relatives during the decadeslong conflict but now advocate for peace.
“Last year, we focused our attention on ways of talking to each other after seeing a dramatic breakdown of communication in our community,” Mills said. “This year, we are focused even more intently on the things that divide us as a community, as a nation, and as a world. NYU has a unique opportunity to bridge this divide… Let us all gather this evening under the umbrella of our shared community, our extraordinary grief, and our deep love for each other.”
Robi Damelin, an Israeli whose son was killed by a Palestinian sniper in 2002, told the crowd of around 100 people that her grief fuels her push for an end to the violence.
Recognizing that in this moment and in this conflict, peace is itself a political point of view, Damelin added: “Maybe [you] don’t agree with us. And that’s actually fine. As long as you can listen with empathy, even if you don’t agree, you’re welcome in my circle anytime.”
In a similar spirit, Columbia University has launched “Listening Tables” where faculty moderate face-to-face discussions between students and staff, in a kind of pop-up for discourse. The initiative is intended to encourage students “to put themselves in the other’s shoes without feeling censored,” said professor Gil Eyal in an op-ed in Columbia’s student newspaper.
At Baruch College, which is part of the CUNY system, President David Wu has started a “Respectful Dialogue Series: Finding a Better Way to Disagree.” October will be dedicated to “The Foundations of Civil Discourse.”
Houman Harouni, a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, said universities across the country are putting a new emphasis on dialogue this year.
“The message … is that we need to return to our mission, not as political institutions, but as learning institutions and knowledge-creation institutions,” he said.
Earlier this year, pro-Palestinian Columbia students set up encampments in the heart of campus, demanding their school divest from any investments tied to the Israel-Hamas war. The students sparked a movement that spread to other campuses around the city and throughout the country.
Columbia’s protests culminated in April with mass arrests by the NYPD, including of students who occupied Hamilton Hall. Columbia issued a report last month that antisemitism surged during the protests, and that many Jewish students felt unsafe. Pro-Palestinian students also said they felt targeted, including by “doxxing trucks” that projected their personal information on billboard trucks that drove around university campuses.
Those tensions could resurface next week.
On social media, pro-Palestinian student groups at city universities posted about demonstrations planned at various Manhattan landmarks on Monday, including the New York Stock Exchange and Times Square. It was unclear whether they also intended to protest on campuses.
Earlier this week, local universities – including Columbia, NYU and Hunter College – sent out messages recognizing the upcoming anniversary, urging empathy and directing students to mental health resources.
“We should acknowledge the profound impact and significance of the events of last October, and all that followed globally and on our campus,” wrote Columbia’s interim President Katrina Armstrong. “I believe we can do this while also moving forward as a community – a community engaged in learning, respectful of different views.”
Amid the emphasis on open communication, leaders have also released revised conduct and anti-harassment documents that some students and faculty said could threaten free speech.
At NYU, some staff and students oppose the code of conduct’s treatment of the word “Zionist,” which the university said can be considered a discriminatory “code word” in some cases.
Still, some students said they welcomed efforts to lower the temperature after the upheaval of the last academic year. Ashley Oxford, 25, an NYU graduate student who attended the event featuring Israeli and Palestinian families, called it “heartbreakingly healing.”
“I think a new year brings new beginnings,” she said. “Hearing those stories and knowing that we’ve created a space where those stories are welcome is just a relief.”
First-year student Jake Christy, 18, agreed.
“I think a lot more people at NYU need to hear this … to hear people who have been firsthandedly affected by it talking about it respectfully and not with any sort of hate in their voices,” he said.