Students of Brown University rallied on Main Green on Friday afternoon and called on the school to stand against President Donald Trump's recent federal actions.
The nearly 200 students argue that the Republican leader's latest efforts have targeted Brown University and other institutions of higher education. The White House confirmed earlier this month that the administration is planning to freeze $510 million of Brown University's federal funding.
Brown University Protests
The decision was made over alleged antisemitism and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at the school. Additionally, the federal government revoked the visas of at least one current student and several recent graduates while instructing staff to freeze funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to Brown University.
The Trump administration has not yet publicly announced the freeze nor has it given Brown University a list of demands that it must agree to to prevent it. However, both current and prospective students are expressing their concern about the federal cuts and the school's inability to continue supporting its students and research on campus, according to the Brown Daily Herald.
The rally on Friday was organized by Sunrise Brown in support of the "Do Not Comply" campaign. This demands the university to "make definitive commitments to protect free speech and academic freedom, stop student deportations, fight fascism, and reject the weaponization of antisemitism."
Read more: Canceled School Grants Force Attorneys General to File Lawsuit Against Trump Administration
The campaign has circulated a petition in recent weeks demanding Brown University resist the federal government's threats. Supporters argue that the school must hold the line against the so-called all-out assault on free speech and diversity at America's colleges.
Students of Brown University say that a culture of fear has been growing ever since the school decided to punish demonstrators and banned its chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. They add that fear grows even more with every action by the Trump administration, NPR reported.
Trump Administration Crackdowns
Lifta, a Palestinian Canadian doctoral student, said that international community members at Brown University are among the hardest hit by the latest crackdowns, She notes that the overwhelming atmosphere on campus seems to be a climate of fear, intimidation, and censorship.
Simon Aron, a Jewish freshman protester organizer, said that the Trump administration is cracking down on universities where students held large pro-Palestinian protests last year. He argued that the government is doing this under the guise of eliminating antisemitism.
Aron said that watching his people be used as shields to attack other vulnerable individuals is something that felt terrible. Alicia Joo, a junior, said that she thinks the drop in protests this academic year is partly due to decreased media attention on Israel's war on Gaza, as per The Publics Radio.
