Those anti-Israel protests that roiled university campuses for months drew headlines and created headaches for administrators, but they failed to move the needle on public support for the Palestinians.
A Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression poll released Thursday found that 63% of Americans surveyed said the campus unrest “had no impact at all on their level of sympathy for Palestinians in Gaza.”
Among those whose opinions did change, the results were a wash. The poll conducted for FIRE by NORC at the University of Chicago found that 17% said the campus protests made them less likely to sympathize with the Palestinians, while 16% said they made them sympathize more.
Anti-Israel protests erupted on U.S. college campuses after the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre of 1,200 Israeli civilians and others, which prompted Israel to declare war.
Activists with groups such as Students for Justice in Palestine erected pro-Gaza encampments on dozens of university campuses during the spring semester, while some protesters defaced and occupied buildings.
Nearly three-quarters of Americans believe that students who participated in the encampments should be punished. The poll found 72% favored some form of discipline ranging from community service to suspension, but that only 18% supported expulsion, the most severe punishment.
Only 23% said they believed the students should face no punishment for the illegal encampments, which were cleared by some universities, including Columbia and USC, with the help of police.
In terms of protest activity, a majority of those surveyed said that activities such as creating petitions and holding signs were acceptable, but they drew the line at setting up encampments, occupying buildings, burning the American flag, and defacing school property.
“With the exception of flag burning — which is controversial but protected speech— the most disfavored forms of protest are all unprotected by the First Amendment,” said the foundation in a press release.
Most Americans also showed little confidence in U.S. universities. Only 28% said that they have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in higher education, down from the 36% who told Gallup in July 2023 that they have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in colleges and universities.
Sean Stevens, FIRE chief research advisor, expressed concern over the tepid support for nonviolent protest activity such as holding signs and circulating petitions.
“It’s no shocker that Americans tend to disapprove of illegal and illiberal conduct by student protesters,” said Mr. Stevens. “But it’s alarming that a third of Americans say constitutionally protected and non-threatening activities like sign-holding or petitions are only ‘sometimes’ or ‘rarely’ acceptable. Nonviolent protest should always be acceptable on college campuses.”
The FIRE/NORC survey of 1,309 Americans was conducted May 17-19, using NORC’s AmeriSpeak probability-based panel. The overall margin of error was +/- 4%.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.