Universities have to stop punishing students for speaking up

Universities claim to educate critical thinkers. But the moment students organize protests, universities see them as a threat to their authority, writes Yeşim Topuz. ‘Having a loud, active campus culture makes a university better.’

Student activism isn’t something new. May it be the uprising of students worldwide during the Vietnam war, civil rights movement or even on our own campus in 1969. Essentially, universities are supposed to be ‘places where the exploration of thought is encouraged’. Yet, recent events on campus show that there is tension between democratic ideals universities claim to uphold and the reality of how they respond to student voices. So, how effective is student activism actually?

Critics dismiss campus activism as a performative ‘echo chamber’ or a mere ‘temper tantrum’ that fails to result in overnight legislation. However, this cynical view overlooks the nature of youth mobilization. Activism serves as the vital training wheels of democracy where young people learn how to organize, build coalitions, formulate opinions as well as think for themselves.

Young people today are involved in political participation. Traditional political frameworks often exclude them, but the youth drives democratic change from the outside. Globally, we have seen mass Gen-Z mobilization ousting the authoritarian Prime Minister in Bangladesh to youth networks defending the constitutional order in Senegal.

Civic engagement carries undeniable value but institutional authority frequently has an antagonistic relationship with student activism. When pressured, universities often abandon their education ideals in favor or control.

The backlash at Tilburg University during the opening of this academic year is a prime example. Fearing protests from Palestine Solidarity Tilburg (PST), TiU employed excessive and targeted security measures, violating fundamental rights of its community. Students and staff wearing kufiya scarves or who had ties to the protest group were actively denied access to the official opening, irrespective of valid access codes for the event. At one point, a student was surrounded by three security guards, had flyers confiscated and escorted out for being ‘too disruptive’.

Legal experts stated that selectively excluding individuals based on their clothing or political views is ‘unlawful and completely unacceptable’. Eventually, TiU issued an apology, admitting that their security measures led to unwarranted and painful situations. The university justified its heightened vigilance by pointing to a previous occupation of the Dante Building that had caused ‘feelings of fear and insecurity,’ but acknowledged their implementation was inappropriate.

What happened at TiU should serve as a wake-up call. Universities need to start backing student activism instead of just seeing it as a threat to their authority. Having a loud, active campus culture actually makes a school better, more progressive, and keeps it in touch with what young people actually care about.

If universities want to show real leadership, they need to use their platforms to lift up different voices and welcome honest, messy conversations. You can’t claim to build critical thinkers through programs like the Tilburg Educational Profile, and then call campus security the second those same students actually speak up. If universities want to do their jobs, they have to stop punishing students for practicing exactly what they’re being taught to do.