Campus protests and their repression reflect the dual role played by universities in colonial history.
Universities across the United States have become centers of student-led movements opposed to Israel's war on Gaza. Local and university authorities launched a violent crackdown on these demonstrations under the false pretext of protecting campuses and combating anti-Semitism. However, students have remained steadfast in the face of violence and threats, and the protests show no signs of slowing down.
What we are witnessing from student activists is not new. Indeed, students have historically been at the forefront of resisting and condemning colonialism and imperialism.
During the violent colonization of the Americas in the 1530s, a group of Spanish students at the University of Bologna publicly refused to wage war, believing it to be unchristian. This anti-war protest movement so worried the Catholic Church that in order to deal with the pacifist students, the Pope, who had a strong belief that the enslavement and deprivation of Native Americans was justified, sent Juan Ginés de Sepulveda, a prominent priest and scholar.
This type of dissent and activism has had an impact throughout history. From student demonstrations against racism and racial discrimination in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s, to protests against the Vietnam War in the 1960s, to the sit-ins against apartheid in South Africa in the 1980s, to today's racial encampments. From activities calling for the elimination of discrimination. Genocide in Gaza, student movements have challenged colonialism, militarism and injustice.
From the colonial point of view, this kind of student mobilization is dangerous. This explains the continued violent crackdown on student movements in the United States and some European countries, and may also explain why all 12 universities in the Gaza Strip were bombed and destroyed.
But it would be naive to think of universities as nothing more than a forum for dissent. As student movements have argued, higher education institutions actively promote and support the colonial project. Harvard University, Columbia University, and many other universities continue to increase their endowments by investing in Airbnb, Alphabet (Google's parent company), and other companies that operate in illegally occupied territories or have ties to the Israeli military. Masu. It's no surprise that the youth mobilization sparked by Israel's war in Gaza has spread to some of these companies, with protests recently taking place at Google's offices.
Beyond their investment choices, universities also contribute to the colonial project by educating students to devise, justify, and implement the instruments and mechanisms of colonialism. The pipeline of new graduates into the defense industry is well-documented and has existed for a long time. And as wars become increasingly reliant on data technology, new pipelines are being created.
Consider a recent graduate working for a company like Anduril, which recently won a contract with the U.S. military to develop artificial intelligence-powered unmanned combat aircraft. These weapons use data to decide where to attack, and the war in Gaza has already shown the potential for mass casualties among civilians.
The Israeli military uses Lavender, an AI system designed to generate bombing targets for fighter jets and drones. Researchers said the system uses various datasets, including people's usage of messaging apps, to determine its targets, leading to the loss of many innocent lives. .
We have to wonder what kind of university education, or rather miseducation, would produce someone capable and willing to design and use AI systems like Lavender? We need students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields to adopt a Sepulveda-like worldview that saw colonized peoples as little more than savages and slaves whose lives were thrown away. I don't want them to graduate with this.
I doubt that most of my colleagues in STEM are intentionally preparing students to serve colonial interests. I think most of them just don't think these issues are something that should be addressed in the curriculum.
As students take the lead in challenging higher education systems that are complicit in imperial wars and colonialism, we as faculty must consider our role in this. Ethical questions about how science and technology are intertwined with colonialism and militarism must be addressed in the classroom.
Universities have long served as places where students learn to think critically and challenge the status quo. They have also supported and strengthened structures of colonial power.
The current campus protests are a further escalation of the tension between these two roles. The protests may not lead to a complete overhaul of the higher education system, but they are certainly a step in the right direction.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of Al Jazeera.
