{"id":7343,"date":"2025-04-04T13:06:16","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T17:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/?p=7343"},"modified":"2025-04-04T13:29:57","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T17:29:57","slug":"doxxing-trucks-ice-raids-and-revocation-of-degrees-the-cost-of-student-activism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/2025\/04\/doxxing-trucks-ice-raids-and-revocation-of-degrees-the-cost-of-student-activism\/","title":{"rendered":"Doxxing Trucks, ICE Raids and Revocation of Degrees: The Cost of Student Activism"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Trump administration promised a crackdown on student protests<\/a>, and now that promise is in full effect. From the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder, to the revocation of degrees from students who partook in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, Columbia University seems to be at the center of it all. A prestigious university willing to comply with the enforcement of punishment on students<\/a> for exercising their right to free speech sets a dangerous precedent for other higher education institutions. What happens if ICE moves down from 116th Street to 68th Street? What\u2019s happening at Columbia worries all students committed to activism, especially those only a 30-minute commute away.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Protestors held signs in front of Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse before Mahmoud Khalil\u2019s lawyers were set to hold a press conference. (Anastasiia Poleva) March 12, 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s scary because I think with the Trump administration, the schools are even more pushed to comply with repressing students and student activism,\u201d said Rio Takahashi, a film major and a member of the Young Democratic Socialists of America at Hunter College (YDSA). \u201cI mean, that\u2019s really clear with Columbia and I think that\u2019s only the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunter already has a history of repressing student activism when it\u2019s related to Palestine. In November of 2023, Hunter\u2019s interim president at the time, Ann Kirschner, canceled the screening of \u201cIsraelism\u201d<\/a>, a film critical of Israel, due to safety concerns. Later, due to the backlash from the student body, Hunter rescheduled the screening<\/a> but refused to provide specific reasons for the cancellation.<\/p>\n

This February, Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered Hunter College to remove a job posting for a Palestinian studies professor.<\/a> Hunter complied. According to the reasoning given, the job posting included words such as \u201cgenocide,\u201d \u201capartheid,\u201d and \u201csettler colonialism,\u201d which some found offensive. Recently, Hunter\u2019s hiring committee resubmitted the job posting.<\/a><\/p>\n

In response to Hunter\u2019s compliance, the History Society of Hunter College created a petition titled \u201cPetition for Palestinian History Courses and Against Historical Negationism.\u201d<\/a> Historical negationism is the falsification or distortion of historical events, which is, according to the History Society, what Hochul and Chancellor Felix V. Matos are doing by not allowing Palestinian history to be taught as its own subject, limiting Palestinian history to a singular viewpoint.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The image accompanying the petition posted by the History Society of Hunter College on their Instagram page, @huntercollegehistory. (History Society of Hunter College) March 12, 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe, as history students, said \u2018If we can\u2019t have Palestinian studies as its own program at Hunter, then we\u2019re gonna bring Palestinian studies into the history department\u2019,\u201d said Anthony Arredondo, a history major and a YDSA member. \u201cAnd further, we\u2019re agitating for Palestinian history to be incorporated into the courses that already exist. For example, trying to make it a topic that\u2019s heavily covered in Middle Eastern history courses instead of delegating it as a footnote.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunter students are creating initiatives to combat student activism repression, but they\u2019re still worried for their safety and the safety of their classmates. Takahashi stated that their major fear around protesting is the high likelihood of being doxxed. In November 2023, a doxxing truck circled Hunter College, displaying the names of faculty and students who showed support for Palestine. Hunter College issued a statement<\/a> addressing the incident by explaining what legal action can be taken against doxxing and what support Hunter students have to deal with such situations. However, amidst Hunter\u2019s promises to support their CUNY communities, they stated they are \u201climited\u201d in their conduct.<\/p>\n

Some students don\u2019t feel confident in the administration\u2019s ability to protect them from doxxing, ICE, or facing other punishments the Trump administration could incentivize against student protestors. Instead, they rely on each other for support and community, which is how the Hunter Student Union was formed. Hunter Student Union was founded in August 2024 to organize students around issues that matter most to them and create a better college environment. Takahashi and Arredondo are both a part of it.<\/p>\n

\"\"
“All Eyes on Gaza” poster put up by Hunter Student Union during their event on the Sky Bridge. (Anna Tao) March 20, 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When it comes to how the Hunter administration could move forward amidst Trump\u2019s crackdown on student activists and protests, Dan West, an adjunct instructor of English and a PhD student at the CUNY Graduate Center, presents a possible way through.<\/p>\n

He says that CUNY\u2019s attempts to abide by the law, like letting ICE in only if they have a warrant, are misguided. CUNY institutions should start treating the Trump administration for what it is\u2013fascism. Instead of trying to wait for what will happen next, CUNY needs to be vocal about its commitment to its students. Unlike Columbia, CUNY institutions are public and are meant to represent the diversity of their student body.<\/p>\n

\u201c[CUNY] should start thinking about their love for their students and the protection of students more than trying to, essentially, play a waiting game that will ultimately be unsuccessful,\u201d said West.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Columbia University has complied with President Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian student protestors. What does this mean for Hunter College?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":7344,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[680,184,556,681,679],"class_list":["post-7343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-columbia-university","tag-cuny-hunter-college","tag-palestine","tag-palestinian-studies","tag-student-protests"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7343"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7343\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7388,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7343\/revisions\/7388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brie.hunter.cuny.edu\/hunterathenian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}