The Nation | K Betancurt/AFP/Getty
This shock-and-awe campaign was about smashing a rapidly expanding student movement whose bravery has captivated people around the world. It was about eliminating the threat that the pro-Palestine movement poses to business as usual. It was about showing university donors, Republicans, Democrats, and the White House that these schools knew which side they were supposed to be on. And it was about reminding these students—these kids who had the nerve to sit in tents—of who is in charge and who isn’t…. You can feel the question thrumming through the violence and repression: How dare you? Above: NYPD officers in riot gear march onto Columbia University campus