With protests rattling so many universities, I can’t help but feel some sense of pride in the students taking a stand to not abide by the decisions of their administrations and government. There is also a sense of despair knowing news outlets are unwilling to provide an accurate recollection of the events taking place. Despite this, I continue to watch the news to get an overall sense of how they’re attempting to have the general public perceive the events.

Students have always been known to take a stand and to see them understand the power the media has to paint them in a negative light gives me hope that our generation doesn’t take things at face value. The encampment at UCLA had its own Media Liaison that new reporters would be directed to, there was “security” managing the entrances and exits, and students were mindful of others’ use of masks, dietary restrictions, and preferences to not be filmed. The level of trust students have with one another amongst all of the encampments easily shows me a glimpse of hope for who my peers are.

There is also an extreme sense of disappointment knowing it is the students protecting themselves while they rightfully refuse to abide by their government and administration that continues to aid in acts of genocide and war crimes. With threats that students’ involvement in protesting will decrease their future employment and career success, there is an obvious reason why students refuse to show their faces. Despite this, officers have removed face masks from protesters as they are paraded to transportation in front of live news cameras. It’s frustrating to know that, as a college student, this is the climate I am living under. The countless protests that have occurred in the past decades show college students being on the right side of history as they hold their government accountable yet, as we are living through one example, I can’t help but wonder how this can be the current state of the world.

How is it possible that we assume future generations will be the ones to make progress yet it is 2024 and our government is actively supporting and allowing the death of tens of thousands of civilians across the world while our administration refuses to see the perspective of students and the reasons behind the demands? How is it possible that news channels cannot relay factual information and a timeline of events that takes into consideration the issues of our system?

After the events that took place at UCLA, Columbia, and CCNY, the trust I had in the administration at CCNY has deflated. Especially taking into consideration the location and history of CCNY, it was frustrating to see college and university administrations make the same call as they’re distraught with the damage to their buildings. As I tuned into Columbia’s radio station, WKCR-FM, the night NYPD forced their entrance into Hamilton Hall, it was the students who were able to relay details of the event as they witnessed their classmates being arrested and as NYPD made their way toward CCNY. It’s extremely disheartening to witness, in real-time, the historical replay of administrations choosing violence over their students rightfully fighting for a cause.

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