President Joe Biden addressed recent college protests in a speech from the White House Thursday, defending the right for students to protest but saying saying “order must prevail.”
“We are not an authoritarian nation where we silence people or squash dissent,” Biden said. “…But neither are we a lawless country.”
Biden spoke after police in New York arrested hundreds of protesters at Columbia University and other colleges earlier this week.
Clashes also broke out between pro-Palestinian protesters and counter-protesters at campuses including the University of California, Los Angeles, prompting police responses.
Locally, police cleared encampments at Emerson College and Northeastern University in recent days.
Dozens of people were arrested in New Hampshire hours before Biden’s speech after state police were deployed to pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the University of New Hampshire and Dartmouth College.
Back in the Boston area, encampments remained near midday Thursday at Tufts University, MIT and Harvard University.
In his remarks, Biden said the present moment is not a moment for politics. Rather, he said it is “a moment for clarity.”
“Violent protest is not protected,” Biden said. “Peaceful protest is.”
“Dissent is essential to democracy,” he continued. “But dissent must never lead to disorder or to denying the rights of others so students can finish this semester of their college education.”
Biden said “there is no place for hate speech or violence of any kind.”
He continued, saying he will defend free speech as well as the rule of law.
“There’s the right to protest,” Biden said earlier in his remarks. “But not the right to cause chaos.”
Protesters at colleges have called on administrators to divest from any companies doing business with Israel amid the ongoing war in Gaza, among other demands.
Asked by a reporter on Thursday if the protests had forced him to reconsider any of his policies with regard to the region, Biden responded — “No.”
Asked if he thinks the National Guard should intervene, Biden again responded — “No.”
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