Students arriving on campus at New York University (NYU) this fall are being greeted with a few changes. The school, like many others across the country, was a hotbed of pro-Palestine rallies and protests during the prior school year, a response to Israel’s still-ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, the death toll of which is now estimated to be anywhere from 40,000 to more than 100,000. With no end in sight — Joe Biden, an ardent supporter of Israel, is still sending Israel bombs — NYU’s administrators spent the summer break coming up with ways to nip campus activism in the bud.

It’s not only the barricades blocking off seating in the public spaces on campus, watched over by security guards, though that sends a decidedly unwelcoming message. The school’s updated code of student conduct, announced earlier this month, classifies criticism of Zionism as a violation of the university’s antidiscrimination policies.

Welcome to NYU, Class of 2029! I hope you don’t want to sit down outside, because here at NYU, these fenced-off benches are being guarded by five security guards (three union members, two subcontractors) to protect them from from your free speech. pic.twitter.com/0mcC4RlWOJ

 — Jacob Remes (@jacremes) August 27, 2024