“We educate future generations.”

“We strive to take humanity forward.”

“We want to create a great world.”

“We are committed to the betterment of our global society.”

In the past few months, such university mottos have proven to be nothing other than vapid slogans.

Student-led sit-ins have popped up across US college campuses. Protesting students are demanding that their institutions call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and divest from companies doing business with Israel.

But instead of engaging with their demands in good faith, university presidents set loose the notoriously unrestrained American law enforcement on students standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people, who are facing genocide. The police have entered campuses in riot gear, violently dismantled encampments, brutalised protesters, and arrested hundreds.

Watching all of this, we are reminded that the contemporary university is not a place that cares to inspire change or build a better tomorrow through higher education. It is only beholden to the political and economic interests that often converge within its walls.

So, it is now time for us, educators, to step up and protect our students.

Indeed, many brave faculty members have put themselves in the line of fire.

On April 22, New York University (NYU) faculty were seen forming a chain around the Palestine solidarity encampment when protestors were preparing to pray. They did the same the next day when the New York Police Department (NYPD) entered campus to dismantle the encampment after the university administration asked them to step in.

The NYPD accused the faculty of being violent with law enforcement. But witnesses said that they were simply protecting........

© Al Jazeera