It’s become apparent in recent years, as we’ve seen various protest movements under various banners, that politics too often trumps principle. Tolerance for protest tactics seems directly tied to levels of sympathy for the cause being championed, which leaves us awash in hypocrisy and double standards.

We’ve seen it yet again in the recent decision by the University of Calgary (U of C) to have police remove a protest encampment. But it’s easy to imagine those sides being reversed if, in late 2021, protesters had descended upon the U of C and vowed to remain until administrators removed vaccine and mask mandates.

That’s not to say that either that hypothetical cause or the real-life anti-Israel cause championed by these campus encampments can’t or shouldn’t be expressed. And there is obviously a fine line between the right to protest on campus and the right of the university to control its property and prevent trespassing.

It’s fair to debate whether the U of C was too hasty or properly prudent in........

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