Student Movements in Iran and America
The topic of student protests in America following Israel’s widespread attacks on Gaza, which are referred to as genocide, and the way American forces have dealt with university protesters, along with the images that have been published, have sparked international reactions.
In addition to protests in support of the people of Gaza, which we are witnessing in some universities around the world by students and academics, these days there are movements and protests forming in support of the student movement and against government violence in dealing with protesters.
Following these events, there have been numerous comments in Iran, especially after the news of harsh treatment at Columbia University and the arrest of a philosophy professor emerged.
For example, Mohammad Ali Zolfi Gol, the Minister of Science, Research, and Technology of the thirteenth government, writes in a post, ‘When freedom in universities is trampled upon and support and defense of the oppressed is considered a crime, we take pride in the dignity of our universities and academics in dear Islamic Iran.’
Similarly, Zohreh Elahian, a member of the eleventh parliament, writes on her Twitter page, ‘The slogan ‘Woman, Life, Freedom,’ which America prescribed for us yesterday, can be observed today in American universities. The brutal behavior towards that female student and the arrest of that female professor was because they protested against the regime’s crimes against the women of Gaza.’
Ahmad Naderi, another member of parliament, writes on his Twitter, ‘The handcuffs on the hands of the Columbia University philosophy professor are a manifestation and symbol of systematic repression policies in the West, which are, of course, very complex and secretly applied. Now the veil of secrecy has fallen, and the drum of its disgrace has sounded.’
Mehdi Bagheri, another member of parliament, tells ISNA news agency, ‘Our people must know how different Iran is from a country like America, which claims to be the cradle of freedom. In our country, the treatment of protesting people is very kind, but the American government, when its people protest against the actions of oppressive regimes like Israel, is willing to pressure its own people, harm them, and even enter universities and treat academics very harshly. These events indicate the decline of their government and the elevation of governance in our country. In our country, those who express their protest, even if mistakenly, are treated with compassion.’
We will continue with a review of the fate of the most important student movements in Iran and America to compare the protests and the responses of governments to these protests and student movements. However, it is necessary to mention that the number of student movements is large, and only some cases will be referenced.
America and Student Movements
The Butter Rebellion of 1766 is the first recorded protest in American university history. During a decade, economic problems in America made accessing food difficult. In this situation, food was given to students that contained butter with a sour taste, which led to students protesting on campus, and these protests continued for a month.
Eventually, the university admitted to giving students spoiled butter, but the incident ended with a speech by the governor of Massachusetts to the students, calming them down.
Fisk University Protests 1924: In 1924, President McKenzie of the university imposed strict regulations, including shutting down student publications and canceling all extracurricular activities.
In June, W.E.B. Du Bois, an American sociologist whose daughter was studying there, went to Fisk to give a speech and criticized McKenzie’s rules, leading to widespread criticism of his leadership style in the press throughout the summer.
In November, when the board of trustees visited the university, students staged protests that led the board to ask McKenzie to reconsider his methods. He initially accepted the suggestion but soon reverted to his previous stance.
In March, protests at the university peaked, with students demanding change. McKenzie asked the police to enter the university to find the protest leaders. Eighty police officers entered the university and began interrogations, resulting in several arrests, but orders for their release were quickly issued.
After this incident, students boycotted classes and stayed home for eight weeks, leading to a two-month university shutdown, ultimately resulting in McKenzie’s resignation.
The Free Speech Movement 1964: In 1958, students at the University of California, Berkeley decided to activate political parties on campus to promote student rights in American political parties through the connections students made in the university environment.
This process led to a directive in September 1964 from the university president banning any defense of political issues on campuses and prohibiting the presence and speeches of external political figures within the university.
Following this directive, student protests began at the university. The continuation of these protests led to about 800 students being arrested on December 4, 1964, but all were released a few hours later. A month later, UC Berkeley filed charges against students organizing the sit-ins, leading to widespread student protests across America and university closures.
This continued until the new university president was forced to backtrack on the previous directive, allowing political activities in designated areas on campus. One of the significant actions students took was forming a committee opposing the Vietnam War.
The Vietnam War Protest 1967: In April 1967, when students learned that Columbia University had connections with government agencies supporting U.S. involvement in Vietnam, protests began, peaking in March 1968.
Initially, they intended to gather in the university library, but after being prevented, they moved towards the under-construction Columbia stadium, where police barred their entry, leading to their return to the university grounds.
In late April, the violent police entry into the protests resulted in injuries to several students, but ultimately, university policies were adjusted according to the protesters’ demands, and the university’s ties with the U.S. military were severed.
The Third World Liberation Front Strikes 1968: Eurocentric education, disregard for ethnic studies, disrespect towards people of color, and the dismissal of a black professor at UC Berkeley led to one of the longest university protests in American history, starting in early November 1968 and lasting over four months, concluding in March 1969. During this period, a significant event occurred in February 1969, where 13 students were arrested.
As a result, a nationwide strike in American universities began, with professors joining students. This led to Ronald Reagan, then California governor, declaring a state of emergency and banning protests in universities.
Consequently, students took to the streets, and clashes with police escalated, but eventually, the president of UC Berkeley surrendered to the students, and in March, ordered the establishment of the first ethnic studies department at the university.
Deaf President Now Movement 1988: Gallaudet University, as the oldest university for deaf students, announced in March 1988 that the board of trustees had elected a deaf individual as the new university president, leading to a strike starting on the sixth of that month.
Protesters gathered on campus, demanding the resignation of the new president and the board chair. The protest and strike continued for eight days, ultimately resulting in the resignations of the new president and the board chair.
The Dropout Movement 2006: The announcement of strict laws regarding immigration control and border protection led to protests starting on March 24, 2006, in Los Angeles. University students in Los Angeles, mostly immigrant students, joined forces and took to the streets, resulting in 24,000 students at risk of dropping out leaving the university on March 27 and holding a protest in the city with over 40,000 students, leading to university closures in the city and the eventual halting of the proposed law.
The Tuition Hike Protests 2009: New financial policies, including tuition increases and staff layoffs at the University of California, led to protests from September 2009 to March 2010. The protests began on September 9, with students and faculty occupying parts of the university.
Some students occupied buildings while others supported them outside, resulting in police intervention and clashes with students, with some arrests made. Ultimately, in 2010, the university announced it would abandon its financial policy, and tuition fees would remain fixed for three years.
Irvine 11 Controversy 2010: The first controversy surrounding Israel in an American academic setting occurred when the University of California planned a speech for the Israeli ambassador. Some students decided to disrupt his speech.
The Israeli ambassador arrived, and the speech began, but some students interrupted with statements opposing Israel, leading to arrests and a court case for disrupting the speech. The court convened in September 2021, sentencing 20 students to three years of probation and 56 hours of community service.
The Blackburn Takeover 2021: This movement at Harvard University protested the poor condition of student dormitories. Starting on October 12, 2021, protesting students set up tents on campus and continued their strike and protest for 33 days until an agreement was reached after several days of negotiation between university administrators and student representatives, in which the university agreed to quickly improve dormitory conditions and meet students’ health demands.
Gaza War 2024: The most recent and latest student movement in America, considered one of the largest widespread student movements in the country’s history, revolves around the ongoing war in Gaza. This student protest began on April 17, 2024, at Columbia University in New York City.
The protesting students demanded that their university sever ties with Israel. The wave of this protest spread on April 22 to other American universities, including those in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, and many other cities, with the latest development being the extension of the protests to Canada.
The protests have so far been met with sometimes harsh responses from the police, but it remains to be seen over time what the outcomes of the students’ demands and the ultimate response to them will be.
Iran and the Student Movements of December 7 and Nixon’s Visit 1953: After the August 19 coup and the dismissal of Mohammad Mossadegh, the university atmosphere was influenced by this event at the start of the new fall semester that year. Initially, on October 8, University of Tehran students held a peaceful protest on campus in support of merchants, but the main spark of protest was ignited when news broke that Richard Nixon, the U.S. Vice President, was scheduled to visit Iran in December and be present at the University of Tehran.
As a result, on December 7, the atmosphere at the University of Tehran became political. The government, to prevent the expansion of the protest, intervened and ordered military involvement, resulting in the death of three students and the arrest of several others.
The Bus Fare Increase Incident 1969: The increase in bus fares by the Tehran City Bus Company management led to a public protest that began on February 22, 1969. Initially, the protest was among the public, but on the morning of February 23, students joined in and blocked buses in front of the university.
As a result, the military intervened, and street clashes between students and military forces escalated, with several students arrested. Following these clashes, then-Prime Minister Amir Abbas Hoveyda held a special cabinet meeting, and it was decided that prices would revert to their previous state, and the detained students were released on February 28.
The Dormitory Incident 1999: Much has been said and heard about the dormitory incident, considered the largest student protest from the beginning of the revolution until two decades later, and repeating many points is redundant.
In summary, the incident began with a student protest against the suspension of the Salam newspaper at the Tehran University dormitory on July 8, 1999. Following this, and as the student protests turned violent, the wave of protests spread to other universities. A trial was later held for those responsible for the dormitory attack, but the heaviest sentence issued was against a soldier sentenced to 91 days in prison for stealing a shaver.
It should not be forgotten that one of the greatest ambiguities of the dormitory incident, which remains unresolved after 25 years, is the fate of Saeed Zeinali, a protesting student who disappeared on July 14, 1999, and remains missing.
In these protests, given that the reformist government emphasized preserving the dignity of universities and opposed the entry of plainclothes and security forces to confront the protesters, they stood alongside the protesting students and pursued the damages inflicted on the students.
The Burial of Unknown Martyrs at the University 2005: In March 2005, rumors emerged that the bodies of several unknown martyrs were to be buried on the grounds of Sharif University of Technology. Following these rumors, some students organized a protest on March 12, but despite the opposition, the burial ceremony was scheduled.
On the day the burial ceremony was to take place, opposing students moved towards the burial site, but the opposition was futile, and the burial proceeded.
The Zanjan University Sit-in 2008: The incident began with a proposal by the university’s student affairs deputy to a female student. He, who was also the head of the disciplinary committee, had proposed a sexual relationship to one of the students.
Following this, the students, in coordination with the girl who claimed this, staged a scene and entered the deputy’s office, capturing him before he could achieve his goal, and handed him over to the university’s security. Subsequently, nearly 3,000 students held a protest on campus. Following this, the university president apologized to the students and the deputy’s case was handed over to the judiciary, resulting in a sentence of 30 lashes for him.
Woman, Life, Freedom 2022: After nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, universities were also at the heart of these protests, and we witnessed tumultuous days in most university units. Much has been heard and said about the days that passed in universities in the fall of 2022, requiring detailed reports.
For example, one of the most significant events was the incident surrounding Sharif University of Technology, where on the evening of October 2, student protests and sit-ins were met with an attack by plainclothes forces. From these student protests, disciplinary and judicial rulings were issued against some students.
Some students received suspension and exile sentences, and some university organizations like the Free Thinkers Student Association of Allameh University had their licenses revoked, while others like the Islamic Association of Sharif University of Technology had their activities suspended.
Final Note
What was mentioned in this report was a brief overview of the most important student movements in Iran and America, highlighting how student movements and responses to them have been in the two countries. However, it is worth noting two points in this regard.
1. In the days when protests in America about Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip have peaked in the country’s academic environment, some political currents in Iran are advising the American government to be calm in dealing with protesters. However, it seems necessary to mention and remind that in comparison and advice, one must consider that the environment of each country and society is different from another. Neither historically were the approaches of the governments of Iran and America towards students and student movements the same, nor were the scale of events and responses comparable. Moreover, these internal advisors, as much as they invite the authorities of another government to tolerance and leniency with protesters, should also abandon this double standard and invite their own officials to tolerance amid the anger and protests of their students and people, asking them to respect the sanctity of universities, something we have seen less from parliamentarians.
2. Violence in dealing with student protests is undesirable in any form. A clear example of this is all the images broadcast from student protests in America, and no level of justification can be given for it. It should not be forgotten that protests, especially academic protests and widespread movements, arise when there is a kind of conflict of interest between the ideals of the people and students and the governments, which governments should handle with patience.
The comparison made is, in the view of many, a false equivalence, and neither are the student movements in the two countries comparable, nor are the laws and decision-making processes in response to them. However, wherever in the world we may be, dealing with protests, especially if peaceful and non-violent, should happen with calmness and without violence or heavy-handed responses. Therefore, there can never be a reason to prescribe harsh treatment for student movements.
