‘Campus not safe’: MIT students speak out over rising anti-Muslim sentiment

As Israeli bombardment continues in Gaza, universities around the United States are coming under fire over claims of institutional bias and failure to address safety concerns raised by students who have shown solidarity with Palestine.

The prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in particular has stirred up a storm after the university’s response to peaceful protests and allegations it ignored the “harassment and discrimination perpetuated by pro-Israel community members”, a public report by members of the MIT community said.

The report released on Monday documents how MIT “has deprioritized the fight against Islamophobia on campus — leaving Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian students subject to continued public harassment, doxxing, and even physical assault.”

One main incident occurred on November 9, when various student groups at MIT planned a peaceful demonstration in solidarity with Palestine at a main entrance on campus, known as Lobby 7.

The evening before the protest was to take place, the MIT administration released a list of approved protest venues that did not include the lobby, which is a traditional site for such demonstrations.

Francesca Riccio Ackerman, a third-year PhD student at MIT, tells TRT World that this last-minute announcement “seemed like an intentional decision to suppress any kind of activity related to the ongoing war”.

But despite MIT’s ban, dozens of students proceeded with the peaceful sit-in at Lobby 7 but the demonstration was disrupted by counter-protesters exhibiting “physical aggression, harassment, and abusive language”, the report said.

Ackerman shared testimonies and video footage on a thread on X, which showed counter-protesters shoving and snatching posters from protesting students and saying one looked like a “terrorist”.

Ackerman tells TRT World that she was motivated to create the thread to raise awareness and address concerns for the safety of students in the community who had sent her many back-to-back messages reporting physical assault, harassment and hate speech.

“This behaviour is unchecked and these perpetrators are so comfortable, so emboldened, that they are doing it on camera, thinking they can get away with it. That is what terrified me,” Ackerman tells TRT World.

“Everyone had their phones out and (the counter-protesters) were still choosing to behave in this manner,” Ackerman adds, raising concern for the actions committed off-camera and away from the eye of police.

MIT threatens suspension

As tensions between protesters and counterprotesters escalated during the November 9 sit-in, the MIT administration sent out letters threatening to suspend protesting students from the university.

Upon receiving this warning, counter-protesters left but pro-Palestine and anti-war protesters decided to remain in the lobby for the rest of their originally planned sit-in and “because they stayed, they were the only ones that were suspended,” Ackerman tells TRT World.

“That was an interim decision to suspend them which was outside of the power that the administration has because they can refer (the students) to the committee of discipline but they don’t really have the power to just suspend people like that, especially collectively.”

The administration even blockaded the doors so no new protesters could enter and protesters inside the lobby would not be allowed to return, leading some students unable to get food and having to fast as part of the protest, Ackerman says.

But the threat of suspension was ultimately walked back by the administration after it drew a lot of criticism from the MIT community at large.

From MIT Jews for Ceasefire and MIT Coalition for Palestine to the Black Graduate Student Association of MIT and MIT Asian American Initiative, diverse student organisations across campus came together to denounce MIT’s decision to collectively punish the peaceful protesters.

“We stand in solidarity with all student groups at MIT and beyond who have been threatened by the suspension of campus activities,” MIT Arab Student Organization wrote, strongly condemning the restriction of “fundamental rights of free speech and peaceful assembly.”

‘Second class’

The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, himself is an alumnus of MIT. He studied at the university between 1972 and 1976, earning both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science.

However, many alumni have spoken out against the MIT administration, such as the MIT Alumni for Free Speech, which called for “a public apology for the hasty and harmful response to Lobby 7 sit-in” in a statement signed by over 500 alumni.

“We morally baulk at a Palestine-exception to free speech, and we call on MIT to strive to create an environment where all community members can voice their concerns."

Another letter was sent directly to MIT President Sally Kornbluth by hundreds of alumni voicing alarm over the videos Ackerman and others shared.

One MIT alumnus, Mehmet Efe Akengin, also spoke to TRT World about the latest incidents and his work with student organisations on campus.

Akengin was born and raised in Istanbul, Türkiye but came to MIT for college in 2014, where he studied computer science and political science.

During his time at school, he was president of MIT’s Muslim Student Association, which worked closely with the administration to raise awareness about the existence and importance of the Muslim community.

“We built a very strong community on campus. It was very important to support members so that they are raised and educated as confident Muslims, they don’t lose their identities but beyond that – they’re unapologetic humans about their values.”

Akengin says the current environment feels very different to his time on campus and attributes this change partly to the election of President Kornbluth.

In response to the protest on November 9, Kornbluth said minimising anti-Semitism on campus “will be the initial focus” then “charge will be broader, and will include efforts to address prejudice and hate against Arabs and Muslims.”

“This not only made Muslims feel second class, it made everyone else feel second class because you’re essentially saying anything other than anti-Semitism is second priority,” Akengin says.

Despite backlash, Kornbluth went on to defend her perspective at the MIT Open Faculty meeting on November 15, which Akengin says further shows that “she is not aware of the needs and opportunities and values that the Muslim community presents to the world”.

“They’ve been ignoring that and thus we see all this Islamophobia rising and not much is being done to address that,” Akengin says.

“Being a student at MIT is already very tough. You’re working like crazy as a student and now on top of that you’re trying to defend yourself and protect yourself from harassment,” Akengin adds.

‘No safe space on campus’

A public list by the MIT Coalition Against Apartheid documents nearly 40 harassment incidents and complaints from October 5th to November 11. Over 80 percent of these incidents fell under the category of an act of Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism.

Many were verbal harassments, such as one student who was called “a disgusting animal…who does not belong on our campus” and “should go back to Gaza" after advocating for Palestine.

The MIT CAA itself reported incidents of harassment and threats, such as a response to their November 9 demonstration signup form in which an individual put their name as "F*** Palestine" and wrote "I’m coming with a gun tomorrow to kill you all m************ terrorists".

These events have led to concern among the community as one student said in the report: “I am worried about many things including being attacked and harassed for being Arab and Muslim… I am worried about being called a ‘terrorist’ just because of the way I look.”

Another student said “there was no safe space on campus today for Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students. There was nowhere for us to go but to our homes instead of going to our labs and classes.”

But Muslim students aren’t the only targets. Jewish and Israeli students who were critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza and participated in the Lobby 7 sit-in also reported experiencing anti-Semitic harassment.

“As Jewish participants at the event, we were only made to feel unsafe by the actions of counterprotestors,” said a statement by the Jews for Ceasefire group.

“We had to withstand inflammatory and hateful remarks like ‘God made a mistake by having you born a Jew,’ and were called ‘anti-Semitic,’ ‘self-hating Jews,’ and ‘Hamas’.”

Faculty clashes

Soon the students' demand for the administration to take action and be held responsible for the rising anti-Musllim sentiment was echoed by faculty. On November 15th, the MIT Faculty Newsletter denounced MIT’s response to the sit-in.

“Having spoken to participants, witnesses, marshalls, and faculty observers about the demonstration in Lobby 7 on Thursday, November 9, there is compelling evidence that the protesters were engaged in a peaceful demonstration of their values.”

“However, there was a disruption in the morning when counter-protesters entered the space and became extremely provocative, shouting and violating the personal space of some of the protesters.”

“Nevertheless, the administration has decided unilaterally to punish the protesters. We find this deeply problematic, especially given MIT’s values – not just the value of free speech, but also the commitment to fostering integrity and well-being.”

Although the reported incidents during the lobby sit-in were committed by students, some MIT faculty have also engaged in harassment of student protesters, such as Professor Retsef Levi who released the name and a photograph of a student on X in an attempt “to ruin the student’s academic and professional career”, the report claimed.

Levi also posted on X that Jewish students could not pass through Lobby 7 safely but this was later debunked by the MIT administration’s public statement.

Another student claimed Professor Mauricio Karchmer took close-up photos of student protestors because he wanted to know who was in attendance.

“I'm just extremely frustrated that a professor would use his power in such a way just to bully students… all he did was use a scare tactic to try to decrease the number of peaceful protestors,” the student wrote.

Faculty have also attacked each other, according to the report, such as during the faculty open meeting on November 15th when Professor Daniel Blankschtein allegedly shouted “enough lies” and “shut up” when Professor Michel DeGraff spoke in defence of Palestinians.

Ackerman tells TRT World that these incidents are “a mask-off moment at MIT”.

“We’re fighting an uphill battle but it’s slowly gaining momentum,” Ackerman says. “It really is a David and Goliath type of story but I’m really hoping the evidence and the work we’re putting in to communicate what’s really happening will somehow prevail.”

Akengin echoes Ackerman’s sentiment, saying “there’s always a lot of politics in academics but the system in America is structured in a way to punish people for speaking up and I think it’s important we raise those issues to the public.”