I keep harking back to the lessons of my “War and Violence in the 1960s” class in college as I watch the protests over Gaza and Israel sweep across the country and into Colorado.

I remember a key document we studied in that class, The Port Huron Statement, written in 1962, which called for college campuses to become agents of social change, seeing idealistic students who have time on their hands before they join the workaday world as a great political force to be harnessed for the causes of the day.

The Port Huron Statement argued that because “the civil rights and peace and student movements are too poor and socially slighted, and the labor movement too quiescent,” it should rally support and strengthen itself by looking to universities, which benefit from their “permanent position of social influence” and being “the only mainstream institution that is open to participation by individuals of nearly any viewpoint.”

The university, the document went on to say it, is the institution that can create discontent with existing social arrangements and propose new ones.

Thus were the campus anti-war protests of the 1960s born, and thus was the ground laid for the anti-war protests of 2024.

Those protests in the 1960s eventually helped lead to a national disillusionment with the Vietnam War and the end of American involvement.

But what about the pro-Palestinian protests today? What impact are they having on public opinion?

So far, not much.

An overwhelming majority of Americans support Israel in its war against Hamas, according to a new poll. The Harvard CAPS-Harris survey found that 80% of registered voters said they support Israel more in the war, while 20% said they support Hamas more.

Mark Penn, the co-director of the poll, said support for Israel “has not budged” despite the “campus unrest.” Student protests appear to be out of step with broader public attitudes on Israel, he noted. The poll showed Americans largely agree there should be a cease-fire in the war, but only after Hamas is removed from power and the hostages they seized during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel are returned.

A sampling of opinions from reader comments on our  Colorado Springs Gazette and Denver Gazette stories about the protests around the country and on Colorado campuses are in alignment with that poll’s finding. A large majority of our readers are not supportive of the protests.

One current reader doubts the protests are making much of a difference: “The Vietnam protests in the 1960s made a little sense in that they demanded that the U.S., one of the warring parties, take action to end the war. These protests make little sense to me. Universities, nor even the U.S. government is waging war in Gaza. Do these goofs think Israel or Hamas give a hoot because some University publishes a position or sells a bit of stock in Israeli companies? Protest outside the Israeli embassy, perhaps. Raise money for international refugees or aid to Gaza even better.”

Many of our readers were disturbed by the threats to Jewish students:

“Jewish students all over college campuses are being assaulted, protesters are not allowing Jewish students on campus to attend classes for which they paid a hefty tuition, a Jewish student was tasered by a protester on the UCLA campus while campus police stood by and did nothing because they were told to stand down. No one is calling for the National Guard to start shooting; it’s called bringing law and order to these campuses and deterring the unlawful activities.”

Other readers are worried the pro-Palestinian protesters inadvertently embolden Hamas:

“But the students are supporting terrorists and also oppression by way of ignoring the whole situation in Gaza/Israel and focusing exclusively on Israel. Hamas and the oil-rich sheiks that use the Middle East as their personal political battlefields are the ones students should *ALSO* be protesting but that’s not what we’re seeing. It’s a rush to be first to be viral to be popular to be famous for what? ‘Protesting’ something, anything, really.”

Others see more nuance than that:

“The protesters are NOT supporting the terrorists. They are protesting the plight of the ordinary citizens of Gaza, the dead children, the starving children, the preemie delivered from its dead mother. Did you read about the Israeli demonstrations against Netanyahu?”

And this reader sees arguments on both sides:

“Perhaps you should broaden your view of the protests. It is not madness to oppose the killing of little children because there are members of Hamas still alive somewhere. It is not madness to oppose starving people to death. It is not madness to oppose Israelis taking the homes and farms of Palestinians through violence supported by the government of Israel. It is madness to believe that every Arab hates every Jew unto death simply for being Jewish.”

One reader believes the First Amendment protects the protesters:

“First Amendment allows no government interference with pure speech. “Congress (and lower levels of government) shall make no law. …” That includes objectionable and even hate speech so long as there is no clear and present danger of that speech turning into violence.

“Yes, that includes such expressions as “death to America,” “We support Hamas” and even ‘Death to Jews,’ absent a clear and present danger. We can all greatly dislike such words and we can even shun people who say those things but the government is barred by our Constitution from doing anything about such abhorrent speech. Either you support the Constitution, or you do not. There is no part way. Choose for yourself.”

But even those who support the right to protest thought most of the students had gone too far:

“They are not Democrat nor Democrat-sponsored. They are far left and being influenced by social media. I would bet many don’t know much about the history of the region. Nevertheless, they need to go. They are trespassing, damaging property, and while they have the right to protest peacefully they don’t have the right to harm or put in harm’s way, other people. Let’s leave guns at home, no need to start a bloodbath.”

And many of our readers see a way forward that is a little more sophisticated than the bad guys versus good guys rhetoric of many of the protests:

“Just like being opposed to the policies of Israel is not the same as antisemitism, being supportive of the people of Palestine is not the same as supporting Hamas nor the actions of Hamas months ago. I am certain that there are some protesters who support Hamas just as there are kooks in nearly every movement but most of what I am hearing is demands for Israel and the IDF to find ways to continue the war against Hamas without the massive death counts of the women and children of Palestine; without starving them to death and to stop the “annexation” of Palestinian homes and farmlands by Israelis.”

I don’t believe our readers are saying universities can’t contribute to this conversation and help drive a solution forward. But breaking school laws and prompting violent clashes with police are probably not the best way to engage in free expression, they argue.

Even the Port Huron Statement long ago that sparked the age of college protests advised against violence:

“In social change or interchange, we find violence to be abhorrent because it requires generally the transformation of the target, be it a human being or a community of people, into a depersonalized object of hate. It is imperative that the means of violence be abolished and the institutions — local, national, international — that encourage non-violence as a condition of conflict be developed.”

Let me give the final word in this roundup of perspectives to Jeremy Haefner, the chancellor of Denver University, who introduced a town hall The Denver Gazette, 9News and DU cohosted 100 days after the start of the war.

He said some things then about the ideal role of universities in public debates and social change that have stuck with me through this tumultuous period, and that I hope students around Colorado heed.

He said the university “is a space where we can engage in reflective thinking, where we can have moments of greater learning and understanding. Where we can exhibit civil discourse and a culture of respect. And most importantly, a deep appreciation for the plurality of thought, not just on this war, but on all things.”

He said it is events like the town hall, “in our classrooms, through mentorship, and conversations with peers, though study, that we dig deeply and disagree. We disagree with respect. All seeking to become better leaders and thinkers that can impact the world for the better.“

“This is what universities do. It’s not what we can do, or what we must do, it’s what we do.”