New York City, United States – Fall semester was meant to be the final hurdle. Only four months of classes remained before Jonas could graduate from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.
But as Jonas — who asked to have his last name withheld — started his second week of class, he found himself confronting a new obstacle: an impending disciplinary hearing.
Jonas was one of thousands of university students across the United States who participated in on-campus activism to protest Israel’s war in Gaza during the last academic year.
Now, as those student protesters return for a new year of learning, they are facing a landscape transformed by updated restrictions, heightened security measures and increased scrutiny of pro-Palestine movements.
For Jonas, returning to school meant confronting the academic consequences of his activism.
Last year, as a co-founder of his campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, he protested Israel’s actions in Gaza and rallied others to join him.
The school had already alerted him that he would face discipline. But the hearing had never materialised — until this September, barely a few days into the start of the new academic year.
Jonas told Al Jazeera he received an email from the university accusing him of disrupting college activities and failing to register his group’s protests, among other charges.
Jonas explained that he was nervous about the hearing; he had already paid his tuition for the semester and is worried the school may prevent him from completing his course load.
“Now, if I’m suspended and I’m banned from campus, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” he said.