The beheading of George in 2020 was quickly brushed aside and the university avoided direct criticism of the BLM protests, which resulted in property damage throughout the city. That included efforts to topple historic monuments.
Last May, pro-Palestinian students not only occupied our University yard, but a street was cut off for weeks and the law school effectively locked down due to the encampment. (I could not drive to my office or go into the building without special permission). The protesters at one point called for the beheading of university officials, including the university president, in a mock trial.
After the most recent vandalism with the message “disclose divest now” in red spray paint, the Student Coalition for Palestine at GWU posted on Instagram a statement supporting the action:
Last night, autonomous protestors sent a message to Provost Christopher Alan Bracey at his home, spray painting the message amplified and repeated by students, faculty, and the people of this city onto Bracey’s very own driveway: “DISCLOSE DIVEST NOW!” During the encampment earlier this spring, Provost Bracey himself violently assaulted two students. A statue of George Washington on campus was also branded with the same demand.
Let this be a message to Bracey and every administrator at this University. We will never falter from our demands. This administration has the blood of 186,000 Palestinians on their hands. The burn of pepper spray, the bruises of police brutality, and the mark of handcuffs and zipties on our comrades are forever seared into our memory and consciousness. Your crimes will follow you wherever you go. You will be confronted in your events, in your offices, at your homes. Every step you take we will be there to hold you accountable.
The students allege that Provost Chris Bracey committed assault last April when he slapped a phone out of the hands of a protester who was filming him.
The continued vandalism on our campus is often defended as free speech. It is not. As I discuss in my book “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage,” there is a difference between conduct and speech. I have defended the right of pro-Palestinian groups to protest on campus. However, occupying buildings or trashing property is criminal conduct that should be sanctioned or prosecuted. The problem is that the few charges brought against such actors were largely dropped.
As students return, protests are again ramping up around our campus and other schools.
As for George, the monument will have to be, again, restored. It is all being heralded as “a message to Bracey and every administrator at this University.” The question is whether officials will be equally clear and consistent in their own message that threats, property damage, and other offenses will not be tolerated on our campuses.