Student protest is a proud democratic tradition on college campuses. For generations, young people have protested to express their views, to participate in the public debate and to draw attention to causes they care about. From the Civil Rights and Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s to Black Lives Matter and Israeli-Palestinian protests and encampments in the 2020s, the spirited activism of students has helped bolster democratic ideals.

The First Amendment protects the right to protest, but college administrations are allowed to set reasonable time, place and manner restrictions on where and how you protest as long as they don’t discriminate by viewpoint. That means, for instance, that a private university can restrict your right to pass out posters or chalk on sidewalks as long as they redirect you to traditional and designated public forums like the campus quad. It can also limit what you say in classrooms or other “nonpublic” areas such as meeting rooms if they have a real and substantial safety concern.

In the past, student activism has raised awareness of important issues ranging from racial and gender injustice to tuition hikes and the need for schools to be more inclusive of the marginalized. In many cases, students have even pushed colleges to address their safety concerns, such as preventing shootings on campuses or creating safe spaces for sexual assault survivors.

Today, students like Augustana freshmen Alonna Smith and Abigail Joy continue this important tradition by participating in protests around issues they care about. They both view student activism as a vital part of the democratic process and a way to bring diverse perspectives to movements that often overlook or exclude people with varying backgrounds.