Hillary Clinton returned to her alma mater, Wellesley College, on Saturday to celebrate the opening of a new research and learning center that bears her name. It's been more than half a century since she graduated and began the path that made her most famous. Graduate.
As always, Wellesley faculty, students and alumni consider her a rock star, a kind of campus demigod who forever elevated the status of this small liberal arts college west of Boston.
But as Clinton was moderating a panel discussion on “Democracy at the Crossroads'' at the new center's founding summit, a group of student demonstrators outside shouted chants and protested against Clinton's attendance. Holding up placards in opposition was a sign of the anger that many in recent generations have taken to be more critical. Wellesley woman views her legacy.
Near the end of the panel discussion, one of the students attending the event stood up and began shouting, denouncing Clinton's indifference to violence against Palestinians.
“We're having a discussion,” Clinton told the woman, who was escorted out of the venue by university officials. “I would be very happy to meet and talk to you after this event.”
Protesters who gathered on campus on Friday and Saturday appeared to ignore Clinton, the former first lady, senator, secretary of state and Democratic presidential candidate, but spoke to reporters and spoke behind the demonstrations. He declined to identify the group. On Saturday morning, protest leaders held loudspeakers and warned: “Please do not talk to the police or the press.”
Clinton, 76, has become a frequent target of protests during a polarizing and high-achieving career. Last fall, protesters gathered outside her first lecture at Columbia University, where she began teaching a class called “Inside the Situation Room,” challenging some of her past actions as secretary of state. I filed a complaint.
But Wellesley has long been a safe place for her to return to her roots and find reliable support. In May 2017, six months after Donald J. Trump deposed him as president, she spoke at a university commencement ceremony and, without mentioning Trump by name, criticized his “attack on truth and reason.” '', and also gave a speech to reassure her. The heartbroken alma mater said “things are going well” even though “things didn't go as planned”.
The overall reception on Saturday was decidedly more mixed. The signs held up at the protests appeared to be a response to Clinton's comments in recent months opposing the ceasefire agreement in the Israel-Hamas war. He read an article that said, “Hillary for every woman unless she's Palestinian.” “Hillary, Hillary, you are a liar. We demand a ceasefire,” protesters shouted as summit attendees filed into Diana Chapman Walsh Alumni Hall. Most of the demonstrators wore medical masks to cover part of their faces. Some wore black-and-white kaffiyehs, which have become a symbol of the pro-Palestinian movement.
After Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, Clinton spoke out against the cease-fire proposal, arguing it would empower Hamas and incite more violence, putting her at odds with the liberal wing of her party. He claimed that he was in a position to do so. In her recent television appearance, she stressed that the ceasefire had already been concluded in October last year before it was violated by Hamas, and said those calling for another ceasefire do not understand Hamas or the region's history. .
Lawrence Rosenwald, a former English professor who taught at Wellesley College from 1980 to 2022, said that since Wellesley College rallied behind Clinton's candidacy eight years ago, Many current students are said to be alienated by such comments, and their thinking leans to the left.
Mr. Rosenwald recalled participating in campus protests against Mr. Clinton 20 years ago, when he was a senator from New York and voted to authorize the invasion of Iraq. Even in her moment of separation, he said, he could feel the institution's deep pride in her.
“It was a strange kind of protest with a lot of love mixed in with the opposition,” he said. “Both were real.”
On campus Saturday, several students who did not participate in the Clinton summit or the protests expressed their gratitude for the protesters' vocal criticism.
“Just because she's a famous alumnus doesn't mean we have to hold her up as perfect,” said Maura Whalen, 18, a first-year student from New Jersey.
At Wellesley, like other campuses across the country, painful tensions arose in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. Last year, some Wellesley faculty members asked the university's president, Paula A. Johnson, to publicly state that criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitic, but she called it “anti-Israel and anti-Zionist speech.” for Jewish students who were rejected due to the risk of creating a hostile environment.
Some Jewish students have already complained about a campus email sent by a student resident assistant in one residence hall that said Wellesley College had “no space, no consideration for, or support for Zionism.” was alleged. The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights began an investigation into anti-Semitism in Wellesley in November, one of dozens of similar investigations the government has launched since the war began.
However, some faculty members are troubled by the lack of an increase in student protests despite the unrest. A professor who helped found the Wellesley branch of the Palestine School of Justice in February told the student newspaper Wellesley News that one of the reasons he founded the group was to help students feel more comfortable speaking out. he said.
The empowerment strategy appears to be working, as dozens of students braved the April morning outside the mountaintop on an April morning in scattered rain showers and temperatures in the 30s. Anticipating that some demonstrators would attend the event, university officials handed out yellow flyers to those seated and issued a code of honor warning that “jeering, shouting, or other disruptive behavior is prohibited.” He warned that he could be prosecuted for the violation.
Ironically, their target, Mrs. Clinton, emboldened U.S. Sen. Edward W. Brooke, a contemporary establishment politician, after giving the commencement address at the 1969 commencement ceremony. He was respected by many of his Wellesley classmates. .
Hilary Rodham, a young political science major and senior who gave the first commencement address in Wellesley College history, echoed concerns from senators who emphasized modest goals and viewed the protests as a “counterproductive disruption.” He was so troubled that he began his speech as follows: His frank critique shocked some listeners, but received a standing ovation from the students in his class.
“We are not yet in a position of leadership or power, but we do have the essential elements of criticism and constructive protest,” she said.
The new Hillary Rodham Clinton Center for Citizenship, Leadership, and Democracy at Wellesley College, which enrolls approximately 2,500 students, will focus on developing “the next generation of civic leaders and transformative citizens.” would promote the early ideals of It will feature interdisciplinary faculty research, a “civic engagement lab” for students, and an annual spring summit to address critical global issues.
Panelists at the first summit included Leima Gbowee, a Liberian peace activist and 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner. Chelsea Miller, co-founder of Freedom March New York. and Marie Yovanovitch, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. More than 400 people directly participated. She also had 200 people log into her livestream.
Sitting in a plush white armchair on a lavender-lit stage, Clinton expressed concern at the summit about recent setbacks in women's rights around the world after steady progress. “It felt like an upward trajectory,” she said. “Then these forces started to rise and push back.”
Kayla Brand, 22, a senior at Wellesley College, said she was excited to hear from Clinton and appreciated her years of championing the rights of women, children and the LGBTQ community. The protests made her sad, she said, and she felt like the energy she spent yelling at Clinton could be channeled into more productive work.
“I appreciate her work. I think she helped a lot of people on this campus,” said Ms. Brand, a computer science major from California. “And I also wish for peace in the region, both for Israelis and Palestinians.”
Patricia Berman and Tracy Gleason, faculty co-directors of the new Clinton Center, said it is difficult to watch student protesters grapple with global pain and violence. But they also saw the protests as one thread in the tough dialogue they hope to foster.
“Our goal is for students to not only use their own voices, but also to be open to other perspectives,” Ms. Gleason said.
Rosenwald, a longtime professor, said he believes students' pride in Clinton will endure, even if it becomes more complicated than the simple past.
“Wellesley students are activists,” he said. “They also understand how difficult it is for women to get to where they are now.”
Sarah Marvosh, Vimal Patel and Maya Shwayder contributed reporting.