Eskamani Defends Protests on University Campuses

A bipartisan group of lawmakers have condemned protests that have spread across university campuses. The world watches as "anarchy in academia" spreads across the country. Responding to criticism over the protests on social media, Florida Rep. Anna V. Eskamani (D) is sharing her support for the students, calling on people to "empathize."

Protests at Columbia and other universities have shocked a bipartisan group of lawmakers, who have denounced the protestors yelling things such as "we are Hamas."

However, while Democrats like Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D) have pushed back against the protests, others like Rep. Eskamani are sharing their support and declaring that the issue is much more complex.

"Someone accused me of being ok with anti-semitism; I vehemently oppose anti-semitism and agree that anti-semitism is a serious problem," Rep. Eskamani explained on social media. "I also oppose students getting arrested for protesting & express caution in conflating anti-war protests with anti-semitism."

Rep. Eskamani instead called on "anti-war activists" to not disregard claims of anti-semitism, calling on them to "lean in when someone makes this point and ask why they feel that way vs assume you already know the answer."

One issue that has been stressed during the protests is the fact that many faculty, staff, and students do not feel safe on campus.

To this, Rep. Eskamani shared that "no one should feel unsafe on their college campus or in their community, and if someone doesn't feel safe please don't disregard that emotion."

"I have found in my conversations that members of the Jewish community and Arab community (along with many other communities) don't feel safe right now. Instead of dismissing this we should empathize, seek deeper insight, and share our own perspectives. Many things can be true at the same time, and that's ok."

At this time, protests at Columbia university have grown violent with protestors taking over Hamilton Hall.