Marc Lamont Hill discusses student activism for Palestine with Columbia University student organiser Maryam Alwan.

As Israel’s war on Gaza persists for over half a year, many university students in the United States have expressed solidarity with Palestinians.

Students at Columbia University set up a Gaza solidarity encampment and have called on the University to sever ties to Israel. Tensions escalated on April 18 after school officials called in police to arrest protesters. Dozens of students faced suspensions and were evicted from campus housing.

Since then, similar protests have sprung up from coast to coast - and they’ve been met with similar crackdowns in the name of safety. Is free speech being threatened at American universities?

This week on UpFront, Marc Lamont Hill talks to Maryam Alwan, an organiser with Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, about what these students are trying to achieve despite attempts to limit free speech on campus.