As anti-Israel protests continue to plague college campuses across the country, Northwestern University has reached a deal with the protesters, sparking concern from many about the conditions.
On Monday, the school announced an agreement to curb protest activity in return for the reestablishment of an advisory committee on university investments and other commitments.
Some who are protesting the war in Gaza condemned the Northwestern agreement as a failure to stick to the original demands of student organizers, the Associated Press reported. Some supporters of Israel claimed the deal represented “cowardly” capitulation to protesters.
One of Northwestern’s radical professors has ties to a history of terror.
Zayd Ayers Dohrn, is the son of a former radical terrorist group leader, Bernardine Rae Dohrn and Bill Ayers. The group they led for years perpetrated terrorist bombings in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere around the country.
Young men raise their fists and chant slogans during the ‘Days of Rage’ demonstrations organized by the Weathermen to protest the Chicago Seven trial and ‘to bring the war home,’ Chicago, October 11, 1969. The plinth in the background held a statue dedicated to the policemen killed during the Haymarket Riot until the Weathermen bombed it on October 8th. It was rebuilt and bombed again in 1970 then rebuilt and moved indoors to the police academy. (Photo by David Fenton/Getty Images)
According to Northwestern’s staff directory, Zayd Ayers Dohrn is a writer, professor, and director of the MFA in Writing for Screen and Stage in the Department of Radio/Television/Film at Northwestern University.
He is also creator and host of the original documentary podcast, “Mother Country Radicals,” where he details being raised by parents who were leading one of the most notorious domestic radical terrorist groups in the U.S.
His mother, Bernardine Dohrn, is the former leader of the far-left militant organization, Weather Underground. She reportedly praised Charles Manson and even ended up on the FBI’s most wanted list for several years.
“My parents never hid any of this from me. I knew, from when I was three or four, that we used fake names. I knew we moved around a lot, made calls from public phones, and paid for everything in cash. I knew somebody was chasing us, but didn’t know what “FBI” meant – why they, or it, wanted to catch us or what would happen if they did,” Zayd previously told the Guardian.
The Weather Underground group wreaked havoc in the 1960s and 70s, bombing 20 targets, including the Pentagon, the U.S. Capitol and the State Department, all to protest the Vietnam War and support other left-wing causes.
In 1970, the group planted a pipe bomb at the San Francisco Police Department, and one person was killed. The NYPD was also targeted that same year with dynamite, which caused injury to seven people.
EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES – APRIL 27: Students and residents camp outside Northwestern University during a pro-Palestinian protest, expressing solidarity with Palestinians with banners in Evanston, Illinois, United States on April 27, 2024. (Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images) (Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“We made mistakes, and we’d do it again. I wish that we’d done more. I wish we’d been more militant. I wish a lot of things. But taken as a whole, we were so lucky to be born into that moment in history,” Bernadine Dohrn said.
Zayd’s father, Bill Ayers, was also a member of the group and was an associate of former President Barack Obama. However, Ayers’ ties to President Obama have been in dispute since becoming a campaign issue during the 2008 presidential race, though it is known he served with Obama on a Chicago charity’s board.
Back in 2008, during Obama’s campaign run, Ayers and Dohrn were interviewed on Fox News and asked about their involvement in the radical terrorist group.
Ayers retired in 2010 from his position as a professor of education at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Prior to his career in higher education, he was a fugitive for years for his role with the Weather Underground until surrendering in 1980. Charges against him were dropped because of government misconduct.
NEW YORK TIMES DELETES, EDITS TWEET ABOUT WEATHER UNDERGROUND TERRORIST KATHY BOUDIN
Chesa Boudin shown with his father David Gilbert in the maximum security prison where he is serving his sentence for the killing of a Brinks guard and two police officers during a robbery by the radical group, The Weather Underground. (Photo by Ralf-Finn Hestoft/Corbis via Getty Images) (Photo by Ralf-Finn Hestoft/Corbis via Getty Images)
Northwestern’s deal allows protests to continue through June 1 but prohibits all tents except one for aid supplies. The agreement also prevents people without ties to Northwestern from participating and requires school permission to use loudspeakers or similar devices, according to the AP.
Northwestern said the terms include penalties for students who fail to comply, including suspension.
“This agreement represents a sustainable and de-escalated path forward, and enhances the safety of all members of the Northwestern community while providing space for free expression that complies with University rules and policies,” said a statement from President Michael Schill, Provost Kathleen Hagerty and Vice President for Student Affairs Susan Davis.
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Brown University has also implemented a similar deal.
Fox News Digital reached out to Northwestern University and Dohrn Ayers for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
