Over the past 18 months, pro-Palestinian protests have become a regular presence on university campuses in England. At the University of Cambridge, students have been demanding that the institution end all investment ties with Israeli companies supplying arms to Israel. But the college has taken increasingly aggressive action to stop these protests.

Last month, pro-Palestinian protest encampments at St. John’s and Trinity, two Cambridge colleges, were dismantled after the university secured temporary high-court injunctions against them. The university defended its decision, saying the camps were disrupting exams and graduation ceremonies. But for students like Mahmoud Attallah, who participated in the protests, the crackdown sends a chilling message.

“Many of those camping are themselves doing exams,” Attallah said. “They take part in these protests because they know that there are no more universities in Gaza [referring to Israeli attacks that have destroyed the institutions], that people are starving to death.”

Attallah said all protest camps at Cambridge have now been removed under court orders, a move he believes contradicts the very notion of free expression.

The recent actions taken by Cambridge and other institutions appear to clash with the new framework introduced by England’s higher-education watchdog, the Office for Students. The guidelines aim to protect lawful free speech on campus, including the right to protest, a hallmark of college life.

“You should have the freedom to express your political views, through protest and other media, as long as it’s done peacefully and lawfully,” said Arif Ahmed, director for freedom of speech and academic freedom at the OfS. Ahmed argued that the new regulations should help universities better balance the need for campus order with the rights of students to express their opinions.

But for protestors like Attallah, the new guidelines ring hollow. “They keep talking about freedom of speech,” he said. “But when it comes to practice, this doesn’t really seem to follow through.”

Since October 2023, at least 28 British universities have reportedly launched disciplinary investigations against students and staff involved in pro-Palestinian activism. But free speech concerns aren’t limited to student activists. Academics, too, are increasingly wary of expressing unpopular opinions. One of the most high-profile examples is Kathleen Stock, a former philosophy professor at the University of Sussex and a self-described “gender-critical” feminist.

Stock left her post in 2021, citing a campaign of harassment by students and activists over her views on gender identity.

“People will start spinning all sorts of lies about my position,” Stock said in a recent interview. “They say, ‘She wants to take away the rights of trans people.’ That’s about as bold as it gets. Obviously, I don’t.”

She did acknowledge that her definition of rights may differ from that of her critics.

“But there is some discussion to be had about what ‘rights’ means in our country, you know,” she said. “And is it the right of a male to say he’s a woman and go into a sports team? I would say not.”

Earlier this year, the University of Sussex was fined more than £585,000 ($782,000) by the OfS for failing to adequately uphold freedom of speech. The regulator took issue with the university’s equality policy on transgender and nonbinary inclusion, which promised to provide a positive working environment for those students. The regulator said that could lead to self-censorship and could discourage staff and students from expressing differing views. The university is now mounting a legal challenge against the ruling.

Ahmed declined to comment on the specifics of the case, citing ongoing litigation. But he said recent polling showed one in five UK academics no longer feel comfortable teaching or discussing controversial topics like sex and gender, race or religion.

“I think it’s essential to social progress that we be open to views that many people might find shocking or offensive,” Ahmed explained. “Students should be prepared to face views from all sides.”

Universities UK, an umbrella group representing 141 higher education institutions, has welcomed the new guidelines. But its chief executive, Vivienne Stern, acknowledged the rules don’t provide simple answers.

“The examples given in the guidance don’t reflect the real complexity of some of the issues that universities actually find themselves dealing with,” she said. She added that in some cases, court orders limiting protests are necessary. “We can’t have universities just be taken over by people who’ve got one very strongly held view. University life has to go on.”

Back in Cambridge, student protester Mahmoud Attallah said he believes the environment for student activism has never felt more uncertain. He added many of his peers now worry that protesting could jeopardize their academic futures.

“It’s not strange for someone to feel like they could face disciplinary action,” he said. “In some universities, students came under threat of expulsion. That is definitely a fear.”

Still, Attallah insisted that fear won’t silence them.

“What’s happening in Gaza is far worse than anything we’re afraid of here,” he said. “As long as the war continues, we will find ways to protest.”