Interrogating academia's lack of support for decolonization: Bridging decolonial theory and action

Over the past year, mass student movements across academic institutions in the United States advocating for Palestinian liberation have grown. This paper invokes critical reflection and analysis that centers on the experiences of students engaged in advocating and organizing for decolonization in Palestine within higher education. Through a community psychology lens, this paper explores the gap between academia's theoretical support for decolonization and the challenges faced by students actively standing in solidarity with decolonial movements in real-life events. Reviewing concepts of colonialism and imperialism in the context of Palestine, the current paper highlights various community psychology values in relation to Palestine, such as social justice, wellness, and liberation, and how universities often claim to champion similar values. Authors argue that while academia often embraces decolonization metaphorically or abstractly in theory, it fails to grasp the lived realities and complexities of supporting decolonization efforts in real-time. This paper presents various reflexive case studies about instances on different college campuses where students faced barriers in politically organizing against colonialism and the contradictory campus policies that caused these barriers. These case studies highlight the experiences of students being silenced and censored, retaliated against, doxed, and more, for demonstrating solidarity with Palestinians on campus. The reflexive case studies reveal how academia can function as a colonial institution and recommend ways to challenge and transform these conditions. Analyzing the contradictions of academia is significant for understanding these institutions' role in society, as education should enrich students with knowledge and enlightenment, not contribute to social injustices.