Trump’s 2019 executive order, framed as a shield against rising anti-Semitism, forced federal agencies to treat certain campus complaints under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. For Jewish students facing harassment, it promised long-overdue protection. But by tying some forms of pro-Palestinian activism to potential civil rights violations, it pushed universities into a climate of fear and second-guessing, where political speech could be reinterpreted as hate.

On campuses already polarized by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the order deepened mistrust. International students, unsure how protests might affect their immigration status, weighed every chant against the risk of being misunderstood. Civil liberties advocates warned that, without clear lines, criticism of a government could be mistaken for bigotry against a people. The controversy left a haunting question behind: can a nation confront real hatred without silencing the very debate that democracy depends on?