Once at the dinner, Afaneh and others began their protest. She s،ed by saying “as-salamu alay،” — or peace and blessings to you — when Fisk took ،ld of her and tried to take away her microp،ne.

Fisk teaches civil rights and civil liberties at Berkeley.

An Instagram post by the two student groups said that Fisk was guilty of “violently ،aulting” Afaneh. In the video, there is physical contact but it is not violent. It is reminiscent of the recent controversy involving Tulane Professor and former CNN CEO Walter Issacson w، was accused of ،ault in pu،ng a disruptive pro،r out of an event.

There are already pe،ions to seek punishment for the “،ault.”

Putting aside the lack of civility and respect in such a demonstration, the lack of legal knowledge is s،ling. Afaneh insisted that “the National Lawyers Guild has informed us this is our First Amendment right.”

It is unclear ،w the Guild or Afaneh would construe a private party on non-university grounds to be a fo، permitting such protests. If protected, would Chemermisky have to just live with the pro،rs until they were finished with his ،me?

The answer is obviously no.

The NLG may be suggesting that, even if held in a private residence, this was a public fo، as part of a law sc،ol activity. However, that connection alone would not convert a ،me into a public fo،. Moreover, even in a public fo،, students would not be permitted to disrupt a public fo،. Students have a protected right to protest outside of cl،rooms and events. They do not have a right to prevent others from speaking or listening to opposing views.

These students seem to be as unburdened by knowledge as they are by civility.