Skip to content
Navigating a New Political Landscape: View real-time updates about the impact of and Northeastern’s response to recent political changes.
Apply
Stories

In an uncivil age, calls for “civility” are about squashing effective protest

People in this story

Vox, May 2022

On the weekend of May 7, protesters angered by the leaked draft of a pending Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade assembled in front of Supreme Court justices’ houses. A crowd of a few hundred people first gathered at the house of Justice Brett Kavanaugh before moving over to Chief Justice John Roberts, who lives in the same Chevy Chase, Maryland, neighborhood. The crowd then headed back to Kavanaugh’s house while police guarded properties.

While the protest was peaceful, it caused a firestorm online, where some liberals joined conservatives in condemning the protesters for entering these neighborhoods. On Monday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki released a statement apparently decrying the very idea of protesting the justices. Protesting “should never include violence, threats, or vandalism,” Psaki stated on behalf of President Biden. “Judges perform an incredibly important function in our society, and they must be able to do their jobs without concern for their personal safety.”

Continue reading at Vox.

More Stories

Dwaign Tyndal (center), executive director at Alternatives for Community and Environment, talks with ACE staff on Feb. 26. The Roxbury-based nonprofit focuses its efforts on environmental justice and racism.

Encyclopedia Climatica: What is an environmental justice community?

09.23.2025
Harvard law student Sean Pigeon speaks during a memorial vigil held for Charlie Kirk by the Harvard Republican Club on the steps of the Widener Library on Sept. 13, 2025.

Many Boston universities get an ‘F’ in free speech policies, according to new report

09.22.2025
Students in Spain

Northeastern University students capture Spanish culture with stories from abroad

10.22.25
All Stories