--- description: We turned to the photographers closest to the story. In this case, that meant student photojournalists from 10 student-run college papers. title: The Story Behind TIME's Campus Protests Cover image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt67602a094f468ca4/698a5693096a9420d86b07e0/TIM240527-CampusProtest-CoverFINAL-social.jpg?branch=production ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [protests](/tag/protests/) ## protests Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Story Behind TIME's Campus Protests Cover  by [Kara Milstein](/author/kara-milstein/)  ## Kara Milstein Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 9, 2024 12:00 PM CUT  Photograph by James Schaap for The GW Hatchet  by [Kara Milstein](/author/kara-milstein/)  ## Kara Milstein Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 9, 2024 12:00 PM CUT Over the last few weeks the world has watched and listened as college campuses across the United States became the focal point of[ American protest ](https://time.com/6974699/pro-palestinian-protests-spark-on-college-campuses-across-the-globe/ "undefined")against—and [debate about](https://time.com/6974063/divestment-explained-campus-protest-israel/ "undefined")—Israel’s war in Gaza, which has killed [more than 30,000 people](https://time.com/6909636/gaza-death-toll/ "undefined") since the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7\. As we often do in these moments, TIME photo editors turned to the photographers closest to the story. In this case, that meant student photojournalists from 10 student-run college newspapers— the UCLA _Daily Bruin_, the _Daily Northwestern_, the _Daily Princetonian_, USC’s _Daily Trojan,_ the _Daily Texan_, the _GW Hatchet_, the _Indiana Daily Student_, the _Michigan Daily_, the Rutgers _Daily Targum_, and the _Vanderbilt Hustler_. **_Read more:_** [_See TIME's Campus Protests_ _Cover Story Here_](https://time.com/6975991/campus-protests-student-photojournalists-cover-story/ "undefined") We were impressed not only by the photographs produced by these students, but also by their dedication to telling as much of the story as possible. The responsibility these photographers feel—to get all angles of the story, to keep their fellow students and the [general public ](https://time.com/6973573/palestine-campus-protests-joe-biden-democrats/ "undefined")up-to-date—comes through in every frame. And those of us off campus are fortunate that’s the case. After all, student journalists are the ones really seeing what’s happening on college campuses. They were there before journalists from major news organizations arrived, and they will be there after the international press leaves. While editing this portfolio, I was also researching archival photos from college protests during the 1960s and 1980s. Those scenes mirror the photos I saw from colleges today—a new set of images that are in conversation with that historical canon. I saw photographers who had the wherewithal to document beyond the high-tension scenes, seeing moments of quiet, shared meals and prayer, students teaching one another. These journalists had also witnessed the [escalation](https://time.com/6973166/columbia-university-city-college-pro-palestinian-protests-arrests/ "undefined") that occurred in many places with the arrival of police and counter-protestors—and, even amid the chaos, they made strong photographs that instantly grab your attention. Their images together offer a clearer understanding of what is happening at this moment in time at colleges across the United States, and a strong reminder of the power of photography to capture moments of truth. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6976159/campus-protests-cover/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6976159/campus-protests-cover/"},"headline":"The Story Behind TIME's Campus Protests Cover","datePublished":"2024-05-09T12:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T17:35:25.618Z","description":"We turned to the photographers closest to the story. 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