In the fall of 2023, Peyrin Kao was teaching one of his giant computer sciences (CS) courses — classes with a capacity cap of 800 people that students often compete to enroll in, hoping to springboard six-figure careers in the tech industry. Kao had completed his formal lectures for the semester when he projected an announcement onto the classroom’s screen. “At this point, C16B lecture is over, and you are free to leave. Anything I say from this point onwards is solely on behalf of myself, and I don’t speak for CS16B staff, the EECS Department, or the university.”

After repeatedly informing students that they could leave the lecture hall at any time, Kao projected six photographs depicting scenes of protests for Palestine, and began to describe the Israeli assault on Gaza as it had transp

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