The Story Behind TIME’s College Protests Cover

OIn recent weeks, the world has watched and listened as college campuses across the United States become the focal point of American protest against—and debate over—Israel’s war in Gaza, which has killed more than 30,000 people since Hamas attacks in October 2018. 7. As we often do in these moments, TIME’s photo editors turned to the photographers closest to the story. In this case, that meant student photojournalists at 10 student-run university newspapers – the UCLA Bruin DiaryO Northwest DiaryO Daily PrincetonianUSC Daily Trojan, O Daily TexanO GW MachadoO Indiana Everyday StudentO Michigan Gazettethe Rutgers Daily Targumand the Vanderbilt Hustler.

See more information: Watch TIME’s university protests Cover story here

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 – getting every angle of the story, keeping their fellow students and the general public updated – shines through in every frame. And those of us off campus are lucky that this is the case. After all, it’s student journalists who really see what’s happening on college campuses. They were there before journalists from major news organizations arrived and will be there after the international press leaves.

In editing this portfolio, I also researched archival photos of college protests during the 1960s and 1980s. These scenes reflect photos I’ve seen of colleges today—a new set of images that speaks to this historical canon. I saw photographers who had the wherewithal to document beyond the high-tension scenes, seeing moments of silence, shared meals and prayers, students teaching each other. These journalists also witnessed the escalation that occurred in many places with the arrival of police and counter-protesters – and, even in the midst of the chaos, they took powerful photographs that instantly draw attention. The collection of his images offers a clearer understanding of what is happening right now at colleges across America and a stark reminder of the power of photography to capture moments of truth.