Northwestern University, where I teach, has reached an agreement with Gaza-protesting students to end their encampment. The university agreed to the terms under duress, as the students were breaking Northwestern’s rules and threatening further disorder; their capitulation will incentivize more rule-breaking in the future. The agreement’s substance will further entrench identity, rather than truth, as a foundation of university life. Until universities return to the business of education and reject identity politics, they will be subject to such holdups. ...

Entering into an agreement with these students invites further campus disruptions. It also puts the school in a bind. If Northwestern holds firm against a future band of agitators, it can be rightly accused of playing favorites—a charge inimical to the university’s mission of drawing on ideas from all corners and transmitting knowledge.