"Mr. Ajjawi has said that he wants to become a doctor and that he is nonpolitical. His lawyer, Albert Mokhiber, described him on Tuesday as a Palestinian refugee who had attended United Nations schools in the refugee camps of Lebanon.

Set aside the question of whether an exiled Palestinian raised in a refugee camp can ever truly be “apolitical.” It’s clear that Ismail Ajjawi will not have the same right to speak out freely as his Harvard classmates enjoy. He will have to be exceedingly cautious about joining student demonstrations in favor of Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS), for example. He will need to monitor his social media accounts — not just what he posts, but what his contacts have to say. He may have to speak guardedly to classmates, even though many of them will doubtlessly have questions about Israel, Palestine and the Mideast generally.

In short, Ismail Ajjawi will not have the college experience that he deserves. And neither will his classmates."