> The administration's response to protests has a chilling effect and discourages students who care about their right to protest.

I doubt this is true. Harvard suppressed protests many times in the past. That didn't seem to discourage students in the past. This is not new.

> I think your first sentence is completely accurate and as a result I'm going to pay less attention to my intuition.

Because it merely goes against your intuition. That's all. Let's not act like you would require definite proof for everything.