Summary

Permission to Enter begins with Naomi reading Omar’s application essay, which references, but does not describe in detail, his childhood in Palestine, the death of his family, and his resettlement in the United States. Naomi compares Omar’s past traumas with Neil Jones-Givens’s, noting that, although both students endured hardship, Neil had “been a fine student” while Omar was close to failing, only kept afloat by A’s in Nicholas Gall’s classes (142).

Naomi and Hannah have Thanksgiving dinner together, but the time is fraught with conflict about the Webster Dissent. Hannah says the protest will not disband until Webster offers Gall tenure, but Naomi cannot legally disclose why Gall was denied tenure, and so remains silent. When classes resume after the Thanksgiving break, the encampment grows and “news vans” begin appearing on campus (147).

The Devil and...