A look at the protests of the war in Gaza that have emerged at US colleges
Student protests over the Israel-Hamas war have popped up at many college campuses following the arrest of demonstrators this month at Columbia University.
The students are calling for universities to separate themselves from companies that are advancing Israel’s military efforts in Gaza, and in some cases from Israel itself. Police have arrested hundreds nationwide since early detainments at Columbia on April 18.
Officials are trying to resolve the protests as the academic year winds down, but students have dug in at several high-profile universities. Standoffs appeared to be coming to a head late Monday and early Tuesday as police cleared encampments and arrested demonstrators at many campuses.
As cease-fire negotiations appear to gain steam, it isn't clear whether those talks might inspire campus protesters to ease their efforts.
A look at protests on campuses:
Pro-Palestinian student protesters set up a tent encampment at the Ivy League university in New York this month. Police first tried to clear the encampment April 18, when they arrested more than 100 protesters. But the move motivated Columbia protesters to regroup. The demonstrations led Columbia to hold remote classes and set a series of deadlines for protesters to leave the encampment.
Although the university said it was beginning to suspend student protesters who defied an ultimatum to leave the encampment there by a Monday afternoon deadline, Columbia activists defied the deadline and protest organizers said they were not aware of any suspensions as of Monday evening.
Early Tuesday, dozens of protesters took over an academic building at Columbia, barricading the entrances and unfurling a Palestinian flag out a window. Protesters locked arms in front of Hamilton Hall and carried furniture and metal barricades to the building. Columbia responded by restricting access to campus.
Commencement is set for May 15. Columbia’s president, Minouche Shafik, faced a significant, but largely symbolic, rebuke from faculty Friday but retains the support of trustees.
Dozens of police officers in helmets and carrying batons marched onto the Northern California campus early Tuesday and cleared two buildings occupied by protesters. The university said 34 people were arrested and there were no injuries.
The university earlier announced a “hard closure,” meaning that people were not permitted to enter or be on campus without authorization.
The university’s website posted a shelter-in-place order for the campus early Tuesday because of “continuing criminal activity on campus.”
Yale University and New Haven police surrounded the encampment in the Cross Campus quad with caution tape starting around 6 a.m. Tuesday and said that anyone inside the blocked-off area would be subject to arrest and suspension if they did not leave, The Yale Daily News, an independent student newspaper, reported. Officer Christian Bruckhart, a New Haven police spokesperson, said no arrests had been made as of 7:30 a.m.
The school in Evanston, Illinois, said Monday that the school had reached an agreement with students and faculty who represent the majority of protesters on its campus since Thursday.
Northwestern says it will permit peaceful demonstrations that comply with university policies through June 1, which is the end of spring quarter classes. The university says it will allow one aid tent to remain and that all other tents must be removed.
In an Instagram post Monday, the Northwestern University Divestment Coalition said elected representatives of the group approved the deal by a vote of 17-1 and see it as “the floor for our progress going forward, not the ceiling.” The group also said it has much work ahead and that it will not stop now.
At least 40 people were arrested on charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct in a confrontation between police and protesters late Monday.
About 150 protesters sat on the ground as state troopers and police encircled them, with hundreds of other students and protesters shouting when officers dragged someone away. After police cleared the original group of demonstrators, hundreds of students and protesters ran to block officers from leaving campus. Protesters pushed in on officers, creating a mass of shoving bodies before police used pepper spray on the crowd and set off flash-bang devices to clear a path for a van to take those arrested off campus.
Encampment organizers met with university President Carol Folt for about 90 minutes Monday. Folt declined to discuss details of what was discussed but said the purpose of the meeting was to allow her to hear the concerns of protesters. Another meeting was scheduled for Tuesday.
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