Anti-Israel protests still raging at colleges around region, nation
Student protests over the Israel-Hamas war have popped up at many college campuses after being inspired by demonstrators at Columbia University.
The students are calling for universities to separate themselves from companies advancing Israel’s military efforts in Gaza and in some cases from Israel itself. Police have arrested hundreds nationwide since 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.
A look at protests on campuses:
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Police first tried to clear the encampment of Pro-Palestinian student protesters on April 18, when they arrested more than 100. But the move motivated Columbia protesters to regroup.
The university said Monday that it was beginning to suspend student protesters who defied an ultimatum to leave the encampment by Monday afternoon.
Early Tuesday, dozens of protesters took over an academic building, locking arms and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building. Columbia responded by restricting access to campus. The occupation has drawn enthusiasm from protesters, and attention from the New York Police Department’s drone unit.
Columbia said Tuesday that students occupying the building could face expulsion, those who did not abide by the deadline terms are being suspended and seniors will be ineligible to graduate on May 15.
Among those suspended Tuesday was graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, who served as the lead negotiator representing student protesters before talks with the administration broke down over the weekend. Khalil said he had abided by the university’s demand to vacate the lawn by the Monday afternoon deadline. A spokesperson for Columbia declined to comment on the situation with Khalil.
CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY
Protesters have occupied two buildings at the northern California school. Dozens of helmeted police officers carrying batons marched onto campus early Tuesday and cleared both halls. The university said 25 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. At 3:24 a.m., the university’s website posted a shelter-in-place order for campus residents. The order was lifted several hours later but residents were told to stay in living, dining and market areas.
YALE UNIVERSITY
Yale authorities cleared a protesters’ encampment Tuesday morning after students heeded final warnings to leave, university officials said. Yale and New Haven, Connecticut, police officers were at the site, but no arrests were reported. Yale officials said they warned that students could be arrested and face discipline, including suspension, if they didn’t clear the grassy quad area.
Demonstrators moved their gathering to a public sidewalk area. It was the second encampment removed since last week. On April 22, police arrested nearly 50 people, including 44 students, and took down dozens of tents.
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT
Police moved in on a campus encampment at the Storrs, Connecticut, school Tuesday morning and arrested protesters after giving them several warnings to leave, UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz said. The number of arrests was not immediately available and officers were clearing the scene.
Tuesday’s arrests came a day after protest leaders met with university officials.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
In a statement, protesters said the Cambridge, Massachusetts, school “has sought to shut off all outside access and visibility to the encampment.”
“Meanwhile, the Harvard administration has initiated disciplinary action against nearly forty students and student workers,” the statement said.
Last week, Harvard limited access to its famous Harvard Yard to those with school identification after a camp was set up.
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
The university’s president, Chris Eisgruber, posted a statement on Instagram saying 13 protesters — 12 affiliated with the university — were arrested Monday night after briefly occupying Clio Hall, the campus graduate school building.
“All those arrested received summonses for trespassing and have been barred from campus,” Eisgruber said in the statement. “The students will also face University discipline, which may extend to suspension or expulsion.”
BROWN UNIVERSITY
Protesters at Brown University in Rhode Island agreed to dismantle their pro-Palestinian encampment Tuesday after school officials said five students will be invited to meet with five members of the Corporation of Brown University in May to present their arguments to divest Brown’s endowment from companies contributing to and profiting from the war in Gaza.
In addition, Brown President Christina Paxson will ask an advisory committee to make a recommendation on divestment by Sept. 30, which will be brought before the school’s governing corporation for a vote in October.
Students agreed to end the encampment by 5 p.m. and “refrain from further actions that would violate Brown’s conduct code through the end of the academic year,” according to the statement.
GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
Before dawn Monday, demonstrators at the school in Washington, D.C., tore down metal barricades confining them to University Yard and set up more than a dozen tents in the middle of a street.
Later in the day, there were no signs of conflict. The Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement that it will continue monitoring the situation and that the protest remained peaceful.