University of Minnesota reopens after agreement with protesters
By STEVE KARNOWSKI, TRISHA AHMED
The University of Minnesota has reopened after administrators said they reached an agreement with protesters to end the encampment set up in the heart of the Minneapolis campus.
Interim President Jeff Ettinger said in an email Thursday morning that university buildings, closed as a precaution earlier this week, would reopen at noon.
Ettinger said the protesters agreed not to disrupt final exams or commencement ceremonies, and that representatives of the student organizations involved in the protests would get to address the university’s Board of Regents at a meeting next week. The May 10 discussion is expected to include the protesters’ demands that the university divest its investments in Israel.
The agreement “grew out of a desire among those involved to reach shared understanding,” Ettinger said.
Arrests on campuses in Stony Brook, N.Y., and Dallas
By MICHAEL HILL, ACACIA CORONADO, CHRISTOPHER KELLER
At least 1,945 people have been arrested at campus protests across the U.S. since April 18, including 10 arrests made at the University of South Florida on Tuesday after police deployed tear gas.
In New York, Stony Brook University officials said 29 people were arrested early Thursday morning, including students, faculty members and others not affiliated with the school. School administrators said the protests began peacefully but escalated to include intimidation, harassment and an encampment.
Seventeen people were arrested on criminal trespass charges Wednesday at the University of Texas at Dallas after demonstrators refused to comply with orders from law enforcement to take down an encampment built on the school’s main walkway, a university spokeswoman said in a statement Thursday.
Florida state universities look to prevent disruption of graduation
Florida’s state university chancellor has ordered campus presidents to take whatever steps necessary to prevent disruption of graduation ceremonies by protestors.
The order covers the University of Florida, Florida State University, Central Florida University, Florida A&M University and eight others.
“We must protect the integrity of our commencement ceremonies and ensure the safety of our students,” Chancellor Ray Rodrigues wrote in a memo to presidents this week.
“While we respect and honor the First Amendment, a commencement ceremony is not the time nor place to hold a political protest,” Rodrigues wrote.
At least 1,750 people have been arrested at campus protests across the U.S. since April 18, including 10 arrests made at the University of South Florida on Tuesday after police deployed tear gas.
VIDEO: Arrests at Dartmouth
Police arrest dozens of people on May 1 at a demonstration at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.
Demonstration at Air Force base in New Mexico
By SUSANA MONTOYA BRYAN
The Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico was also the site of a demonstration Thursday morning, with about two dozen protesters sitting in a roadway to block access to one of the main gates of the base.
The group waved flags and vowed to “shut everything down” in protest of the ongoing war in Gaza, and base officials advised people to take other routes to and from the base.
Base spokesman Rob Smith said Kirtland supports citizens’ rights to peacefully assemble, and said security officials would monitor the situation.
Many of the protests against the Israel-Hamas war have been held on college campuses throughout the U.S.
Police arrested 16 people at the University of New Mexico earlier this week after the protesters occupied the school’s student union building. The school is just a few miles way from Kirtland Air Force Base.
At least 132 people arrested at UCLA
At least 132 people were arrested at UCLA Thursday morning, says Sgt. Alejandro Rubio, a spokesperson for the CHP Southern Division.
“It could be more but that’s the latest I have,” Rubio told The Associated Press.
Rubio said the arrestees were being taken for booking at the inmate reception center at the county jails complex near downtown Los Angeles.
He said the UCLA police force was the lead agency and would recommend which charges should be brought against those arrested.
A crowd of more than 1,000 people had gathered on campus, both inside and outside of the encampment, and officers had spent hours threatening arrests over loudspeakers if people did not disperse.
After the arrests, workers entered the encampment site and began cleaning up, hauling away sheets of plywood that were used to build a barricade and sweeping trash from graffiti-scarred steps.
President Biden addresses the protests
President Biden delivers live remarks from the White House on pro-Palestinian protests occurring across various U.S. college campuses.
President Joe Biden defended the right to peacefully protest on college campuses but said vandalism, violence, hate speech and other “chaos” has no part in a peaceful protest.
“Dissent is essential for democracy,” he said at the White House Thursday morning. “But dissent must never lead to disorder.”
Student protests over the Israel-Hamas war have popped up at many college campuses following the arrest of demonstrators in April at Columbia University.
The Democratic president said the U.S. is neither an authoritarian nation and that squashes dissent nor a lawless country.
“We are a civil society and order must prevail,” Biden said. “We are a big, diverse, free-thinking and freedom-loving nation.”
Tensions at colleges and universities have been building, with demonstrators refusing to remove encampments, administrators cancelling classes and events and police clearing some protests by force.
The Associated Press has tallied at least 41 times since April 18 where arrests were made at campus protests across the U.S. Nearly 1,750 people have been arrested at 32 schools.
Columbia professors group condemns university leadership
The Columbia University chapter of the American Association of University Professors is condemning the school’s leadership for asking the New York Police Department to remove student protesters this week.
The union group issued a statement Thursday morning calling for a vote of “no confidence” in the university administration, saying the decision to summon police was made without consultation of the University Senate and in violation of the university’s
established procedures.
“These offenses culminated in the horrific police attack on our students that is now shamefully on view for the whole world to see,” the AAUP chapter wrote. “Faculty, staff, and students were locked out of our campus even prior to the police raid and remain locked out as of this writing: from their offices, labs and libraries for the first time in Columbia history.”
Police carrying riot shields stormed a Columbia University building occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters late Tuesday, arresting dozens of people. Similar police actions have occurred at college protests across the U.S. over the last two weeks.
Student journalists are covering their own campuses in convulsion
Staff members of the Columbia Daily Spectator, the college newspaper, work into the night as police cleared out demonstrators from Columbia University’s campus, late Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. Left to right; Isabella Ramirez, editor in chief; Esha Karam, managing editor; Yvin Shin, head copy editor; Emily Forgash, deputy news editor; and Shea Vance, university news editor. (AP Photo/Jake Offenhartz)
The Pulitzer Prize Board has released a statement commending the student journalists who are working around the clock to cover the protests on their own college campuses.
The board, which issues annual awards for outstanding achievement in journalism and the arts, said the student journalists were tirelessly covering the unrest “in the face of great personal and academic risk.”
The statement specifically recognized “the extraordinary real-time reporting” of student journalists at Columbia University, where the Pulitzer Prizes are housed and where the nationwide campus demonstrations began on April 17.
The New York Police Department officers began arresting protesters at Columbia Tuesday evening, and one student journalist reported being ordered into a dormitory by police along with other reporters and being threatened with arrest if he tried to leave.
“In the spirit of press freedom, these students worked to document a major national news event under difficult and dangerous circumstances at risk of arrest,” the board wrote.
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This post has been updated to correct that arrests began Tuesday evening.
Yale police make arrests
Yale police arrested four people Wednesday night after around 200 demonstrators had marched to the school president’s home and to the campus police department, Yale officials said.
School officials said in a statement Thursday that protesters ignored repeated warnings that they were violating university policy on occupying parts of campus without permission. Two of those arrested were students, and the others were not, Yale said.
Wednesday night’s protest at Yale came a day after a U.S. House of Representatives committee announced that the presidents of Yale, UCLA and Michigan will appear before the panel on May 23 to answer questions about campus protests.
The protest group Occupy Yale said campus police were violent during the arrests and did not issue warnings beforehand. The group posted a video in Instagram showing officers bringing one arrestee to the ground and pinning another on a sidewalk.
Arrests across the country
The Associated Press has tallied at least 38 times since April 18 where arrests were made at campus protests across the U.S. More than 1,600 people have been arrested at 30 schools.
The nationwide campus demonstrations began at Columbia on April 17 to protest Israel’s offensive in Gaza, which followed Hamas launching a deadly attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7. Israel and its supporters have branded the university protests antisemitic, while Israel’s critics say it uses those allegations to silence opposition. Although some protesters have been caught on camera making antisemitic remarks or violent threats, organizers of the protests, some of whom are Jewish, say it is a peaceful movement aimed at defending Palestinian rights and protesting the war.
Police move in and begin dismantling pro-Palestinian demonstrators’ encampment at UCLA
Police removed barricades and began dismantling pro-Palestinian demonstrators’ encampment early Thursday at the University of California, Los Angeles, after hundreds of protesters defied orders to leave.
The action came after officers spent hours threatening arrests over loudspeakers if people did not disperse. A crowd of more than 1,000 had gathered on campus, both inside a barricaded tent encampment and outside it, in support. Protesters and police scuffled and some people were detained, their hands bound with zip ties.
Protesters chanted, “Where were you last night?” at the officers, in reference to Tuesday night, when counterprotesters attacked the encampment and the UCLA administration and campus police took hours to respond.
Police dismantle encampment at Dartmouth
An encampment at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire was dismantled by police late Wednesday, just hours after pro-Palestinian demonstrators put up a handful of tents. Officers arrested multiple people, including at least one professor, according to local media reports.
Police move onto campus at Portland State University as protesters continue to occupy library
Portland State University officials in Oregon said police had moved onto campus Wednesday evening as protesters continued to occupy a library on campus.
The university posted an alert on social platform X saying: “POLICE ACTIVITY at SOUTH PARK BLOCKS,” which is where the campus is located. The post also said people should avoid the campus area. No further information was immediately released.
University President Ann Cudd said in a written statement Wednesday before police arrived on campus that the university would open for classes on Thursday.
““it is critically important to return to the university’s mission of educating our students,” Cudd’s statement said.
The Portland Police Bureau said earlier Wednesday that it had been part of a team trying to resolve the situation but that protesters in the library had not responded to their efforts to communicate.
Police tell UCLA protesters to disperse or face arrest
Announcements broadcasted on the University of California Los Angeles campus Wednesday evening told demonstrators to disperse or they would be arrested and face a misdemeanor charge. The protesters largely stayed in place, chanting pro-Palestinian slogans.
UCLA posted on X that campus operations will be limited Thursday and Friday with all classes required to pivot to remote instruction. The post urged people to continue avoiding campus and the Royce Quad area.
Hundreds supporting Pro-Palestinian protesters at UCLA as police presence grows
Hundreds of supporters of the pro-Palestinian protesters, including students and alumni, stood on the UCLA campus steps beyond the encampment Wednesday while law enforcement presence grew. A small group of students holding signs and wearing T-shirts in support of Israel and Jewish people gathered nearby.
Metal and wooden barriers had been restored around the tent encampment, and overhead TV cameras showed people within the enclosure distributing goggles, helmets and other gear as well as medical assistance tents that had been set up.
Ray Wiliani, who lives near UCLA, said he came to the campus Wednesday evening to support the pro-Palestinian demonstrators following the attack by counter-protesters on their encampment hours earlier.
“We need to take a stand for it,” he said. “Enough is enough.”
WATCH: Students speak out about overnight violence at UCLA protests
Students speak out after counter-protesters “forcefully” attacked a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA early Wednesday. (AP video by Rick Taber)(AP produced by Javier Arciga)
Police in Portland, Oregon, working to de-escalate library occupation at Portland State University
The Portland Police Bureau in Oregon said Wednesday afternoon it is working with Portland State University leaders and city officials to address the occupation by protesters of a university library since Monday.
About 50 protesters left the library overnight after the university said it would not seek charges, expulsion or other discipline if they did so. It wasn’t known how many people remained inside Wednesday evening.
“It is important to emphasize that a tremendous amount of work is being done in the background to find a resolution to this event,” police said in a statement, adding that work so far has included unsuccessful attempts to begin a dialogue with the people inside.
The bureau also said it has received and is concerned about reports of serious damage to the library and the blocking of exits. Police said time is a key de-escalation tactic being used as they continue to work toward a tempered, methodical, and professional resolution.
“We will pursue all efforts at de-escalation, but make no mistake PPB will take appropriate action to do our part to hold individuals and groups accountable for their criminal conduct,” the statement added.
Muslim organizations, students, blast UCLA and police, saying they failed to help during clash
Muslim organizations and students blasted University of California Los Angeles officials and police in a Wednesday news conference, saying they failed to intervene as students in the pro-Palestinian encampment were verbally harassed, pepper sprayed and beaten.
“The community needs to feel the police are protecting them, not enabling others to harm them,” said Rebecca Husaini, chief of staff for the Muslim Public Affairs Council.
Speakers disputed the university’s account that 15 people were injured and one hospitalized, saying the number of people taken to the hospital was higher. One student described needing to go to the hospital after being hit in the head by an object wielded by counter-protesters.
Several students who spoke said they had to rely on each other, not the police, for support as they were attacked, and that many in the pro-Palestinian encampment remained peaceful and did not engage with counter-protesters.
California State University, Sacramento, says protesters can continue demonstration if peaceful
At California State University, Sacramento, campus administrators said a group of students who set up an encampment Monday in protest of the Israel-Hamas war could continue demonstrating as long as they remain peaceful.
“As a public university, we are committed to creating and fostering safer conditions to support student engagement in constitutionally protected activities,” President Luke Wood said in a statement.
Police arrest 2 dozen people overnight at Northern Arizona University
Police at Northern Arizona University overnight arrested 24 protesters, 22 of whom are NAU students. The university also placed the organization, Students for Justice in Palestine, on interim suspension because of alleged violations of school policies.
After Tuesday’s protest, the university is prohibiting temporary structures on campus property, including tents, shade structures and fencing. And expressive activity allowed only between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily, in line with the school’s business hours.
New York Police Department arrest protesters inside Fordham University building
New York Police Department officers entered a Fordham University building in Manhattan Wednesday evening and began arresting protesters who had set up an encampment inside.
The students had remained inside Lowenstein Hall even after being notified that they had been suspended and would be barred from campus, final exams and graduation activities.
Police moved in at the request of Fordham administrators, who said in a letter that “the encampment and related disruptions pose a clear and present danger.” Administrators requested that police clear the area and maintain a presence at the university until after graduation ceremonies May 22.
The encampment emerged hours after police broke up protests at nearby Columbia University and City College and arrested nearly 300 protesters.
Before the arrests, protesters at Fordham filled the windows of the building with signs and flags as others outside chanted and cheered. NYPD vehicles were positioned nearby for much of the afternoon, including a bus that appeared to be splattered with red paint.
A spokeswoman said a statement from the university was upcoming.
Pro-Palestinian protest supporters gather north of Columbia, CUNY, campuses ahead of rally
In the wake of mass Pro-Palestinian protest arrests at Columbia University and a nearby branch of The City University of New York, dozens of supporters assembled north of the campuses in Manhattan Wednesday ahead of an evening news conference called by activist organizers.
Sueda Polat, a Columbia graduate student who negotiated for protesters, has lost her voice after weeks of chanting and press conferences. But she hasn’t lost her words, condemning Columbia administrators and celebrating the students who occupied an administrative building on campus.
“They refused to accept capitulation and they took the moral high ground,” Polat said.
More demonstrators were expected to arrive for a solidarity rally at 7 p.m.
Texas police accuse journalist of “lunging” at state trooper; lawyer rebukes claim
Texas police are accusing an Austin-area journalist arrested during a protest on the University of Texas campus on April 24 of “lunging” at a state trooper.
Texas Department of Public Safety officials claim Carlos Sanchez, a photojournalist with Austin television station KTBC, allegedly struck a state trooper in the head and neck with his camera as officers worked to clear protestors from the campus.
“Both law enforcement officers and journalists should be expected to do their jobs in a professional manner – and we strongly believe a line was crossed last week when one of our Troopers was assaulted while trying to do his job,” Texas Department of Public Safety officials said in a statement Wednesday.
Gerry Morris, Sanchez’s attorney, rebukes the claim and said in an emailed statement that his client did not commit a crime. Morris said Sanchez was “performing an important news gathering function during a chaotic event” and accidentally bumped into the officer.
15 injured at UCLA clash involving protesters
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
University of California President Michael Drake says 15 people were injured, including one who was hospitalized, during “a protest that turned violent.”
Police were summoned to the University of California, Los Angeles, campus to help restore order early Wednesday.
UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said “a group of instigators” came on campus to “forcefully attack” a pro-Palestinian encampment. He said the incident “has shaken our campus to its core.”
But some are frustrated with Block’s leadership. The California Federation of Teachers called on Block to resign, saying he has “created an environment that has escalated tensions and failed to take meaningful action to prevent the violence that occurred last night.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has called for an investigation into the events at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Protesters’ camp cleared at University of Texas at Dallas
State troopers and local police cleared an encampment Wednesday as protestors looked on from the sidelines.
Law enforcement held a line behind a barricade as school officials and officers swiftly disposed of tents, banners and other supplies at the University of Texas at Dallas.
Meanwhile, dozens of protestors chanted nearby and held flags that said “Free Palestine” as a small group raised an Israeli flag.
A look at the protests on US college campuses
Columbia University to hold remote exams because of protests
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Pandemic-era remote tests are making a comeback because of campus disruptions.
The Provost at Columbia University in New York says all final exams and any remaining class sessions should be held remotely for students at its Morningside Heights campus. Any papers, projects or presentations due this week also are being delayed until next week.
The university has been paralyzed by demonstrations, and police have cleared out a building that had been occupied by anti-war protesters.
The university is strongly encouraging students to leave campus and go home early for the semester.
Texas journalist released after campus protest arrest
A journalist who was arrested during a protest at the University of Texas was booked and released Wednesday on misdemeanor charges of assault and interference with public duties.
The Texas Department of Public Safety has accused Carlos Sanchez, a photojournalist with Austin television station KTBC, of hitting a state trooper with a camera while covering the April 24 protest.
Video on social media showed troopers pulling Sanchez to the ground after he followed a mass of protesters and police.
Gerry Morris, Sanchez’s attorney, said in a statement Wednesday that he looks forward to someone taking an unbiased look at the evidence and exonerating Sanchez.
Congress members visit encampment at George Washington University
Several Republican members of the U.S. House Oversight Committee made a visit Wednesday to a campus protest site in the nation’s capital.
The congressional visit to George Washington University lasted about 15 minutes Some students shouted questions while others ignored the lawmakers and sang Palestinian nationalist songs. As the representatives headed back to their van, jubilant demonstrators marched back to the center of University Yard.
Last week, the university administration gave protestors an ultimatum to disperse. But that deadline came and went.
Mayor Muriel Bowser has confirmed that police declined the university’s request to intervene. Bowser said there was no violence that needed to be interrupted.
“Mayor Bowser has let down the city of Washington,” Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds said. “The mayor is weak in the face of foolishness.”
The congressional committee plans a hearing next week on the district government’s response to the protest at George Washington University.
Some of the arrested students have recieved summonses
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Wednesday that about 170 of the 280 arrested at Columbia University and City College the night before received summonses.
The remaining 100 or so cases will be making their way through the court system, with the earliest arraignments later Wednesday afternoon and into the evening.
He said he didn’t yet have a sense how many of those arrested were students and how many weren’t affiliated with the colleges.
“My impression in real time is that these cases are going to come to this office and we will do what we always do, which is apply the facts and the law,” Bragg said.
University of Minnesota in talks with protest leaders
By SCOTT McFETRIDGE
Interim university President Jeff Ettinger said he had “constructive dialogue” Wednesday with student leaders of an ongoing protest.
The protesters are demanding that the University of Minnesota divest from companies that do business in Israel and put out a statement that supports Palestinian students. Ettinger said the planned half-hour meeting stretched for 90 minutes.
University officials have allowed a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” that includes dozens of tents and hundreds of people to remain in the heart of the Minneapolis campus. That’s despite earlier orders by police to disperse. The university has closed buildings near the protest.
34 people arrested at University of Wisconsin at Madison
Campus police spokesperson Marc Lovicott said most of those arrested Wednesday were released “with no citation issued.”
But Lovicott said four people were booked into the Dane County jail. Two face charges of battery to a police officer. A third person was charged with that plus resisting arrest. And a fourth person was charged with attempted disarming of a police officer, resisting arrest and attempted escape.
Police made the arrests while taking down protesters’ tents. Some new tents have since been set up.
Have questions about the college protests?
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Associated Press is answering readers’ questions about the ongoing anti-war protests at college campuses across the United States.
▶ Use our question form to tell us what you want to know. We’ll use your questions to shape our reporting.
AP EXPLAINS: Police clear pro-Palestinian protesters from Columbia University after occupation
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Officers have taken protesters into custody after Columbia University called in police to end the pro-Palestinian occupation on the New York campus. The scene unfolded shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday as police, wearing helmets and carrying zip ties and riot shields, massed at the Ivy League university’s entrance.
Georgia governor: ‘We are not going to allow Georgia to become the next Columbia University’
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp says he supports strong punishments for those arrested at recent protests at the University of Georgia and Emory University.
“If you’ve broken the law, if you’re damaging property, if you are assaulting police officers, you should have harsh penalties,” Kemp, a University of Georgia alumnus, said Wednesday.
The governor said he also supports suspending and expelling student protesters who break laws. Protesters arrested at the University of Georgia were issued interim suspensions and barred from campus without being given a chance to appeal.
Emory’s president has apologized for calling outside officers after police last week used pepper spray balls, tackled protesters and deployed a stun gun on at least one protester.
California governor denounces campus violence
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom says anyone who engaged in illegal behavior on the University of California, Los Angeles, campus should be held accountable “through criminal prosecution, suspension or expulsion.”
“The right to free speech does not extend to inciting violence, vandalism, or lawlessness on campus,” Newsom said.
His spokesperson Izzy Gardon says the California Highway Patrol was deployed to the Los Angeles campus after “unacceptable” delays and limited response from campus police to clashes between dueling groups of protesters.
WATCH: Student protests take over some campuses but at others their attention is elsewhere
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
As a student protest movement over the Israel war in Gaza roils campuses across the U.S., millions of students in other schools have continued with their daily routines of working their way through school, socializing and studying for exams. (AP Video shot by Charles Krupa)
Campus calm at University of Texas after school braced for large protest
University of Texas officials had expected another large protest Wednesday but there was no activity on the campus, where more than 100 demonstrators have been arrested over the past week.
Groups involved in earlier protests appeared to circulate a notice on social media that the demonstration was postponed until the weekend. A small group of Texas state troopers were on campus as students continued to pose in front of the clock tower or fountains for graduation photos.
WATCH: Columbia University’s complex history with student protest echoes into today
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
A week-long protest in April, 1968 that included building takeovers left a legacy at Columbia, one that inspired future generations including the current one. And it’s a historical connection that many Columbia students involved in this month’s protests are acutely aware of. Says one: It’s history repeating itself. (AP Video/Noreen Nasir)
Iconic “A” logo vandalized near University of Arizona
The top part of a large “A” logo on a mountainside has been painted in the colors of the Palestinian flag.
Tucson police say the vandalism near the University of Arizona will be considered as criminal damage.
Several protesters were arrested overnight after university President Robert Robbins directed school officials to “immediately enforce campus use policies.”
Classes remain canceled at Portland State University in Oregon
University President Ann Cudd says the administration is planning for “a return to classes and regular university operations as soon as possible.”
An unknown number of people, including some non-students, remained holed up inside a university library on Wednesday. About 50 protestors left the library overnight after the administration offered not to seek criminal charges, expulsion or other discipline.
Protesters began occupying the library Monday.
Protesters plan more action at the University of Connecticut
Protesters say they’ll rally on campus Wednesday evening — a day after 25 people were arrested as authorities removed an encampment.
The people arrested were charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct and later released pending court dates. Officials said they violated school rules on large outdoor gatherings and ignored police orders to remove the tents.
The Connecticut chapter of American Muslims for Palestine issued a statement calling the arrests “baseless” and urging people “to stand against student repression” by rallying Wednesday.
Columbia University calls Hamilton Hall ‘an active crime scene’ being investigated by the NYPD
Only people with Columbia University identification and essential personnel are allowed on campus, university president Nemat Shafik said in a statement.
Hours earlier, Hamilton Hall was where New York police burst in to break up a demonstration by protesters who had occupied the building.
WATCH: Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters clash on UCLA campus
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters clashed in Los Angeles on the campus of UCLA on Wednesday in the latest escalation of demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war that have spread to college campuses nationwide.
More than 100 people march near Columbia University campus
Most of the marchers identified themselves as Columbia University faculty and staff.
They marched and chanted on the eastern side of the campus by Hamilton Hall, where, hours earlier, New York police burst in to break up a demonstration by protesters who had occupied the building.
Many marchers held signs reading “No cops on campus,” and chanted slogans aimed at Columbia University president Nemat Shafik, including “How many kids did you arrest today?”
Carefully planned and partly improvised: Inside the Columbia protest that fueled a national movement
Months before they pitched their tents on Columbia University’s main lawn, inspiring a wave of protest encampments at college campuses nationwide, a small group of pro-Palestinian student activists met privately to sketch out the logistical details of a round-the-clock occupation.
In hours of planning sessions, they discussed communications strategies and their willingness to risk arrest, along with the more prosaic questions of bathroom access and trash removal. Then, after scouring online retailers and Craigslist for the most affordable options, they ordered the tents.
“There’s been a lot of work, a lot of meetings that went into it, and when we finally pulled it off, we had no idea how it would go,” said Columbia graduate student Elea Sun.
“I don’t think anyone imagined it would take off like it did.”
Those involved with the Columbia protest, also known as the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment,” describe their organizing efforts as both meticulously planned and heavily improvised. They say the university’s aggressive tactics to quell the movement have only lent it more momentum.
▶ Read more about how the Columbia protests fueled a nationwide movement.
Studies continue for many students — even as others protest
By STEVE LeBLANC, NICK PERRY
While some students protest the Israel-Hamas war, millions of others across the U.S. are going to class, socializing and studying for final exams.
Protester encampments and tumultuous arrests have garnered attention on campuses from New York to Los Angeles. But that’s not the case everywhere.
In Boston, for example, police broke up protests at Emerson College and Northeastern University. But the situation has remained calm at Boston College and Boston University.
New York University professor Robert Cohen has studied the history of student protests. He notes that most U.S. campuses don’t have demonstrator encampments. And even at those that do, the number of students involved often is not enough to fill a large lecture hall.
▶ Read more about how protests vary across the country.
4 officers injured as police removed protesters at University of Wisconsin in Madison
Campus police spokesperson Marc Lovicott said a state trooper was hit in the head with a skateboard and three sheriff’s deputies suffered injuries “directly related to the physical resistance from protesters” as police tried to remove protesters’ tents from a central square.
At least a dozen people were arrested.
Police removed all but one tent while clashing with the demonstrators. But scores of protesters resumed chanting and, a few hours later, had erected more tents on the square.
Lovicott said police plan to continue monitoring the protests.
Columbia University’s president outlines why she called in the police
In a statement, Nemat Shafik said protesters taking over an administration building on campus early Tuesday was a “drastic escalation” of the encampment at the college, which “pushed the University to the brink, creating a disruptive environment for everyone and raising safety risks to an intolerable level.”
Shafik, who goes by Minouche, acknowledged the school has a “long and proud” history of activism on campus, but argued those occupying the building committed “acts of destruction, not political speech.”
“I know I speak for many members of our community in saying that this turn of events has filled me with deep sadness. I am sorry we reached this point,” she wrote.
