Pro-Palestinian protesters in Los Angeles, Washington, and Virginia go to school Monday after a weekend of violence at the University of California
Despite the risk of suspension and detention, pro-Palestinian demonstrators still turn out at schools despite the fact that nearly 300 protesters were arrested over the weekend.
On Sunday, there was physical altercations between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters at the University of California, Los Angeles. The two groups were separated by police.
Elsewhere in the state, an unknown number of protesters were arrested at Virginia Tech University in the early hours of Monday morning, according to the Washington Post. NPR has reached out to the university.
The school warned of “heavy police activity around the Graduate Life Center” in a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter) starting just after 10 p.m. ET, and announced around 3:30 a.m. that the incident “had stabilized.” A social media video shows people being led into white vans by police.
The last day of class at the George Washington University is Monday, after a tense weekend that ended in a clash between protesters and police.
After the school put up barricades to restrict access students set up a second encampment on H Street, which they launched after setting up their first on University Yard.
Shortly before midnight on Sunday, protesters knocked down the barricades — piling them in a stack in the middle of the lawn — and flooded the lawn, with people remaining there overnight in some 85 tents, the GW Hatchet reports.
“This is an egregious violation of community trust and goes far beyond the boundaries of free expression and the right to protest,” they added. “The university will use every avenue available to ensure those involved are held accountable for their actions.”
One question on the minds of many is what, if any, disciplinary action student protesters might face from their schools, especially with finals and graduation fast approaching.
Barnard College officials announced Friday that it will allow most of the 53 students who were arrested and suspended after protesting at Columbia University to return to campus. The New York Times reports that suspended students who reached agreements with the college have their access to residence halls, dining facilities and classrooms restored, while others are still working to reach agreements.
On Sunday, Jay Bernhardt, the president of Emerson College in Boston — where more than 100 protesters were arrested at an encampment early Thursday morning — said the college will not bring disciplinary charges against protesters, and will “encourage the district attorney not to pursue charges related to encampment violations.”
He said the school is taking steps to help students who are arrested, like posting bail and providing housing for those who are required to stay local for court appearances after their dorm closes.
“The College has done its best to keep all community members safe every day during these challenging times, but we recognize that we must do more,” he added.
UT-Austin student protest at Cal Poly Humboldt: Student protesters, police and the university’s civil libertarians
A judge found there was insufficient evidence to proceed with the charges against the 57 people who were arrested during the UT-Austin protest.
He says politicians and donors may be looking for a harsher response from schools. Hundreds of alumni at Columbia signed a statement this week calling on the school to discipline students for engaging in threats and hate speech.
According to a list circulating late Thursday, they are able to use bullhorns and speakers but not to amplify their voices, possess weapons and protest inside campus buildings.
At Cal Poly Humboldt, officials closed campus to the public on Saturday, several days after student protesters first occupied two academic and administrative buildings. They gave protesters until 5p.m. Friday to leave, but said they would still face consequences, even if they did not immediately arrest them.
This does not mean that University conduct-related sanctions or legal implications will be eliminated. “In addition, voluntarily departing in this way will be considered as a mitigating factor in University conduct processes and may reduce the severity of sanctions imposed.”
The campus will be closed for a period of time, with classes and work remote through the end of the semester. Officials say they are planning for “various scenarios” for commencement.
Breaking the Rule: Students, Professors, and the Collaborative Campus Security Against Propagation of Antisemitic Decrees
She said that those who break the rules will be disciplined and that the manner of protest will also be taken into account.
At the University of Pennsylvania, officials say a campus statue was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti and are calling on demonstrators — from Penn and other area schools — to disband.
A group of Penn faculty and elected officials signed a letter last week that urged them to respect students’ rights to engage in peaceful protest by not calling in law enforcement to make arrests.
Yale responds to peaceful protest with threats of sanctions and they should not be the means, they said.
Faculty at three universities in California, Texas and Georgia have passed symbolic votes of no confidence in their leadership, according to the Associated Press.
The protesters began occupying the buildings early Tuesday morning after the school told them to leave a camp they set up in support of Palestinians.
Protesters began climbing into open windows at John Jay Hall, a dormitory, and students entered Hamilton Hall, an academic building and began moving furniture to a balcony, reported WKCR, the university radio station.
University officials weren’t available for comment. Though its public safety department was actively responding. If you could, it urged you not to come to the campus on Tuesday.
Columbia set several deadlines to reach an accord with the demonstrators after the school claimed that the demonstrators were a threat to campus safety and disrupted Jewish students and students trying to sleep.
Columbia President Minouche Shafik said that theAcademic leaders and student organizers put forward robust and thoughtful offers in order to reach common ground. “We thank them all for their diligent work, long hours, and careful effort and wish they had reached a different outcome.”
The demonstrators are calling on Columbia to cut business ties with Israeli companies because of the war between Israel and Hamas.
The Advisory Committee for Socially Responsible Investing will begin to review proposals from students after Columbia said it would not do that. It is also pledging to make a list of its investments available to students, as well as provide resources toward health and education in Gaza.
However, the parties were able to come to an agreement that protests will be paused until after graduation and exams as well as to remind the community that the class of 2024 won’t be able to attend their high school graduation ceremonies due to the coronaviruses epidemic.
After that, students will need to submit an application before they can have a protest, according to Shafik.
The UT-Austin Student Encampment: “I’m not going to lie, but I’m going to tell you a lot”
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination at schools that receive federal funding, she said, and that has been violated by the encampment.
“Antisemitic language and actions are unacceptable and calls for violence are simply abhorrent,” she said. “I know that many of our Jewish students, and other students as well, have found the atmosphere intolerable in recent weeks. That is a tragedy as many have left campus. To those students and their families, I want to say to you clearly: You are a valued part of the Columbia community. This is your campus too.”
She said she is committed to protecting community members from harassment and discrimination, while allowing them to speak, since they have a right to do so as well.
For the second time in a week, police arrested demonstrators at the University of Texas at Austin for protesting Israel’s war against Hamas. Protesters chanted for the police to leave, repeating: “We are being peaceful, you are being violent.”
UT-Austin isn’t the only school where clashes with law enforcement have escalated. Police used stun guns and pepper balls to control unruly protesters at a university in Atlanta. Hundreds of people have been arrested across the country, including at Columbia University, the University of Southern California, and Virginia Commonwealth University.
Yet other universities have taken a more hands off approach. A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology told NPR demonstrations there have been peaceful, though police are monitoring and MIT’s president has urged an end to its encampment.
David Cole, national legal director at the American Civil Liberties Union, says colleges have to intervene if there is violence or targeted threats of violence, but short of that, it is “ultimately an exercise in discretion.”
If I were a college administrator and there was a campsite on my campus, I’d probably let it lie if you were going to remove it. She says that they have the option to remove it.
At the University of California, Berkeley, for instance, Assistant Vice Chancellor Dan Mogulof says their policy is to avoid police involvement unless it’s absolutely necessary.
“You can sometimes have a reaction that is contrary to what your goals are.” Law enforcement is an important resource, but it can have unforeseen consequences.
Berkeley protests, the University of Michigan, and the Northeastern University campus “are going to hell”: A free speech voice for a safer future
Mogulof says Berkeley’s protests have been peaceful so far. He says that there’s both a commitment to free speech and to keeping the university safe.
There’s a tension between those objectives. The right to express your perspective but also the right to pursue your academic interests is what the trick is.
“This agreement represents a sustainable and de-escalated path forward, and enhances the safety of all members of the Northwestern community while providing space for free expression that complies with University rules and policies,” university officials wrote in a statement.
The Northeastern University police arrested 100 people on Saturday after being “intruded by professional organizers with no affiliation” to the school and who used antisemitic slurs.
“All of these factors, taken together, left university leaders with no choice but to act,” Chancellor Ken Henderson and Provost David Madigan wrote. “Over the weekend, like many colleges and universities nationwide, Northeastern faced an untenable dilemma.”
The pro-Palestinian protesters have expressed safety concerns and have been the targets of doxer and harassment. Free speech is also being stifled at universities.
Toward the end of its semester, Columbia University switched to hybrid classes. The University of Michigan is enlisting volunteers to be part of “protest and disruptions response” teams to work during May commencement ceremonies, and the University of Southern California recently announced it is canceling its main commencement ceremony altogether.