Unrest on campus: US universities grapple with Pro-Palestine protests

NEW DELHI: Student protests against the Israel-Hamas conflict have emerged on numerous university campuses following the arrest of over 100 protesters at Columbia University last week. The students are demanding that universities cut ties with companies supporting Israel's military actions in Gaza and, in some cases, with Israel itself.

The protests have been coordinated by coalitions of student groups acting independently, although students say they are inspired by their peers at other universities. At Columbia University, pro-Palestinian student protesters set up a tent encampment, leading to the arrest of more than 100 protesters on April 18. The university switched to hybrid learning and faced a symbolic rebuke from faculty, while the administration continued to negotiate with the protesters.

Columbia university

Students declared on Friday afternoon that negotiations with administration had come to a standstill and that they planned to stay in their encampment until their demands were fulfilled. Officials from Columbia had earlier reported that talks were moving forward. On Friday, an unremarkable spring day unfolded with students sitting on the steps of the library or having a quick bite to eat while soon-to-be graduates posed for photos in their powder-blue gowns. This was despite scores of police officers outside the gates and dozens of media on campus.

Minouche Shafik, the president of Columbia, received a strong, if mostly symbolic, censure from the faculty on Friday, but she still has the backing of the trustees, who have the authority to appoint or dismiss the president. In an executive committee report, Shafik and her administration were judged to have taken "many actions and decisions that have harmed Columbia University," including bringing in the police. The committee is the faculty representative body in the university senate. The Senate adopted a resolution after reading the report, which established a task group to oversee future changes made by the administration.

On Friday morning, hundreds of counter protesters flocked to the streets outside Columbia, many of them brandishing Israeli flags and calling for the release of the captives that Hamas and other extremists are holding.

University of Southern California

Following unrest on campus, the University of Southern California decided to postpone its main stage graduation ceremony scheduled for May 10. The pro-Palestinian valedictorian's graduating speech was already postponed by the institution due to security concerns. More than ninety persons were taken into custody on trespassing charges during a demonstration at the campus, according to the Los Angeles Police Department on Wednesday night. A charge of assault with a deadly weapon led to the arrest of one person. There were no injuries reported. The institution declared on Wednesday that it had closed campus and that anyone who remained would be arrested by the police. The last day of classes was Friday.

Ohio State University

Police and protesters fought at Ohio State University in Columbus soon after they met on Thursday evening. Those who stayed after being told to leave were arrested and charged with trespassing, according to university spokesperson Benjamin Johnson. He mentioned that overnight events are not allowed by the university. Johnson stated on Friday that out of 36 arrested, 16 were students and 20 had no connection to the university. The school's commencement is scheduled for May 5.

George Washington University

On Thursday, around fifty students from George Washington University in Washington, DC, established a tent camp in the university's University Yard. A group of Georgetown University instructors and students organized their own protest walkout later in the day, and they marched to the George Washington campus to join them. The demonstrators are requesting that the institution lift its sanctions against a well-known student organization that supports Palestine and divest from Israel.

Monday is the last day of courses before final exams at the institution, and May 19 is when commencement is planned. The institution announced that the law school finals would now take place in a different facility from the one where they were initially scheduled due to the noise caused by the protesters.

New York University

An NYU student-organized campsite grew to hundreds of demonstrators earlier this week. On Wednesday, the police said that 133 demonstrators were in arrest. They reported that everyone was set free with a summons to appear in court for alleged unruly behavior. The start date is May 15.

University of Pennsylvania

Early on Friday, a tiny but expanding protest camp was still present on the University of Pennsylvania's Philadelphia campus. The school claimed in a statement that it was "closely monitoring" the camp, which had begun on Thursday, and that it had not received any reports of demonstrators acting violently or threateningly. They did, however, issue a warning that they would not allow demonstrations or speech that broke university regulations, interfered with operations, or created an "intimidating, hostile, or violent environment." The dates of the school's commencement are set for May 18–20.

(With inputs from agencies)