Students expressing their opposition to the Israel-Hamas war at universities throughout the U.S. stood their ground on Saturday and committed to sustaining their demonstrations despite confrontations with law enforcement tasked with dispersing the protesters.
Early Saturday, authorities initiated the process of dismantling a Pro-Palestinian student encampment on the grounds of Northeastern University in Boston. The university indicated that the protest, which commenced two days prior, had been "infiltrated by professional organizers" unaffiliated with the institution.
The university conveyed in a statement that antisemitic remarks, such as "Kill the Jews," were uttered.
"We condemn this type of hatred on our campus," stated the university, as shared on the social media platform X.
With the escalating death toll in the Gaza conflict, demonstrators across the nation are urging educational institutions to sever financial connections with Israel and disinvest from companies believed to be facilitating the hostilities.
Concurrently, some Jewish students have expressed that the protests have taken a turn towards antisemitism, instilling fear in them about stepping foot on campus.
Participants from the encampment at Columbia University, which served as the catalyst for the nationwide protest movement, stated on Friday that they had reached a stalemate with administrators and plan to persist with their protest.
University Senate Creates Task Force to Examine Administration's Leadership
The university's senate passed a resolution Friday that created a task force to examine the administration's leadership, which last week called in police in an attempt to clear the protest, resulting in scuffles and more than 100 arrests.
Though the university has repeatedly set and then pushed back deadlines for the removal of the encampment, the school sent an email to students Friday night saying that bringing back police "at this time" would be counterproductive.
Pressure Mounts on University Administrators Amid Nationwide Protests
The decisions to call in law enforcement, leading to hundreds of arrests nationwide, have prompted school faculty members at universities in California, Georgia and Texas to initiate or pass votes of no confidence in their leadership. They are largely symbolic rebukes, without the power to remove their presidents.
But the tensions pile pressure on school officials, who are already scrambling to resolve the protests as May graduation ceremonies near. The University of Southern California, which had already canceled its valedictorian's speech, said it would not hold a graduation ceremony, citing safety concerns.
California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, gave protestors who have barricaded themselves inside a building since Monday until 5 p.m. Friday to leave and "not be immediately arrested." The deadline came and went. Only some of the protesters left, others doubled down. After protesters rebuffed police earlier in the week, the campus was closed for the rest of the semester.
Police Clear Protest Encampment at Denver's Auraria Campus
Law enforcement officers conducted a sweep through an encampment at Denver's Auraria Campus in Colorado on Friday, resulting in the arrest of approximately 40 protesters on trespassing charges.
Denver mayor Mike Johnston made an appearance at the campus later that evening to engage in a brief discussion with pro-Palestinian demonstrators who had taken over the lawn in front of the Tivoli Student Union. Despite facing a barrage of questions and taunts, Johnston urged the protestors to dismantle the encampment in order to allow for the peaceful exercise of their First Amendment rights while ensuring the campus could continue its operations.
"We are here to try to make sure we can help you all exercise to protest peacefully. We want this to be a campus where you can exercise your First Amendment rights and be respected to do that," said Johnston. "We also have to have a campus that can continue to operate here so our ask is we need to you all to be able to pull down the tents. That is against campus policy. You can continue to protest peacefully once the tents come down."
The demonstrations at Auraria Campus have garnered attention and support from students worldwide, with protests even reaching as far as France. Students at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, which boasts President Emmanuel Macron as one of its notable alumni, blocked access to a campus building, prompting classes to transition to online platforms in solidarity with the ongoing wave of protests.
