As graduation approaches, US colleges struggled to balance safety and students’ right to protest as some of the most prestigious varsities saw Pro-Palestine protests continuing with momentum. While Columbia canceled in-person classes, dozens of protesters were arrested at New York University and Yale, and the gates to Harvard Yard were closed to the public Monday as authorities aimed to defuse campus tensions over Israel’s war with Hamas.
At Yale, police officers arrested about 45 protesters and charged them with misdemeanor trespassing, said Officer Christian Bruckhart, a New Haven police spokesperson. All were being released on promises to appear in court later, he said.
Protesters set up tents on Beinecke Plaza on Friday and demonstrated over the weekend, calling on Yale to end any investments in defense companies that do business with Israel. Protesters chanted, “We will not stop, we will not rest. Disclose. Divest.”
In a statement to the campus community on Sunday, Yale President Peter Salovey said university officials had spoken to the student protesters multiple times about the school’s policies and guidelines, including those regarding speech and allowing access to campus spaces.
Dusk falls at the protest encampment in support of Palestinians at Columbia University, during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in New York City. (Reuters)
School officials said they gave protesters until the end of the weekend to leave Beinecke Plaza. The said they again warned protesters Monday morning and told them that they could face arrest and discipline, including suspension, before police moved in.
Columbia University
A week after over 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators who had camped out on Columbia’s green were arrested last week, tensions remained high on the campus on Monday. The campus gates were locked to anyone without a school ID, after protests broke out both on campus and outside.
US Rep. Kathy Manning, a Democrat from North Carolina, told reporters after meeting with students from the Jewish Law Students Association that there was “an enormous encampment of people” who had taken up about a third of the green. “We saw signs indicating that Israel should be destroyed,” she said after leaving the Morningside Heights campus.
Columbia announced that courses at the Morningside campus will offer virtual options for students when possible, citing safety as their top priority. A woman from the campus led about two dozen protesters on the street outside with chants of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” A small group of pro-Israel counter demonstrators protested nearby.
Protesters chant near city hall after attending an occupation at New York University (NYU) during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in New York City. (Reuters)
New York University
At New York University, an encampment set up by students swelled to hundreds of protesters throughout the day. The school said it warned the crowd to leave, then called in the police after the scene became disorderly and the university said it learned of reports of “intimidating chants and several antisemitic incidents”. Shortly after 8.30 pm, officers began making arrests, The Associated Press reported.
Pro-Palestinian students are demanding that their schools condemn Israel’s assault on Gaza and divest from companies that sell weapons to Israel. Some Jewish students, meanwhile, say much of the criticism of Israel has veered into antisemitism and made them feel unsafe.
Harvard University
In Massachusetts, a signboard said Harvard Yard was closed to the public Monday. It said structures, including tents and tables, were only allowed into the yard with prior permission. “Students violating these policies are subject to disciplinary action,” the signboard said. Security guards were checking people for school IDs.
The same day, the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee said the university’s administration suspended their group. In the suspension notice provided by the student organization, the university wrote that the group’s April 19 demonstration had violated school policy, and that the organization failed to attend required trainings after they were previously put on probation.
The Palestine Solidary Committee said in a statement that they were suspended over technicalities and that the university hadn’t provided written clarification on the university’s policies when asked. “Harvard has shown us time and again that Palestine remains the exception to free speech,” the group wrote in a statement.
University of Michigan, University of Southern California
The University of Michigan is informing students of the rules for upcoming graduation ceremonies: Banners and flags are not allowed. Protests are OK but in designated areas away from the cap-and-gown festivities.
The University of Southern California cancelled a planned speech by the school’s Muslim valedictorian.
Other US universities
In Boston, students of the Boston University walked out of class to protest against the arrests of pro-Palestinian student demonstrators at the Columbia University.
At MIT, protesters also have asked the university to stop what they say is funding from the Ministry of Defense in Israel to university projects with military objectives. Students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology also staged a walkout.
Students at Brown, Princeton and Northwestern held protests on Friday and over the weekend. Students at the Emerson College have started their own protest encampments, The Guardian reported. Other institutions that saw protest actions included the Boston University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
When asked about the rallies on Monday, President Joe Biden said he condemned both “the antisemitic protests” as well as “those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians”.
Europe
Earlier this week, the Scotland Yard chief came under growing pressure amid an antisemitism row during a pro-Palestinian protest march in London, with former UK home secretary Suella Braverman among those calling for his resignation. There have been widespread protest marches and demonstrations in London, especially over weekends, since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out in October last year. The Met Police’s handling of these protests, which often result in several arrests, has been under the scanner as many of these gatherings get heated.
In February, footage of police beating pro-Palestinian students drew broad condemnation in Italy, with the opposition calling for the interior minister to address parliament over the episode.
Student marches were blocked by police in the Tuscan cities of Florence and Pisa, with images of officers vigorously using their truncheons on school-age protesters in Pisa triggering outrage on social media and from politicians.
In November last year, students across Spain held a strike, with university and high school students gathering in 38 cities, including Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Malaga, Bilbao, Zaragoza and Madrid, according to Al Jazeera.
India
Last November, a group of protesters demanded police action against a professor and a guest speaker at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay for allegedly glorifying terrorism. The demonstration was carried out near the institute’s main gate. Notably, the institute had cancelled a different lecture on November 7. It was to be delivered by retired Delhi University professor Achin Vanaik on the topic, ‘Israel Palestine: The Historical Context’.
In Bengaluru, last October, the Cubbon Park police booked 11 persons, including a member of the Bahutva Karnataka (a citizen’s group), and other unnamed people for holding a solidarity gathering in support of Palestine on M G Road without permission from the competent authorities.
A few days later, the Ahmedabad city police revoked permission for a protest demonstration in support of Palestine to be held, a day after it was issued, citing ‘VVIP movements’ in the city.
With inputs from agencies
Protesters gather at the corner of Grove and College Streets after an encampment at Beinecke Plaza, was broken up. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators were calling for Yale to disinvest from military weapons manufacturers, in New Haven, Connecticut, US. (Reuters) 
Dusk falls at the protest encampment in support of Palestinians at Columbia University, during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in New York City. (Reuters)
Protesters chant near city hall after attending an occupation at New York University (NYU) during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in New York City. (Reuters)
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