Universities across the US launch crackdown against pro-Palestinian protests on campuses

In view of the ongoing pro-Palestine protests in several universities in the US, the concerned authorities have initiated action against the protesting students and have asked the police to remove the protesters from the campuses.

At least 200 students blocked the entrance to the university’s Hamilton Hall, mainly at Columbia University, which has become the epicenter of the protests, CNN reported.

Hamilton Hall is one of the buildings that was occupied in 1968 during student protests over the institutional mechanisms that supported the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War, CNN reports.

Last night, protesters on campus made their way from the West Lawn encampment to Hamilton Hall, CNN reported. A few hours earlier, the university announced that it had started suspending students who refused to leave the camp before 2 pm. Monday deadline.

While on the University of North Carolina (UNC) Chapel Hill campus, pro-Palestine protesters were detained Tuesday morning after the university sent them a demand to vacate their encampment.

CNN reported, citing a video from its affiliate WRAL, that showed police advancing on the camp, finding some people bound with zip ties. Others were being kept away from the area by a police cordon.

Separately, Portland State University (PSU) officials have asked the city’s police department to help remove dozens of protesters who they said had broken into the university’s library on Monday evening, threatening campus security. Officials were barred from entering the building.

Between 50 and 75 protesters vandalized the library building, said Portland Police Chief Bob Day. He did not say when officers would enter the library to remove the protesters.

At least six protesters were arrested at Tulane University on Monday. Nine people were also arrested in the evening during protests on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida. Earlier in the day, Texas State Police arrested at least six people after rioting at the University of Texas at Austin.

Authorities arrested more than 90 people, including 54 students, at a protest on the lawn of Virginia Tech’s Graduate Life Center, according to the school. The demonstrations began on Friday and continued through the weekend.

Earlier, Columbia students voted to defy orders to vacate the encampment, which has been a focal point of pro-Palestinian protests on campus.

The action to suspend students at Columbia University comes amid a wave of arrests and tensions at universities across the United States, in which demonstrations in support of Palestinians have drawn attention and in some cases police intervention.

In recent incidents, additional students were arrested at New York and Yale universities, as well as approximately 100 at the University of Southern California, and others at Emory University in Atlanta and Emerson College in Boston. At the University of Texas at Austin, police dispersed a similar demonstration using riot gear and horses. Additionally, 91 individuals, including 54 students, were arrested for trespassing after refusing to disperse at Virginia Tech, the university reported.

While these recent arrests have drawn significant attention, colleges across the U.S. have taken law enforcement measures to manage student protests since Hamas’s October attacks on Israel, as well as academic penalties such as suspension and, in some cases, expulsion. The attacks took place, resulting in more than 1,200 deaths and several hostages, according to CNN.

The Israeli response in Gaza has intensified deeply ingrained attitudes among students and faculty, with the deaths of more than 34,000 Palestinians according to the Health Ministry.

Despite American students’ claims that their methods are peaceful, administrators often view campus protests as disruptive. Some institutions, including Indiana University, George Washington University, and the Humboldt campus of California State Polytechnic University, have used school rules related to public spaces to call for discipline or police intervention during demonstrations.

The situation underscores the underlying tension in higher education: balancing the principles of free speech with ensuring student safety, particularly for those of Jewish background, who have spoken out since October 7 about rising anti-Semitism nationally. Concerns have been expressed, sometimes linked to pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations.