More university leaders are looking at the police involvement in pro-Palestinian protests
What student protests might say about the criminalization of Yale students in D.C., Washington, Columbia, and Washington university? The case of the pro-Palestinian
The risk of being jailed or suspended for pro-Palestinian protests at schools is not an issue, despite the fact that nearly 300 more protesters were arrested over the weekend.
A university spokeswoman said that “physical altercations” broke out when protesters broke a barrier set up to separate pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli demonstrators. Campus police eventually separated the two groups.
Washington University told NPR that the university protects free speech, though it doesn’t mean activities that disrupt the functions of the university. On Saturday, university officials made the call to arrest 100 people it said “did not have good intentions” and were mostly unaffiliated with the school, according to a statement.
The school warned of police activity around the Graduate Life Center, and announced at 3.30 a.m. that there had been an incident. Social media footage shows protesters chanting at police as they lead people into multiple white vans.
Protests at George Washington University in D.C. are stretching into their fifth day on Monday — the last day of class for the semester — after a tense weekend, culminating in a clash between protesters and police.
Students first set up an encampment on University Yard on Thursday and later launched a second one on nearby H Street after the school put up barricades to restrict access.
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.
Nearly 300 faculty members at Yale University, where 48 protesters were arrested last week, signed a letter condemning what they called “the criminalization of Yale students engaged in recent acts of peaceful protest.” They wanted the charges against them to be dropped and demanded that the university not take any further action.
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.
At times, the response has shifted even at the institution. Columbia University initially sent police to quell the protests. University President Minouche Shafik announced on Friday the school has no plans to call police to campus to respond to the demonstrations. On Monday, the university began suspending students who refused to leave a pro-Palestinian encampment by a 2 p.m. deadline. Minouche said officials need to enforce the school’s rules and norms.
At the time when more than 100 Boston protesters were arrested at an illegal camp early Thursday morning, the president of the college stated that he would not bring any charges against them.
He noted that it was taking steps to support students arrested, including providing housing for those who have to stay local for court appearances, and posting bail for them.
“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.
Student protests, intimidation, and penalties: The University of Texas is closed, and the university will remain closed if it is allowed to do so
In Texas, the district attorney dropped charges against 57 people who were arrested at a UT-Austin protest, after they found insufficient evidence to proceed.
Schools may be under pressure from politicians and donors. At Columbia, hundreds of alumni signed a statement this week demanding the school strongly discipline students who engage in threats and hate speech and remove all illegal encampments.
Alex Morey, the director of campus rights advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, says that the individual colleges decide how to regulate speech on campus. They have information about where students can post flyers and when protests need to end. Morey says that those rules are allowed if they apply to any student group.
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 had previously given protesters until 5 p.m. on Friday to leave with a guarantee of no immediate arrest — but said they would still face consequences.
“This does not, however, eliminate University conduct-related sanctions or legal implications,” officials said in a release. “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 remain closed until May 10, with work and classes remote through the end of the semester. Officials say they are planning for “various scenarios” for commencement.
The University of Pennsylvania, an area school facing disciplinary action, and the Associated Press: “Demonstration against a peaceful protest at Columbia University”
She said rules have been broken, and those who break them — “including rules around the time, place and manner of protest” — will face disciplinary action.
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 Philadelphia-area elected officials wrote a letter last week urging university leaders to respect students’ right to protest peacefully, rather than calling law enforcement to make arrests.
“Threatening students with sanctions of this nature should not be used as a means to respond to peaceful protest,” they said.
Faculty at universities in California, Georgia, and Texas have either initiated or passed symbolic votes of no confidence in their leaders, according to the Associated Press.
Protesters began occupying buildings at Columbia University early Tuesday morning, after the school asked them the day before to voluntarily disperse from an encampment 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 were not immediately available for comment. Though its public safety department was actively responding. In a statement, it urged people to avoid coming to the Morningside campus on Tuesday if they could.
Columbia gave demonstrators several deadlines to reach an agreement, as the school said it violates school policies and is a threat to campus safety.
“Academic leaders and student organizers worked in good faith to reach a common ground, putting forward robust and thoughtful offers”, Columbia President Minouche Shafik said Monday. “We thank them all for their diligent work, long hours, and careful effort and wish they had reached a different outcome.”
Demonstrators are protesting in support of Palestinians amid the war between Israel and Hamas, and they are calling for Columbia to sever its investments and business dealings with Israeli companies.
Columbia said Monday it would not do that, but it did say the school’s Advisory Committee for Socially Responsible Investing will start reviewing new proposals from students. 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.
The parties agreed that the protests will be paused until after reading day, exams and graduation, as they urged the Columbia community to consider that the class of 2024 did not get to have their high school graduation in person, due to the coronaviruses epidemic.
After that, students will need to submit an application at least two days before having a protest, which will be held in designated areas, Shafik said.
Students and the police: When should we stand up for free speech in a hate crime environment? The example of a student protest at the University of Texas at Austin
But she added the encampment has caused an “unwelcoming environment” and “hostile environment” for Jewish students, and violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlaws discrimination at schools that receive federal funding.
She said calls for violence and antisemitic language are unacceptable. “I know that many of our Jewish students, and other students as well, have found the atmosphere intolerable in recent weeks. Many have left campus, and that is a tragedy. I would like to tell those students and their families that they are a part of the Columbia community. You are also on this campus.
The community members are being protected from harassment and discrimination while being allowed to speak, which is something that must mean respecting the right of others to do so as well.
For the second time in a week, police arrested dozens of demonstrators at the University of Texas at Austin protesting Israel’s war against Hamas. Protesters called on the police to leave, saying that they were being peaceful.
The scene at UT-Austin grew tense as campus police and state troopers deployed a chemical irritant to control the crowd. While some students dispersed, others were seen blocking police vans and resisting arrest. University officials said in a statement that the university took swift action to preserve a safe learning environment.
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.
These vastly different approaches on when to involve police – and when not to – underscore the delicate balance between a desire to protect free speech and keep a college safe and functioning.
If there was a camp on the campus and it didn’t cause a problem, then you shouldn’t have to remove it. But they do have the right to remove it if they choose to do so,” she says.
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.
“Every action has a reaction, and sometimes the reaction is antithetical to what your goals are. Law enforcement is an important resource, but it can also have unintended consequences,” he says.
Antisemitism, Free Speech, and Integrity: The University’s Disruption & Disruptions Dilemma
Berkeley’s protests have been peaceful so far. He says the school is committed to both free speech and to keeping the university safe and functioning.
“There can be a tension between those objectives,” he says. “And the trick is to manage those inherent tensions, the right to freely express your perspective, but also the right to pursue your academic interests.”
At Northwestern University, officials negotiated an agreement with protesters, making a plan on where students can continue to protest while not breaking the university’s rules.
Police at Northeastern University arrested 100 people over the weekend for having an unauthorized campsite and being antisemitic, which included “Kill the Jews.” The officials told NPR in a statement that the people who were arrested were not associated with Northeastern University.
“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.”
Several Jewish students have reported feeling unsafe. The Jewish students at the University of Minnesota say they are no longer safe on campus due to violent and hateful messages. Student groups of the Jewish faith asked that campus officials take greater precautions to ensure their safety.
Columbia University changed to hybrid classes at the end of the semester. 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.
