The war in Gaza has unleashed the biggest outpouring of US student activism since the anti-racism protests of 2020.
Tent encampments of pro-Palestinian protesters calling on universities to stop doing business with Israel or companies that support the war have spread across campuses nationwide. Ensuing police crackdowns have led to hundreds of arrests.
Where did the protests start and how have they spread?
The student protests began in earnest at New York’s Columbia University on 17 April when students pitched tents in the middle of the campus. In the weeks since, protests have sprung up on campuses in cities and towns nationwide.
How have police reacted?
Arrests have been made on at least 38 occasions since 18 April, according to an Associated Press tally. More than 2,000 people have been arrested at roughly 40 campuses. In some cases, police have cleared encampments while protesters have voluntarily dismantled them at others.
What has happened at Columbia?
The highest-profile protest has taken place at Columbia University, where protesters initially set up a camp on a lawn in front of Butler Library. On 18 April, police entered the campus and arrested at least 108 students. Some of those who remained started a new camp on the adjacent lawn.
Just after midnight on Tuesday, after a deadline passed to clear the encampment, some students gained entry to Hamilton Hall and barricaded themselves in. That night, police officers entered the hall through a window, using a mobile staircase. Shortly afterwards, arrested students were seen leaving through the campus gates.
Columbia is just one of a number of universities across New York City where protests by students have taken place.
What has happened at UCLA?
In addition to Columbia, the other major flashpoint campus has been at the University of California, Los Angeles, where an encampment was set up on 25 April.
On Tuesday night, counter-demonstrators attacked students. The ensuing confrontation lasted for two to three hours while police looked on until finally intervening.
Early on Thursday morning, LAPD officers began forcibly clearing the encampment after hundreds of protesters defied police orders to leave. Protesters chanted “where were you last night?” as the officers approached, in reference to the lack of a response to the violence instigated by the counter-demonstrators. More than 130 people were arrested.
How have police responded elsewhere?
Away from New York and Los Angeles, hundreds of people have been arrested at campuses around the US since mid-April. Among the universities with the highest number of arrests are University of Texas at Austin (136), Emerson College in Boston (118), Washington University in St Louis (100) and Northeastern University in Boston (98).
Police action was seen as particularly aggressive in Austin, where hundreds of police – some on horseback and holding batons – pushed into protesters on 24 April. Police in Georgia also faced criticism after they used pepper balls, stun guns, rubber bullets and stun guns while arresting protesters at Emory University near Atlanta on 25 April.
Associated Press contributed to this story
