A wave of pro-Palestinian protests widened and intensified Wednesday as students gathered on campuses across the country, escalating conflicts over campus speech and the war in Gaza, and in some cases confronting police.
University administrators from Texas to California were on edge as they moved in and brought in police to remove protesters and prevent encampments from taking over their own campuses, as at Columbia University. New confrontations have erupted and dozens of arrests have already been made.
At the same time, new protests continued to break out in places like Pittsburgh and San Antonio. The students expressed solidarity with Columbia University students and with the pro-Palestinian movement, which appears to have been galvanized by the backlash on other campuses and the looming end of the school year.
Protesters at multiple campuses said their demands include the university's divestment from companies linked to Israeli military operations in Gaza, the disclosure of those and other investments, and the continued protest with impunity. He said that this includes the recognition of rights.
Demonstrations spread overseas, with students gathering in Cairo, Paris and Australia's Sydney campus to voice support for the Palestinians and opposition to the war.
As new protests emerge, House Speaker Mike Johnson visits the Columbia campus in New York, where university officials are protesting to end an encampment of about 80 tents still set up on the campus' central lawn. was trying to negotiate with the leaders of .
Johnson called the school's president, Nemat Shafik, an “incompetent leader” who failed to ensure the safety of Jewish students and said he should resign if the situation cannot be brought under immediate control.
He said the time may be right to call in the National Guard and that Congress should consider canceling federal funding if universities are unable to quell protests.
Republican lawmakers have for months accused university administrators of not doing enough to protect Jewish students on campus, highlighting an issue that is deeply divided within the Democratic Party. .
Campus demonstrations that have taken place since the war began last year have included hate speech and protests against Hamas, the Gaza-based militant group that led and triggered the deadly attack on Israel on October 7. Contains a statement of support. More than 34,000 people have died in Gaza, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
One of the largest new protests on Wednesday was in Texas, where dozens of police officers, many in riot gear and some on horseback, attacked the state's top police official. They blocked the path of protesters at the University of Texas at Austin. At least 20 people were arrested for refusing to disperse, a state police spokesperson said.
Gov. Greg Abbott said arrests would continue at the site until protesters dispersed. “These protesters should be in jail.” he wrote to x. “Students who participate in hateful, anti-Semitic protests at Texas public universities should be expelled.”
Hours earlier, at the University of Texas' Dallas campus, a large group of student protesters staged a brief sit-in near the university's president's office, demanding stock sales. After the president agreed to meet with the students, the students left.
At the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, police moved in just before lunchtime and dispersed an encampment of about 100 pro-Palestinian protesters in the center of the campus. As demonstrators chanted “shame,” officers attacked at least one demonstrator and placed him in a campus police car, but the demonstrator was later released.
Claudia Galliani, 26, a master's student in public policy at the University of Southern California, said she wanted to “stand in solidarity with students at Columbia University and other campuses across the country who are being brutalized for defending Palestine.” He said he was protesting. She said protesters were ostracized and accused of anti-Semitism.
Many University of Southern California students have had their commencement address by Muslim valedictorian Asna Tabassum canceled following complaints from groups on campus citing support for Palestinians on social media. I was angry about this.
“I think the university doesn't want what's happening on the East Coast to spread to the West Coast,” said a doctoral student majoring in ethnic studies at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. said Maga Miranda, a participant.
Protesters returned later in the day, but the university blocked them from setting up a permanent camp, at least for the time being, after tents that had been forcibly removed in the morning were not re-erected.
At Brown University in Rhode Island, a large number of students set up tents on the campus' main green on Wednesday. Organizers said they were thinking about the children and students of Gaza, not the government's warning that the new camp violated university policy. They promised to stay until they were forced to leave.
“Compared to what the Gazans are going through, what we are putting ourselves at risk is very small,” said Niyanta Nepal, a junior from Concord, New Hampshire, and president-elect of the student body. Told. “This is the least we can do as young people in privileged situations to take ownership of our circumstances.”
She said the rise of national student movements on college campuses inspired Brown students. “I think everyone was ready to act. What we needed was national momentum,” she said. Raffi Ash, a sophomore from Amherst, Mass., and a member of Brown University Jews for Ceasefire Now, said student protesters have been around for a long time. “We will be here until they leave or until we are forced to leave,” he said.
Harvard administrators tried to prevent a similar situation by closing Harvard Yard, the central gathering place on campus. But on Wednesday, students rushed onto the school lawn anyway and quickly erected tents as part of an “emergency rally” to protest the suspension of pro-Palestinian campus groups.
At Cal Poly Humboldt in Arcata, California, administrators announced the campus would be closed through the weekend, fearing that protesters occupying two buildings could spread to other buildings.
Two students were arrested late Tuesday at Ohio State University. school officials spoke during an on-campus protest that has since dispersed.
The protest at the University of Texas at Austin was one of the first in the Republican-led state in the South, within walking distance of the governor's mansion. Like other Republican political leaders, Gov. Greg Abbott has been outspoken in his support for Israel, and last month vowed to fight anti-Semitism on campuses.
University leaders announced Tuesday that they had revoked the permit for the protest and warned those who might try to gather anyway.
“The University of Texas at Austin will not allow this campus to be ‘taken over,’” two administrators in the Office of the Dean of Students said in a letter to the Palestine Solidarity Committee.
State Police spokeswoman Erica Miller said State Police were deployed to campus Wednesday at the university's request and at Abbott's direction “to deter unlawful assembly.”
When demonstrators began gathering despite warnings, the response was swift. Dozens of police officers formed a crowd control line, some clutching batons. After ordering the demonstrators to disperse, some police poured into the crowd and took away some people before returning with others.
“Let them go!” some shouted as the crowd grew.
At one point, hundreds of students and their supporters gathered on campus' South Mall, some forming a large circle and chanting “Pigs go home!” Police quickly moved back in, pushing through the crowd and making more arrests.
Miller said the majority of those arrested were charged with trespassing.
The university's Office of Student Affairs said in a statement that the university will not tolerate disruptions “like those seen on other campuses” and will take steps to ensure students can complete their classes and final exams “without interruption.” Stated.
Anna Betts and nicolas vogel burrows in new york, edgar sandoval san antonio and Jose Quesada contributed reporting in Arcata, California.