At least 47 people were killed at Yale University during a pro-Palestinian protest Monday, as student-led demonstrations that roiled Columbia University and other campuses last week spread to the heart of the school's community in New Haven, Conn. arrested.
Demonstrators set up camp in Beinecke Square on campus Friday night. The group Occupy Beinecke said in a statement on social media that it is calling on universities to disclose their investments in munitions manufacturers and divest capital from those companies.
Protesters began daytime demonstrations in the square last Monday and dispersed from the square each evening after warnings from the school. On Friday, they held a rally outside the board's dinner and then set up an overnight encampment.
Protester Taran Samarth said that during the occupation there was daily education on topics such as genocide and “poetry from Palestine and other places facing war and famine.”
Samarth said that once the encampment was set up, “continuous rallies were held at night to protect the encampment from the threat of disciplinary action by the police and administration.”
The encampment was set up next to Woodbridge Hall, the university president's office, in an area that has historically been a site of protests on campus. In the 1980s, a slum was built in Beinecke Square to protest apartheid in South Africa and call for divestment from companies operating there.
After protesters were arrested on Monday, workers cleared the area, removing trash bags and carrying away piles of folded tents.
Yale University said in a statement that it repeatedly asked the protesters to leave and warned them that they could be arrested or disciplined. The university also said it had offered protesters a meeting with key board members, but by late Sunday it had determined negotiations had reached an impasse.
Campus police issued 47 citations on Monday, according to the university. The school said the students arrested could face disciplinary action from Yale itself, including suspension.
“With the safety and security of the entire Yale University community in mind, the University has made the decision to arrest individuals who refuse to leave the plaza and ensure that all members of the community have access to University facilities,” Yale said. said in a statement.
The New Haven Police Department said its officers assisted in the response. Yale University police charged the demonstrators with a misdemeanor count of first-degree trespassing, and the demonstrators were “transported to the Yale Police Facility, where they were processed and released,” New Haven police said.
Hundreds of students and community members also blocked intersections near Beinecke Square, stopped traffic on Grove Street and College Street, and marked sidewalks with signs such as “We build this world out of love” and “Liberate Palestine.” It was filled with chalk messages such as “Do it!”
The demonstrators chanted, “Reveal the information, we will not stop, we will not rest,'' and “Please tell the regime that all we want is peace. The more we try, the louder our voices will become.”
The arrests at Yale University come four days after more than 100 students were arrested at a campus encampment set up by pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University in New York.