Pro-Palestinian demonstrations against Israel's bombardment of Gaza persisted through Friday night at significant US universities.
Numerous schools called the police on demonstrators during the course of the week, which resulted in hundreds of arrests across the nation. Protestors have called for schools to remove their funding from institutions associated with Israel.
The Gaza health ministry has reported over 34,000 Palestinians killed as a result of Israeli attacks. The October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas claimed approximately 1,200 lives.
Legislators are putting more and more pressure on college administrators to quell protests. The senate of Columbia University, the epicentre of the protests, approved a resolution late on Friday calling for an investigation into how the university administration handled the demonstrations.
The latest updates from all the universities are as follows:
Arizona State University: According to a university spokesperson, three individuals were taken into custody by police on Friday on trespassing charges "in connection with setting up an unauthorized encampment."
Barnard College: The school said it had reached agreements with “nearly all students who were previously placed on interim suspension” for taking part in the protest encampment on Columbia's campus.
Columbia University: In January, a student representative for the Columbia University Apartheid Divest coalition stated, "Zionists don't deserve to live." As a result, the university banned the student. He later apologised.
Campuses in Denver: According to a statement from the joint campus of University of Colorado Denver, Community College of Denver, and Metropolitan State University of Denver, about 40 out of the roughly 100 individuals who established a pro-Palestinian encampment were taken into custody on Friday.
Emory University: Tenured professors called for the resignation of the university's president, Gregory Fenves, over the decision to call in state and local police to clear out the protesters. Faculty members assembled on campus to voice concerns about the violent arrests that occurred on campus on Thursday.
George Washington University: On Friday, the school announced that any student who is still in University Yard could face temporary suspension and be administratively barred.
Ohio State University: A preliminary report from the university states that 36 protesters were taken into custody on Thursday night after defying orders to disperse.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: On Friday, over 75 students assembled to establish an encampment on campus, calling for the university to divest from companies that support Israel's military activities.
University of Southern California: In a statement, the school's president, Carol L. Folt, stated that the campus has become unsafe and that in order to protect all USC students, faculty, and staff, an investigation will be conducted and action taken.
University of Texas at Austin: The Palestine Solidarity Committee has been put on "interim suspension" by the university. Wednesday's event, which was organized by the group, resulted in more than 50 arrests.
Virginia Tech: In response to protesters' encampment on campus, school administrators said in a statement released on Friday that the gathering is in violation of university policy.
Yale University: Faculty are ready to organize walkouts and boycott Yale's graduation ceremonies, according to a letter from the Faculty for Justice in Palestine organization, which denounced this week's student arrests. In another letter, the Yale administration was denounced for failing "in your responsibility to protect the Jewish students, staff and faculty at Yale".
Protests spread to Europe
Protests against the Gaza war, spearheaded by students, are becoming more widespread throughout Europe on Friday as activists from France and Britain adopt the strategy of US campus demonstrations.
On Friday, demonstrators in Paris blocked the entrance to the prestigious Sciences Po university, refusing to give up after police broke up a tent "occupation" the day before.
Inspired by protests at New York's Columbia University, activists at University College London were organizing a rally under the banner of a "global student movement for Palestine".
