A majority of Americans have a negative view of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations that have engulfed hundreds of college campuses over the past several weeks, a recent poll shows.
The Economist/YouGov poll conducted May 5-7 of 1,813 U.S. adults found that 50% of respondents oppose the recent protests at U.S. college campuses, while only 26% support the demonstrations.
Chaos has crippled dozens of college campuses in the United States the past three weeks with protesters demanding that schools divest from Israel and companies that manufacture military weapons. Many schools have gone to remote learning for the remainder of the semester, and several commencement ceremonies have been canceled as a result of the protests.
When asked how much respondents had heard about the pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campuses, 80% had heard either a little or a lot, while 20% had heard nothing at all.
About one-third — 30% — of participants thought that the protests had been violent, with 38% feeling they were nonviolent and 32% not sure.
When asked to assess how college presidents have fared in response to the demonstrations, 33% said the administrators weren't harsh enough, 33% weren't sure, 18% said about right, and 16% said colleges were too harsh in punishing the protesters.
Since April 18 about 2,800 people have been arrested on 50 college and universities campuses across 26 states, The Associated Press reported on Wednesday. More than 400 colleges have had some form of demonstration on campus.
Following the crackdown on pro-Palestinian encampments in New York City last week, New York Police Chief of Patrol John Chell told Newsmax that "40% of the people that came off Columbia's campus that night were not from the school."
Respondents seemed mixed on where the bulk of the protesters are coming from, with 32% saying they were not affiliated with the college; 35% saying they were mostly students, faculty, and alumni; and 33% not sure.
The poll was conducted Sunday through Tuesday of this week and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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