Campus Protests at Level Not Seen Since Vietnam War

Standoffs between university administrators and pro-Palestinian protesters appeared to be coming to a head Tuesday as college campuses across the U.S. have been roiled by the most unrest seen since the Vietnam War.

Dozens of arrests have been made since Monday as students and other organizers who set up tent encampments and occupied administrative buildings demand their schools divest from companies that profit from Israel and its war against Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

Dozens of protesters took over a building at Columbia University in New York on Tuesday, barricading entrances and unfurling a Palestinian flag from a window. The school vowed the students would face expulsion from the university.

Protesters locked arms early Tuesday and carried furniture and metal barricades to Hamilton Hall, among several buildings that were occupied during a 1968 civil rights and anti-Vietnam War protest. Protest organizers posted on Instagram soon after midnight urging people to protect the encampment and join them at Hamilton Hall. A "Free Palestine"banner hung from a window.

The university, which had given the protesters a deadline to disperse, is now threatening expulsion for students who participate.

As the protest grinds on, many observers are fearful that it is fueling antisemitism on campus, and may even be driven, in part, by enemies of the Jewish state of Israel. Israel has, of course, been waging a retaliatory war in Gaza against the terror group Hamas launched deadly strikes against Israel on Oct. 7 of this past year.

Israel suffered dozens and dozens of casualties. Meanwhile, the death toll in Gaza from the war has exceeded 30,000, including civilians, by many counts.

That fear, of a rising tide of antisemitism, is now being experienced at campuses across the nation where similar protests against Israeli action in Gaza have coalesced.

Here's a survey of developments at other U.S.campuses on Tuesday:

At California State Polytechnic in Humboldt in northern California, at least 35 individuals were arrested, many of whom had occupied Siemens Hall and renamed it "Intifada Hall."

Those arrested face charges including unlawful assembly, vandalism, conspiracy, and assault of police officers, plus students could face discipline for conduct violations and any university employees arrested could face disciplinary action, the school said in a news release.

"The University had made repeated efforts over the last week to resolve the situation,"the school said. "This morning's enforcement action was determined to be necessary to restore order and to address the lawlessness and dangerous conditions that had developed.

"What was occurring was not free expression or a protest. It was criminal activity, and there were serious concerns it would spread even further on campus."

The school remains in a hard closure, meaning access to campus is restricted and individuals are not permitted to enter or be on campus without authorization.

"This is a difficult day, it breaks my heart to see it, and truly nobody wanted to see things come to this,"Cal Poly Humboldt President Tom Jackson Jr. said in the news release. "We've all watched this with great concern, and always with the sincere hope that it would be resolved peacefully. Unfortunately, serious criminal activity that crossed the line well beyond the level of a protest had put the campus at ongoing risk."

At Yale, final warnings were issued to protesters in a tent encampment set up Sunday afternoon on Yale's Cross Campus in New Haven, Connecticut. The school said in a news releasethe encampment must end or students face discipline, including suspension, for violating university rules and arrest for trespassing.

"All the protesters chose to leave the encampment, and the university is in the process of clearing tents and other items from the area,"the school said. "Over the past several days, administrators communicated to protesters that their encampment and activities violated the university's policies and were disrupting academic and university operations."

Some protesters remained near the area and on nearby streets after leaving the encampment, the school said, adding no arrests had been made as of Tuesday morning. The tent encampment was located near student dorms, libraries, and classrooms, where many students are writing their final papers and studying for final exams.

At the University of Connecticut, 23 people were reportedly arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and criminal trespass as police encircled and took down a tent encampment established April 24. Students remained at the encampment after the university on April 26 issued a statement prohibiting tents on the property and declaring a 24-hour quiet period through the end of the semester.

Demonstrators who gathered outside of the university police department to support those arrested said organizers were still deciding whether to reestablish the encampment, the Hartford Courant reported. Some said students intend to launch a hunger strike if the university suspends the protesters.

At Virginia Commonwealth University, protesters Monday put up tents and built a barricade with shipping pallets. Police, some wearing riot gear, charged the line of demonstrators to clear the crowd, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. Some protesters were seen hurling water bottles and other objects at police. The university said Tuesday that 13 people, including six students, were charged with unlawful assembly and trespassing. VCU said officers used pepper spray to disperse the crowd.

At the University of California, Los Angeles, security was tightened Tuesday after minor skirmishes between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel supporters broke out over the past few days.

"Yesterday, some physical altercations occurred among demonstrators in Royce Quad,"Mary Osako, vice chancellor for UCLA Strategic Communications, said Tuesday in a news release. "In response, we have taken several actions to significantly increase our security presence, including adding greater numbers of campus law enforcement, safety personnel and student affairs monitors.

"There was also a report of a student's access to class being blocked by demonstrators yesterday. This kind of disruption to our teaching and learning mission is abhorrent, plain and simple. As such, we've taken several immediate actions: Our student conduct process has been initiated and could lead to severe disciplinary action including expulsion or suspension. The barriers that demonstrators used to block this student's access to class have been removed and we have staff located around Royce Quad to help ensure that they will not go up again. We have also engaged law enforcement to investigate."

At the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 36 people were detained by campus police Tuesday morning after the university said encampment protesters refused to leave. At 5:30 a.m. local time, a university statement said protesters needed to remove tents and other items and leave the area by 6 a.m. or risk arrest.

Clearing out the encampment took approximately 45 minutes, according to the university. During the sweep, the university said protesters blocked police vehicles and threw objects at officers. The Daily Tar Heelstudent newspaper reported six people were arrested on trespassing charges and released with a promise to return to court. Three of the six people arrested were students.

At the University of Minnesota, several school buildings are closed as 30 tents remain at a new encampment on the north end of the mall in front of Northrop Auditorium, KMSP-TV in Minneapolis reported.

Late Monday, protesters were given orders to disperse, but university police have yet to enforce that order as of Tuesday morning. In a message to students and faculty, university leaders urged all who engage in protests to remain nonviolent and peaceful.

At DePaul University in Chicago, tents were erected Tuesday at the school's Lincoln Park campus.

"While tents and unpermitted structures on DePaul's property violate a variety of university policies, we invite the members of our university community who are protesting to discuss with us how to peacefully express themselves,"the school said in a news release. "Our goal is to identify a path forward that allows our community to make their voices heard, while also respecting the rights of their fellow students to continue active engagement in their education and staying in compliance with the law and university policy."

At Brown University, pro-Palestinian students agreed to remove their tent encampment by 5 p.m. Tuesday in exchange for the Brown Corporation, the university's governing body, voting on a divestment measure in October.

"Brown has always prided itself on resolving differences through dialog, debate and listening to each other,"university President Christina Paxson said in a news release. "I cannot condone the encampment, which was in violation of university policies. Also, I have been concerned about the escalation in inflammatory rhetoric that we have seen recently, and the increase in tensions at campuses across the country. I appreciate the sincere efforts on the part of our students to take steps to prevent further escalation."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.