The Latest | Police break up protests, make arrests at UCLA, Dartmouth, New York schools
Arrests continue on US campuses as police dismantle camps of students protesting Israel’s war in Gaza. At UCLA, officers removed barricades and charged hundreds of demonstrators who ignored orders to leave, scuffled with demonstrators and arrested some.
Other arrests were made at Dartmouth College and New York State universities at Buffalo and Stony Brook. The Associated Press has made at least 38 arrests at campus protests across the US since April 18. More than 1,600 people have been arrested at 30 schools.
Currently:
– Dueling protesters clash at UCLA, hours after police clear pro-Palestinian rally in Columbia
– Student demonstrators reach a deal with Northwestern University, which draws criticism from all sides
– How Columbia University became the driving force behind the protests over the war in Gaza
– Trump’s comparison of student protests to January 6 is part of efforts to downplay the attack on the Capitol
Here’s the latest:
Dartmouth College President Sian Leah Beilock on Wednesday night defended the decision to arrest about 90 people, hours after an encampment was set up to protest the war.
“Last night, people were so confident in their faith that they were willing to face disciplinary action and arrest. While there is courage in that, part of choosing to participate in this way is not just recognizing – but accepting – that actions have consequences,” she said in a statement. She cited campus policies that prohibit demonstrations that disrupt Dartmouth’s academic mission or increase safety risks.
“When these types of policies are ignored on other campuses, hatred and violence flourish – events like commencement are canceled, instruction is forced to take place remotely and, worst of all, abhorrent anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are rampant,” Beilock said.
In New York, protesters were arrested overnight at Stony Brook University and the University at Buffalo, two campuses of the state university system.
A spokesperson for the University at Buffalo said 16 people were arrested late Wednesday after failing to comply with an order to disperse. Newsday reported that police arrested several dozen protesters at an encampment in Stony Brook early Thursday and forced others to leave.
Police on Thursday removed barricades and began dismantling a fortified encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of California, Los Angeles, after hundreds of demonstrators defied orders to leave. Some people were held down, their hands tied with zip ties.
The action came after officers threatened arrests over loudspeakers for hours if people did not disperse. A crowd of more than a thousand people had gathered on campus, both inside and outside a barricaded tent camp, in support. Protesters and police pushed and scuffled as officers encountered resistance.
As police helicopters hovered in the sky, the air was pierced by the sound of booms, which produced a bright light and loud noise to disorient and stun people. Protesters chanted: “Where were you last night?” to the officers, referring to Tuesday night, when counterprotesters attacked the camp and took the UCLA administration and campus police hours to respond.
In the Middle East, Iranian state television broadcast live footage of the police crackdown, as did Qatar’s pan-Arab Al Jazeera satellite network. Live footage from Los Angeles was also shown on Israeli television networks.
California Highway Patrol officers flooded the campus by the hundreds early Thursday. Wearing face shields and protective vests, they stood outside with batons outstretched to separate them from the protesters, who wore helmets and gas masks and chanted, “You want peace.” We want justice.”
Muslim organizations and students criticized UCLA officials and police at a news conference Wednesday, saying they failed to intervene when students at a pro-Palestinian encampment on the Los Angeles campus were verbally harassed, pepper-sprayed and beaten during a brawl with counter-protesters earlier in the month. day.
“The community needs to feel that the police protect them and do not allow others to harm them,” said Rebecca Husaini, chief of staff of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.
Speakers disputed the university’s report that 15 people were injured and one hospitalized, saying the number of people taken to hospital was higher. One student described having to go to the hospital after being hit in the head by an object wielded by counter-protesters.
Several students who spoke said they had to rely on each other, not police, for support when they were attacked, and that many in the pro-Palestinian camp remained peaceful and had no contact with counter-protesters.
UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said in a statement Wednesday that “a group of instigators” arrived on campus to “violently attack” the pro-Palestinian camp, prompting the school to request assistance from outside law enforcement agencies.
“No matter how you feel about the camp, this attack on our students, faculty and community members was completely unacceptable,” Block said. “It has shaken our campus to its core.”
Block promised that the university will conduct a thorough investigation.
The Provost of Columbia University in New York says all final exams and any remaining class sessions must be held remotely for students on the Morningside Heights campus. Any papers, projects or presentations due this week will also be postponed until next week.
The university has been paralyzed by demonstrations and police have cleared a building occupied by anti-war demonstrators.
The university strongly encourages students to leave campus and return home early for the semester.