According to a statistic from Reuters news agency, there were nearly 550 arrests related to protests last week at major US universities. University leaders said protests are often illegal. Students set up tents on campus, and ignored police requests to disperse.
According to CNN on April 26, the participants were students from many different regions such as Palestinians, Arabs, Jews and Muslims.
Protest outside the Columbia University campus (New York, USA) on April 25, 2024.
At Columbia University in New York (USA) – the epicenter of the protests, students said they would not disperse until the school agreed to cut ties with Israeli research organizations and divest capital. from entities linked to Israel, and many other requests. Many student protesters at other universities also have similar demands. University leaders are currently in a deadlock and have not found a common voice with students.
To solve the above problem, some universities have chosen to cooperate with the police to prevent protests, leading to clashes and mass arrests. Reuters reported on April 26 that in the past two days, police deployed stun guns and tear gas to deal with student protesters at Emory University in Georgia.
According to the latest information, 2 professors were detained and more than 20 students were arrested. A group of US Democratic lawmakers condemned “Georgia’s police force for using excessive force” during protests at Emory University.
Police arrested a protester at Emory University (Georgia, USA) on April 25, 2024.
A similar scenario also took place at Emerson College in Boston, 100 students were arrested and 4 police officers were injured during the clash. School principal Jay Bernhardt said he recognized and respected “the passion and civic activism that sparked the protest” after the series of arrests.
According to Sky News on April 26, at Indiana University Bloomington, police with shields and batons attacked the protesters, and arrested 33 students. Meanwhile, at the City College of New York, police officers were forced to retreat from the protest amid cheers from hundreds of students on campus.
In addition, Brown University identified about 130 students accused of violating the school’s code of conduct prohibiting camping on campus. The university said students caught will be disciplined depending on the level of their violation.
Harvard University (Massachusetts, USA) is among many schools that have not taken action to deal with student protesters.
Reactions to the protests varied
Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union condemned the arrests of protesters and called on school leaders to respect students’ freedom of speech.
Police set up barricades for protesters outside the campus of Columbia University (New York, USA) on April 25, 2024.
“The use of force should only be considered a last resort and must be proportionate to the threat posed,” National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) President Georgia Griggs wrote in a letter. “.
In contrast, some Republicans have accused university administrators of “opening the door” to harassment of Jewish students, and have put intense pressure on schools to ensure control. Strictly control all protests and prevent all camping activities.
US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said on April 25 that his team was closely monitoring the protests, including what he described as “very alarming reports of anti-Semitism”.
In response, protest groups denied that the protests were anti-Semitic. They said the purpose of the protest was to pressure universities to divest from companies that contribute to Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
