Student demonstrations over the Israel-Hamas war have popped up at many college campuses after being inspired by demonstrators at Columbia University, including at San Diego State University.
On Tuesday, a group with Students for Justice in Palestine at San Diego State University organized a walkout to call for SDSU to divest from companies advancing Israel’s military efforts in Gaza, joining efforts of young people at other universities and colleges across the U.S. Some of the protests have led to hundreds of arrests nationwide since the first detainments at Columbia on April 18.
Students with the school's associated student government passed a resolution in support of a ceasefire in Gaza and a release of all hostages in February.
NBC 7's SkyRanger 7 was over the scene showing several hundred students in front of Hepner Hall before marching around campus.
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Counterprotesters were also seen.
SDSU responded to NBC 7's request for comment on Tuesday with the following:
"As a public university, and as aligned with our institutional values, San Diego State University must allow for constitutionally protected free speech and an individual's right to acts of peaceful protest."
California
"As a diverse campus community, this also means that those within our campus community will have varying values, ideas and points of view. We both expect and encourage all those within our campus community to engage in respectful conversations and interactions, as detailed in SDSU’s Principles of Community. SDSU does not accept any instance of harassment or discrimination. Additionally, university safety professionals and administrators from the division of Student Affairs and Campus Diversity continue to be in contact with members of our Jewish, Islamic, Arab, and Palestinian communities, in addition to other campus community members."
"We strongly encourage all who choose to gather to adhere to laws and university policies. Additional information on the university’s policies related to the exercise of free speech are outlined on SDSU’s dedicated free speech webpage."
Officials at universities across the nation are trying to resolve the protests as the academic year winds down, but students have dug in at several high-profile universities.
As cease-fire negotiations appear to gain steam, it isn't clear whether those talks might inspire campus protesters to ease their efforts.
Protest at the University of San Diego
On Wednesday, a fairly sizable crowd of protesters gathered on the main quad of the University of San Diego shortly after noon for what organizers described on social media as a Requiem for the Dead and Dying in Gaza.
The students and other pro-Palestinian supporters were peaceful, mostly lying prostrate on the ground or sitting in concentric waves around speakers, with many holding signs, including one that read "Arresting Kids Is Not Self-Defence"
At least three Palestinian flags were spotted flapping in the breeze.
If there was any police presence at the scene, it was difficult to detect with SkyRanger 7 flew over the campus.
An Instagram post that went up before the protest said, "The Gaza @ USD faculty coalition is organizing a memorial THIS Wednesday, May 1st, and are inviting you to join in this moment of solidarity!" and "Stand With Us As We Pray for All the Lives Lost." The post also called for protesters to wear all back, a call to action responded to by a large percentage of those attending.
The announcement stated the protest was scheduled for 12:30-2 p.m.
History of protests at colleges across the U.S.
Columbia University
Police first tried to clear the encampment of Pro-Palestinian student protesters on April 18, when they arrested more than 100. But the move motivated Columbia protesters to regroup. The demonstrations led Columbia to hold remote classes and set a series of deadlines for protesters to leave.
Although the university said it was beginning to suspend student protesters who defied an ultimatum to leave the encampment by Monday afternoon, Columbia activists defied that deadline. Protest organizers said they were not aware of any suspensions as of Monday evening.
Early Tuesday, dozens of protesters took over an academic building, locking arms and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building. Columbia responded by restricting access to campus.
In a statement Tuesday, Columbia said students occupying the building face expulsion, those who did not abide by the deadline terms are being suspended and seniors will be ineligible to graduate on May 15.
Cal Poly, Humboldt
Protesters have occupied two buildings at the northern California school. Dozens of helmeted police officers carrying batons marched onto campus early Tuesday and cleared both halls. The university said 25 people were arrested and there were no injuries.
The university earlier announced a “hard closure,” meaning that people were not permitted to enter or be on campus without authorization. At 3:24 a.m., the university’s website posted a shelter-in-place order for campus residents “due to continuing criminal activity on campus.” The order was lifted several hours later but residents were told to stay in living, dining and market areas.
Yale
Yale authorities cleared a protesters’ encampment Tuesday morning after students heeded final warnings to leave, university officials said. No arrests were reported. Demonstrators said on social media that they were moving their gathering to a sidewalk area.
University of Connecticut
Police moved in on a campus encampment at the Storrs, Connecticut, school Tuesday morning and arrested protesters after giving them several warnings to leave, UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz said. The number of arrests was not immediately available and officers were clearing the scene.
Tuesday’s arrests came a day after protest leaders met with university officials.
Princeton University
The university's president, Chris Eisgruber, posted a statement on Instagram saying 13 protesters — 12 affiliated with the university — were arrested Monday night after briefly occupying Clio Hall, the campus graduate school building.
“All those arrested received summonses for trespassing and have been barred from campus,” Eisgruber said in the statement. “The students will also face University discipline, which may extend to suspension or expulsion.”
Northwestern University
The school in Evanston, Illinois, said Monday that it had reached an agreement with students and faculty who represent the majority of protesters on its campus since Thursday.
The university said in a statement that it agrees to answer questions within 30 days about “holdings and investments in specific companies, including those whose investments support Israeli apartheid.” It also said it would reconvene an advisory committee this fall “with the ultimate goal of ensuring that any vendor who profits from the Israeli occupation will not be given the opportunity to provide services on our campus.” The statement said the university plans to support visiting Palestinian faculty and students and invest further in supporting Muslim and Jewish life on campus.
Northwestern says it will permit peaceful demonstrations that comply with university policies through June 1, which is the end of spring quarter classes. The university says it will allow one aid tent to remain and all other tents must be removed.
In an Instagram post Monday, the Northwestern University Divestment Coalition said elected representatives of the group approved the deal by a vote of 17-1 and see it as “the floor for our progress going forward, not the ceiling.”
University of Texas, Austin
In a confrontation between police and protesters at the Austin school late Monday, 79 people involved were jailed, according to the Travis County sheriff’s department. Most were charged with criminal trespass.
About 150 protesters sat on the ground as state troopers and police encircled them, with hundreds of other students and protesters shouting when officers dragged someone away. After police cleared the original group of demonstrators, hundreds of students and protesters ran to block officers from leaving campus. Protesters pushed in on officers, creating a mass of shoving bodies before police used pepper spray on the crowd and set off flash-bang devices to clear a path for a van to take those arrested off campus.
USC
Encampment organizers met with university President Carol Folt for about 90 minutes Monday. Folt declined to discuss details of what was discussed but said the purpose of the meeting was to allow her to hear the concerns of protesters. Another meeting was scheduled for Tuesday.
The university has canceled its main graduation ceremony, set for May 10. It already canceled a commencement speech by the school’s pro-Palestinian valedictorian, citing safety concerns.
UCLA
A few dozen faculty members staged a walkout Monday, joining pro-Palestinian protesters who have been camping around-the-clock on campus. The teachers and other employees said they came out to amplify the demands of demonstrators.
The scene was less tense than Sunday, when protesters shouted and shoved each other during dueling demonstrations.
George Washington University
Before dawn Monday, demonstrators at the school in Washington, D.C., tore down metal barricades confining them to University Yard and set up more than a dozen tents in the middle of a street.
Later in the day, there were no signs of conflict. The Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement that it will continue monitoring the situation and that the protest remained peaceful.
Commencement is scheduled for May 19. The university said it will move law school finals to a different building because of noise from the protests.
Virginia Tech
A protest at the school in Blacksburg resulted in 82 arrests, including 53 students, a university spokesperson said Monday.
Protesters occupied the lawn of the graduate life center Friday. After protesters took further steps to occupy the lawn and outdoor spaces Sunday, the university advised those gathered to disperse. Those who failed to comply were warned they would be charged with trespassing, the university said.
Case Western Reserve University
Dozens of students, faculty and staff camped out overnight at the Cleveland school hours after a similar encampment had been broken up and more than 20 people were detained but later released.
School officials initially had said protests would be limited to daylight hours but announced Monday night that students and others affiliated with the school would be allowed to stay at the makeshift encampment on the school’s public green.
Officials were checking the participants’ identification before they were given wristbands signifying they could remain at the site. Roughly 100 people camped out overnight without incident, officials said.
UNC at Chapel Hill
About 30 people were detained by campus police Tuesday morning after the university said encampment protesters refused to leave. At 5:30 a.m., 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 university had not responded to a query about whether protesters were arrested and charged.
Gainesville University
Nine people, including six students, were arrested at the Gainesville University — where about 50 people began protesting last week — by campus police and state troopers Monday.
Steve Orlando, the school’s associate vice president of communications, said many of the protesters are “outside agitators” and they had been warned for many days that prohibited activities would result in a trespassing order, barring them from campus for three years. Individuals who didn’t comply were arrested after campus police gave them multiple warnings, he said.
University of Michigan
Last week, university officials warned that students could face suspension and employees could be fired if they violated a series of rules, including using bullhorns and protesting inside buildings.
The Ann Arbor school told students, staff and faculty in a letter Friday that its upcoming commencement ceremonies likely will be the site of “various student expressions, including possible demonstrations.” Last week, a demonstration at the center of the campus had grown to nearly 40 tents.
The letter noted that school policies “make clear that interfering with speakers and events is not protected speech and is a violation of university policy.”
Virginia Commonwealth University
At the Richmond, Virginia, campus, demonstrators protesting the Israel-Hamas war clashed with police Monday night after officers tried to remove a makeshift encampment.
Protesters 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. Officers made numerous arrests and took down the tents.
VCU said in a statement Tuesday that 13 people, including six VCU students, were charged with unlawful assembly and trespassing. VCU said officers used pepper spray to disperse the crowd.
Portland State University
A small group of students at the downtown Portland, Oregon, school broke into its library late Monday. Students have been protesting in a park on campus and on the library steps since Thursday, but the demonstration has been mostly peaceful.
Campus was closed Tuesday as a result of the library occupation. City leaders, including the police chief, mayor and Portland State University President Ann Cudd held a news conference late Monday. District Attorney Mike Schmidt said the protesters’ actions had crossed into criminal behavior and those arrested would be prosecuted.
Elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest, students set up encampments Monday at University of Oregon in Eugene and University of Washington in Seattle. A demonstration is also underway at Evergreen State in Olympia, Washington.
Tulane University
Tulane University said it has closed three buildings on its main campus in New Orleans after Monday protests. New Orleans news outlets reported six arrests. Dozens of protesters walked among about a dozen tents pitched on a grassy lawn Tuesday morning as rush-hour traffic flowed by. The university said classes normally held in the closed buildings would be held remotely.
University of Georgia
Police arrested protesters Monday who tried to set up an encampment at the university northeast of Atlanta. A spokesperson wouldn’t say how many people were arrested on the final day of classes before spring exams.
Athens-Clarke County jail records showed 12 people had been booked into the jail by mid-afternoon by University of Georgia police on criminal trespassing charges. State troopers aided university police.
The Red and Black student newspaper reported 16 people were detained at the site.
University of Utah
Protesters erected an encampment at the Salt Lake City school Monday. About two dozen tents were set up on the lawn outside the university president’s office, and roughly 200 students held protest signs and Palestinian flags. Later Monday, dozens of officers in riot gear sought to break up the encampment.
Police dragged students off by their hands and feet, snapping the poles holding up tents and zip-tying those who refused to disperse. Seventeen people were arrested. The university says it’s against code to camp overnight on school property and the students were given several warnings to disperse before police were called in.
University of Minnesota
Hundreds of protesters gathered Monday at the Twin Cities campus, setting up dozens of tents in solidarity with Palestinians. Dozens of students sat in and near the tents while others participated in a Muslim prayer outside on the campus.
The university said earlier Monday in a statement that it was closing several buildings “to ensure the safety of those who work and study on our campus” during protests that are expected to continue on campus in the coming days.
Ali Abu, who said he is a protest organizer, said the students plan on staying “as long as possible" until their demands are met.
