UCLA, Columbia protests see violence, more arrests
College campuses across the country are bringing in police as pro-Palestine protesters remain at encampments.
LOS ANGELES − Police in riot gear swept onto the UCLA campus Thursday and tore down makeshift barricades and a pro-Palestinian protest encampment that had drawn hundreds of protesters and was attacked by pro-Israeli counterprotesters earlier this week.
The predawn crackdown at UCLA marked the latest flashpoint for protests scattered across US colleges amid mounting anger over Israel’s war in Gaza and growing impatience on the part of school administrators to allow disruptions they say make their campuses unsafe.
At UCLA, officers dressed in riot gear made several arrests and scuffled with student protesters who had enforced a strict code of no violence throughout the protest that drew several hundred people. By dawn, police had cleared the plaza of the tents and plywood walls that had formed a protest camp for a week, but a smaller group of remaining protesters assembled just outside that area.
California Highway Patrol spokesperson Alejandro Rubio told CNN 132 arrests were made on the UCLA campus during an operation involving about 250 officers.
Political science major Jonathan Giang, 22, was sitting on steps near where the encampment had taken place. He had heard that students were re-grouping before heading back to set the protest back up again but said he hadn’t seen much evidence of that.
Giang said he had mixed feelings about the end of the protests. He was sorry to see the police clamp down but was also relieved it was over.
“At least I know my friends aren’t getting hurt any more,” Giang said. “I know students are having issues getting through midterms and classes. Now maybe things can go back to a sense of normal.”
UCLA canceled Wednesday classes after counterdemonstrators battering a makeshift barricade around the enampment. Chancellor Gene Block, who blamed the violence on a “group of instigators,” said the student conduct process has been initiated and could lead to disciplinary action including suspension or expulsion.
All in-person classes were required to pivot to remote learning Thursday and Friday, the school announced.
The protests voiced concerns for civilian deaths during the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza that began Oct. 7 when about 1,200 people in southern Israel were killed and more than 200 taken hostage in a Hamas-led attack. The Israeli retaliatory assault has killed nearly 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and obliterated much of the enclave’s infrastructure. The humanitarian crisis has fueled outrage on some US campuses and spurred demands for an end to investment in Israeli companies and amnesty for student protesters.
Developments:
∎ Florida Chancellor Ray Rodrigues has told state university presidents not to cancel or modify commencement ceremonies because of “unruly” demonstrators. “While we are witnessing a descent into chaos all over the country, under the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida has maintained law and order,” Rodrigues wrote in a memo to the presidents.
Portland State University’s campus was closed Thursday because of an “ongoing incident at library,” the school said in a social media post. Earlier this week the school asked police to help remove dozens of protesters occupying the building. Portland Police Bureau issued a statement Thursday saying the operation was underway at the Oregon school and was expected to take several hours.
“We urge those who genuinely support the cause to clearly reject the criminal, threatening, and destructive tactics used in the takeover of the library, which is distinct from the peaceful protest that preceded it and continues outside,” police said in a statement.
Last week the university paused seeking or accepting gifts or grants from Boeing pending a review of weapons sales to Israel.
Columbia faculty, students protest: Campus protests intensify
Almost half of the 282 people arrested at Columbia University and the City College of New York protests on Tuesday were not affiliated with either school, CNN reported citing an NYPD official. The official said 80 people arrested at Columbia, both inside and Hamilton Hall and at nearby protests, were affiliated with the university in some way while 32 were not, the official said. At CCNY, 68 people arrested were affiliated while 102 were not, the official said.
The NYPD official told CNN the department was able to determine the breakdowns by cross-checking records with the universities.
The encampment at UCLA was similar to those that have sprung up at other schools in recent weeks. Protesters chanted slogans, beat drums and ate food provided by donors and served at a central meal tent. Students shared theories about when, and how, the police would eventually raid their camp − something that seemed inevitable given the forces massing on UCLA grounds.
Hours before the move to dismantle the encampment, officers in tactical gear began filing onto the campus as protesters chanted “Peaceful protest” and “We’re not leaving!” and “Who do you protect?” and “Where were you last night?”
Twice before the main push into the encampment, officers had attempted to gain ground inside the Dickson Plaza encampment, where protesters have been camped for several days. At about 1:30 am, a group of 30 or so officers entered the western side of the plaza, only to be quickly surrounded by students who slowly pushed forward as a body and pushed the police back out of the encampment. Another attempt by police to enter the main entrance used by protesters was also quickly blocked by students holding umbrellas and homemade wooden shields.
Shortly after 4 am officers started firing flash bangs into the sky above the protest at the UCLA campus every few seconds, which echoed in deafening bangs. Police then dismantled the main barricade piece-by-piece before moving in as a unit and systematically driving students out of the plaza, arresting those who did not comply.
Some demonstrators, many carrying makeshift shields and umbrellas, tried to block the advancing phalanx of law enforcement while shouting, “push them back” and flashing lights bright at the officers. But others surrendered without incident and were ushered away by police. A USA TODAY reporter witnessed one man gushing blood from a head wound who was rushed by protesters to the medic’s tent, where he was bandaged up before being helped away.
“The UCLA administration has decided to take an approach of criminalizing students who are here trying to talk about what’s going on in Gaza and to talk about Palestinians’ lives,” Graeme Blair, an associate professor of political science and member of Faculty for Justice in Palestine at UCLA, told USA TODAY. “If our mission is a teaching mission, I can’t understand why they would choose to take the actions they have over the last 48 hours.”
Hundreds of US college students arrested this week while protesting the war in Gaza face criminal charges amid encampments, building takeovers and civil unrest. But how those charges play out remains a key question. On Tuesday night, New York police arrested nearly 300 people at Columbia University and the City College of New York. A day earlier, clashes with protesters at the University of Texas in Austin resulted in 79 arrests. Tulane University said 14 protesters were arrested at an “illegal encampment” on the New Orleans campus.
And officers made at least 70 arrests late last week and over the weekend at Arizona State University. But scores of cases at other universities have already been dropped.
Richard Serafini, a South Florida criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, explained that with hundreds of arrests at a mass protest, prosecutors still “have to be able to have the evidence” against each individual.
“You can’t blame someone who just happened to be there,” he said.
− Cybele Mayes-Osterman and Asher Stockler
The student protesters opposed to Israel’s military attacks in Gaza say they want their schools to stop funneling endowment money to Israeli companies and other businesses, like weapons manufacturers, that profit from the war in Gaza. In addition to divestment, protesters are calling for a cease-fire, and student governments at some colleges have also passed resolutions in recent weeks calling for an end to academic partnerships with Israel. The protesters also want the US to stop supplying funding and weapons to the war effort.
More recently, amnesty for students and professors involved in the protests has become an issue. Protesters want protections amid threats of disciplinary action and termination for those participating in demonstrations that may violate campus policy or local laws.
− Claire Thornton
Campus protests across the US: Hundreds were arrested. But will the charges stick?
Contributing: Reuters
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