Student protests at Columbia University. Photo: AFP.
Protesters at Columbia University in New York, the epicenter of growing student dissent against the war in Gaza, were given a deadline Thursday to dismantle their camps as protests and arrests escalated across the country.
At Columbia, the scene of more than 100 arrests in recent days, school president Minouche Shafik warned students that if the tents are not removed by Friday “we will have to consider alternative options to clear the area and restore calm on campus.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson lashed out Thursday at Columbia protesters who booed him during his visit to the University a day earlier. Johnson had criticized the students and teachers who participated in the protest and called for Shafik to resign.
Across the country, demonstrators are protesting the civilian death toll in Gaza, where more than 34,000 people have been killed during Israel’s invasion. The students oppose US military aid to Israel and want their schools to stop investing money and giving donations to Israeli companies.
At UCLA, Students for Justice in Palestine set up camp Thursday on Royce Quad. “We will not leave until our demands are met,” the group said in an Instagram post.
Two Princeton University graduate students were arrested for breaking and entering. Their tents were dismantled Thursday after dozens of students attended a demonstration, the university said.
About 70 students from Washington, D.C., area universities, including Georgetown and George Washington University, formed a 25-tent camp on the GW campus early Thursday morning. They are protesting their schools’ investment of funds in companies that do business with Israel.
In Boston, Emerson College President Jay Bernhardt canceled classes Thursday “as we respond to and process the events of last night.” Police spokesman Michael Torigian said 108 arrests were made. Four officers were injured Wednesday night when police broke up an encampment.
The University of Southern California declared its campus closed and asked the Los Angeles Police Department to clear a demonstration. Campus police broke up an encampment, and Los Angeles police said late Wednesday that 93 people were arrested for trespassing and one for assault with a deadly weapon. No injuries were reported.
