The pro-Palestinian protests spread on Thursday (04/25/2024) to more university campuses in the United States, while the authorities seemed to be running out of patience and the police began to respond forcefully, while some universities such as USC chose to close and cancel your graduation ceremony.
Riot officers used chemical irritants and stun guns at an Atlanta university as administrators at some of the country’s most prestigious institutions struggled to prevent sit-ins or canceled graduation ceremonies.
With sit-ins and rowdy demonstrations, activists are calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, as well as for universities to sever ties with the country and companies they say profit from the conflict. .
UCLA students join protest
At the University of California (UCLA) in Los Angeles, more than 200 students set up a camp with about 30 tents, surrounded by banners.
“For 201 days, the world has watched in silence as Israel has murdered more than 30,000 Palestinians,” protest organizers said in an online message.
“Today, UCLA joins students across the country in demanding that our universities divest from companies that profit from the occupation, apartheid, and genocide in Palestine.”
At Columbia University in favor of Israel
Meanwhile, on the west coast at Columbia University in New York, hundreds of pro-Israel protesters demonstrated outside the campus located in northern Manhattan, which for more than a week has been occupied by a camp of students calling for the end of the war in Gaza.
The demonstration, which was called online with a simple slogan – “I am with Israel” – brought together hundreds of people who, equipped with the flags of the Jewish state and also Americans, dedicated themselves to circling the building, cheering on Israel. and to the United States.
The police deployment was very numerous and was mainly intended to separate the protesters from some pro-Palestinian students who confronted them, although no violence was felt between them at any time.
USC cancels graduation ceremony
Meanwhile, on the west coast, the University of Southern California (USC) announced this Thursday that it canceled the main 2024 graduation ceremony, following the arrest of dozens of students in a protest on Wednesday night over Israel’s war. against Gaza.
In this way, the best student of the year, the Muslim Asna Tabassum, will not be able to give her graduation speech.
In a statement, the university explained that for security reasons “we will not be able to accommodate” the nearly 65,000 attendees at the ceremony that was scheduled for the morning of May 10.
The cancellation of the ceremony caps two weeks of stumbles for USC, one of the most prestigious universities in the Western United States, after the chancellor, Andrew T. Guzmán, canceled Tabassum’s speech citing anonymous threats, but not indicated who they were directed against.
The decision sparked protests from students, USC faculty, and civil and political rights groups, including Democratic congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.
USC chose to leave the campus closed “until further notice.”
Police used chemicals against protesters in Atlanta
Meanwhile, on the Emory University campus in Atlanta (southeast), protesters were forcibly evicted by police, who even threw some of them to the ground to arrest them.
The Atlanta police admitted to using “chemical irritants” in response to the “violence” of some of the protesters.
Despite this, the protest movement increases.
In Austin, nearly 2,000 students demonstrated Thursday on the campus of the University of Texas, chanting “Free Palestine.” Near one of the pro-Gaza rallies, around thirty students organized a counter-demonstration.
jc (afp, efe, ap)
