From Columbia to UCLA: 19 Universities’ Responses to Campus Protests

College campuses across the United States have seen massive upheaval due to pro-Palestinian protests.

Columbia University, the school with likely the most high-profile protest encampment, was forced to navigate difficult circumstances with the nation watching. The school has been criticized by people on both sides of the issue, and many other colleges now share the spotlight.

Some have cracked down on protesters, some compromised, and others have not acted very harshly in either direction.

The Washington Examiner decided to categorize those colleges’ choices.

Swift and successful

Arizona State University — Mass arrests; encampments not allowed

Arizona State saw police arrest at least 72 people, with only 15 students included, and students in fraternities helped police tear down encampments.

“While the university will continue to be an environment that embraces freedom of speech, ASU’s first priority is to create a safe and secure environment that supports teaching and learning,” ASU officials said in a statement.

University of Texas at Austin — Mass arrests; weapons confiscated

79 people were arrested at UT at Austin, and the college said protesters had weapons like “guns, buckets of large rocks, bricks, steel-enforced wood planks, mallets, and chains” in their possession.

“The University of Texas learned Tuesday that, of the 79 people arrested on our campus Monday, 45 had no affiliation with UT Austin,” the school said in a statement. “These numbers validate our concern that much of the disruption on campus over the past week has been orchestrated by people from outside the University, including groups with ties to escalating protests at other universities around the country.”

Ohio State University — Continued protests after police denied encampment

University police officers stifled attempts to create an encampment at Ohio State because tent camping was not allowed in a section of the campus. Another protest is scheduled for Wednesday night in the same area.

“As a public university, demonstrations, protests and disagreement regularly occur on our campus — so much so that we have trained staff and public safety professionals on-site for student demonstrations for safety and to support everyone’s right to engage in these activities,” Ohio State President Ted Carter said. “Sadly, in recent days, I have watched significant safety issues be created by encampments on other campuses across our nation. These situations have caused in-person learning and commencement ceremonies to be canceled. Ohio State’s campus will not be overtaken in this manner.”

University of Georgia — 16 arrested after short-lived encampment

A Georgia encampment only lasted an hour and a half before police arrested demonstrators.

“Let us make it abundantly clear that while the University of Georgia staunchly supports freedom of expression, we will not cede control of our campus to groups that refuse to abide by University policy and threaten the safety of those who live, work and study here,” Georgia’s administration said in a statement. “The University of Georgia remains an institution where ideas, viewpoints, and scholarship can be openly expressed and debated.”

Virginia Commonwealth University — 13 people arrested

Police clashed with protesters in an encampment that didn’t last a full day before officials took down structures that violated school policy.

“While our community cherishes the right to peaceful protest, setting up structures on our campus lawn violated our policy,” VCU President Michael Rao said. “Our staff respectfully and repeatedly asked individuals to comply. As has happened on other campuses around the country, conflict between police and protesters took place.”

Arrests after escalation

Virginia Tech University — 82 protesters arrested

After protesters occupied the Graduate Life Center lawn for three days, police arrested 82 demonstrators for trespassing.

“Last night, 82 protesters (largely students) were arrested for trespassing after occupying the Graduate Life Center lawn for three days and repeatedly refusing to comply with university policy and public safety regulations,” VT President Tim Sands said. “While I am grateful the incident was resolved peacefully by Virginia Tech Police, I was saddened by the way our officers were treated. I am also deeply disappointed to see members of our community choose uncivil and unlawful behavior over purposeful engagement in difficult conversations and robust debate that should be part of the Virginia Tech experience.”

Northeastern University — Nearly 100 protesters arrested

A combination of factors led Northeastern to clear out a several-day-old encampment and arrest nearly 100 demonstrators.

“It is important to note that all protesters were provided with several advance notices that the encampment would be dismantled,” Northeastern Chancellor Ken Henderson and Provost David Madigan said. “Protesters were offered several opportunities to leave the area and face no legal consequences. Many people took advantage of those opportunities. Those who refused to leave were detained by police.”

University of Wisconsin-Madison — Violent confrontation with protesters, tents taken down and put back up

An update on the UW encampment demonstration. Seventeen tents are standing and hundreds of protesters are sitting on the lawn. Library Mall is peaceful pic.twitter.com/iz1dFngsvo

— Cat Carroll (@cgcarroll23) May 1, 2024

Wisconsin police cracked down on a university encampment on the third day of protests and faced formidable resistance from protesters, with the clash growing violent. After taking down encampment tents, protesters later replaced them.

“Every individual was given the opportunity to move away from the tent area and continue peaceful protest,” UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin wrote. “I cannot emphasize strongly enough our support for free expression and peaceful protest. Now that the illegal activity has been resolved, students and others are free to resume peaceful protest that abides by campus protest guidelines today or at any time in the future.”

University of Connecticut — 24 students arrested, one former student

An encampment on its fifth day of existence was cleared after officials found multiple problems with the camp as “safety, health, and basic community standards need to be recognized and maintained.”

“The group was warned multiple times over a period of days that while they were free to be in the space and exercise their free speech rights, the guidelines needed to be followed and the tents needed to be taken down,” a spokeswoman for the school said. “This was ignored.”

“UConn Police directed them four times on Tuesday morning to remove the tents and disperse, and they again repeatedly ignored the directives. Officers then entered the site to remove the tents and tarps, and to arrest those who refused compliance,” she added.

Columbia — Administrators passive in addressing, then order New York Police Department arrests after building break-in

Columbia was the site of one of the first pro-Palestine encampments, and the university mostly hesitated to deploy the NYPD until protesters breached an academic building. Once the university gave the go-ahead, police arrested over a hundred protesters at Columbia.

“Because my first responsibility is safety, with the support of the University’s Trustees, I made the decision to ask the New York City Police Department to intervene to end the occupation of Hamilton Hall and dismantle the main encampment along with a new, smaller encampment,” Columbia President Minouche Shafik said in a statement. “These actions were completed Tuesday night, and I thank the NYPD for their incredible professionalism and support.”

California State Polytechnic University at Humboldt — Arrested protesters after administrative building occupied

Protesters occupied an administration building, causing a campus shutdown and at least 25 people to be arrested.

President Tom Jackson Jr. described the occupation as “serious criminal activity that crossed the line well beyond the level of a protest.”

“I commend the law enforcement team for their effort in resolving this very dangerous situation, and I’m incredibly grateful for the many agencies who advised us and who came to our aid in our time of need,” he said. “Our focus for the entire time has been on doing all we could do to protect the safety of all involved, and we were very patient and very disciplined with that.”

University of Florida — Small amount of arrests on campus encampment

A five-day occupation of the campus ended when police acted on the university’s warnings toward protesters.

“This is not complicated: The University of Florida is not a daycare,” a UF spokesman said. “We do not treat protestors like children — they knew the rules, they broke the rules, and they’ll face the consequences.”

Unique responses

Northwestern University — Reached an agreement

Northwestern’s administration came to an agreement with protesters that they would form an advisory committee on university investments and other commitments in exchange for protesters halting demonstrations.

“This agreement represents a sustainable and de-escalated path forward, and enhances the safety of all members of the Northwestern community while providing space for free expression that complies with University rules and policies,” a statement from President Michael Schill, Provost Kathleen Hagerty, and Vice President for Student Affairs Susan Davis, said.

University of South Florida – Tear gas used amid 10 arrests, protest planned off campus

Police used tear gas on protesters to disperse them as law enforcement said protesters intended to use weapons against them. A protester was found with a gun, according to police.

USF PROTESTS: Police have moved in on the protesters with what appears to be tear gas. Protesters then scattered around the campus as police moved their line up to take over the area where the protesters were holding up. Get the latest on the USF protests: https://t.co/YCV8QHGAPH pic.twitter.com/WR4Fym1pSo

— Spectrum Bay News 9 (@BN9) April 30, 2024

“The University of South Florida values the right to free speech and protecting the constitutional right for individuals and groups on campus to express themselves,” a USF spokesperson said in a statement to WFLA.

“This includes peaceful protests and demonstrations that occur regularly on USF’s three campuses without incident and are part of the public discourse of a university. However, the expression of free speech must remain peaceful and not violate the law or USF policies. The university has been clear the violence, threats, harassment and disruptions will not be tolerated,” they continued.

Yale University — No arrests made as encampment cleared

Yale managed to compromise with protesters and got them to leave without any arrests.

“Yale personnel issued final warnings that protesters in an encampment set up on Sunday afternoon on Yale’s Cross Campus must end the encampment or face discipline including suspension for violating university rules and arrest for trespassing,” a university statement reads. “All the protesters chose to leave the encampment, and the university is in the process of clearing tents and other items from the area.”

Emory University — Mass arrests follow growing encampment and misinformation

Emory quickly cleared an encampment last week before new protests cropped up on Wednesday.

“Based on the information we had early Thursday morning, we determined that the individuals who constructed the encampment on our Quad were not members of our community,” Emory President Gregory Fenves said. “It is clear to us now that this information was not fully accurate, and I apologize for that mischaracterization. My goal was to remove a growing encampment, as allowing such an encampment would have been highly disruptive, affecting everything from classes and exams to our ability to hold Commencement. I remain firm that such encampments cannot be permitted at Emory.”

Protestors have entered the undergraduate admissions building at Emory University. Here’s a first look at what’s happening inside from our photographer on the ground. @FOX5Atlanta https://t.co/KbvCuPaJeP

— Christine Sperow FOX 5 (@ChristineOnTV) May 1, 2024

Moderate to little action taken

University of Southern California — Swastikas found; commencement canceled

An encampment has endured at USC, and tensions forced the cancellation of the university’s commencement ceremony days after the university said the pro-Palestinian valedictorian would not be allowed to address the school.

A photo was also taken of a swastika on a campus fence post.

“The students said at the end they wouldn’t have considered this meeting a win from their perspective, and I can fully appreciate that,” President Carol Folt said in a statement after she met with protest organizers. “For me, the most important point was that we were starting to talk, and I think that was vital. I felt like they were being honest and telling me how they felt, which was very meaningful.”

University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign — Encampment persists; two unaffiliated men arrested

Illinois refused to take strict action against protesters on their campus, though two men who are not affiliated with the school were arrested and charged with mob action.

“Despite our continued efforts throughout the day to ensure those who were participating were fully informed of the policies and rules that they needed to follow to continue their activities, the participants refused to adhere to them,” Chancellor Robert Jones and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost John Coleman said in a statement.

“This afternoon, when university police officers attempted to escort university staff into the area to remove the encampment structures violating university policy, members of the demonstrating group prevented their entry and physically resisted,” they added. “This included use of pieces of lumber as well as other physical tools and objects to push the officers back. Our officers made the decision to deescalate the situation and stepped back to reduce the risk of injury to themselves or the demonstrators.”

University of California at Los Angeles — Rival protest attacks encampment, police intervene

Counterprotesters assaulted a pro-Palestine encampment on Tuesday as police arrived to quell tensions. Classes were canceled Wednesday as a result.

Chaos erupted on UCLA campus, turning peaceful protests into a war zone. From pepper spray to clashes overnight, the situation escalated quickly. Stay with FOX 11 as we provide continued coverage both on air and online. MORE: https://t.co/FrMVEY98u7 pic.twitter.com/gV86zAjo7t

— FOX 11 Los Angeles (@FOXLA) May 1, 2024

“Many of the demonstrators, as well as counter-demonstrators who have come to the area, have been peaceful in their activism. But the tactics of others have frankly been shocking and shameful. We have seen instances of violence completely at odds with our values as an institution dedicated to respect and mutual understanding,” he added.

Read More From Original Article Here: Columbia to UCLA: How 19 universities have responded to campus protests