Universities clamp down on rising tensions as student demonstrations against Israel's assault on Gaza persist for months.
As the academic year winds down, universities across the land are on edge, not just over political unrest but also how they might react to it.
At places like New York and Yale, dozens of protesters demonstrating against the ongoing assault on Gaza have been arrested. At the University of Texas at Austin, officers in riot gear and on horses moved in to disperse a similar gathering. At the University of Southern California, almost a hundred people found themselves behind bars. Emory University in Atlanta saw police use pepper balls to break up a pro-Palestinian action, arresting 28, including several professors. Emerson College in Boston had 108 protesters taken into custody, with four police officers hurt. A total of 91 people - 54 of them students - were arrested and charged with trespassing at Virginia Tech after refusing to disperse as instructed by police.
The recent round of arrests has drawn attention, though colleges have been employing law enforcement, academic suspensions, and even expulsion to control student demonstrations since Hamas' attack on Israel last October left over 1,200 dead and many more taken hostage. Israel's devastating counterattack in Gaza has only intensified passionate views among students and faculty.
Despite assurances that their tactics are peaceful, administrators often brand campus protests as disruptive. Institutions like Indiana University, George Washington University, and California State Polytechnic University's Humboldt campus have used rules about public space to threaten or enforce discipline and even sought police assistance.
Balancing free speech rights and student safety is a challenge for universities. With some students expressing concerns about their safety in the face of rising antisemitism, administrators are being forced to walk a fine line.
Zach Greenberg, from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a non-partisan group defending free speech on college campuses, notes administrators are now quicker to impose consequences than six months ago. Yet, he cautions, bringing in police risks undermining trust between universities and students, who may see officers arresting their peers or professors.
FIRE's Greenberg points out, "It's a dark time for college campuses that may have to do that."
The recent actions by colleges have taken place amidst a global debate over the US role in the Israel-Hamas conflict as well as a heated presidential race and battle for control of Congress, prompting appearances on Capitol Hill by university presidents from both parties seeking to stake out moral and political ground.
Critics see administrators' increasing reliance on police as an unwillingness to truly engage with students and their demands, which typically involve divesting from companies linked to Israel or its military.
Dima Khalidi, executive director of Palestine Legal, notes many disciplinary hearings have been conducted on college campuses. Khalidi called the police response a "concerning and problematic escalation of repression and state violence against students' peaceful protests against an ongoing genocide."
However, Greenberg states, "Many times, the severity of the consequences adds to the persuasive power of the protest."
Demonstrators like Arman Deendar at Brown University in Rhode Island are ready to accept the fallout. "We're out here and we're ready to risk suspension and arrest to put our bodies on the line because we believe that this moment is truly going to change." Joining him is Rafi Ash, a sophomore and member of Jews for Ceasefire Now, who stressed, "The protest is not new at Brown." The university has threatened disciplinary action and police response for violating its Green Space Usage policy.
Ash shared with CNN that he was among 20 students detained during a protest on November 8. The charges against these students were eventually dismissed, but 41 others arrested around the same time are still dealing with charges, a demand that has since been voiced by protesters urging them to be dropped as well.
Ash emphasized they had the same demand as they did back then, which is for their school to divest from companies involved in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. This call for action aligns with the broader goal of the protests.
A far more severe punishment than legal charges is expulsion. This is what happened to Jack Petocz, an 19-year-old freshman, and others, according to the Vanderbilt Divest Coalition, when they participated in a 21-hour sit-in at an administrative office. The sit-in was initiated due to the university's cancellation of a vote that would have limited the coalition's ability to financially support targets of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement. Petocz mentions that during the sit-in, students were cut off from accessing food, water, bathrooms, and medical care. Several protesters were arrested, including Petocz himself, and numerous other students also received disciplinary actions ranging from suspension to probation.
Petocz shared his shock at this turn of events since he had dreamed of attending Vanderbilt University, which would have been the first in his family to achieve a bachelor's degree. However, his U.S. Privacy Act had prevented the university from discussing the disciplinary actions it took against the students, citing a statement it sent out saying that students had "forcibly entered" the building on March 26 and that three of them faced misdemeanor assault charges for pushing a community service officer and a staff member.
The school's statement went on to say that the vote on the BDS resolution hadn't moved forward due to potential conflicts with federal and state laws. Petocz highlights his past experiences with opposing the "Don't Say Gay" bill in Florida, resulting in his suspension during high school. He believes that his history as an activist is a reason for why he was enrolled at Vanderbilt in the first place, wondering if the school simply wants to make an example of him.
Other universities that have suspended students for similar reasons include Barnard College, located in New York, as well as Harvard University in Massachusetts and Pomona College, a part of Southern California's seven Claremont Colleges. Prior to April 3, high-level intervention from administrators was absent from protests led by Pomona Divest from Apartheid, a coalition of various student groups pushing for divestment. However, the president of Pomona College and his team expressed their distaste for "harassment targeting visitors to our campus" and signaled a willingness to take disciplinary actions against students who continue to violate the student code.
In a dramatic change of events, staff and security personnel at Pomona College began dismantling an "apartheid wall" where pro-Palestinian demonstrators had assembled. These events eventually resulted in a sit-in at Alexander Hall, with Samson Zhang, a student journalist at Pomona College, noting that he "never seen this kind of militarized police force used against students and student protesters who were not a threat". Claremont Police reported 19 arrests for trespassing at the request of the administration, while one other individual was detained for "obstructing/delaying an officer". Those enrolled in Pomona College who were among the arrestees were suspended; some have successfully challenged these suspension orders, but others continue to be suspended.
Other U.S. universities have also enforced punishments tied to pro-Palestinian protests. The University of Southern California canceled their main commencement ceremony in May after initially canceling the commencement speech of their Muslim valedictorian.
The president of the University of Michigan has criticized protesters who interrupted the school's 101st Honors Convocation in March, stating that the institute is reassessing rules and gathering feedback for a new policy regarding the disruption of university operations, including academic and social events.
However, this action hasn't dissuaded the Transparency, Accountability, Humanity, Reparations, Investment, and Resistance (TAHRIR) Coalition, the group that organized the demonstration during the ceremony, demanding the university to disinvest from all companies and institutions supporting Israel's military and economy.
Shubh Agrawal, a TAHRIR spokesperson, declared that it's "horrifying to see what's happening." The coalition has held protests since the fall, including one that resulted in student arrests during a sit-in aimed at requesting a meeting with school officials concerning divestment.
Agrawal claimed that police were confrontational. The arrests of 40 individuals who entered a locked building, according to university spokesperson Colleen Mastony, were preceded by numerous warnings; two police officers sustained injuries, according to Mastony.
Nevertheless, the coalition continues to stand firm: About 100 students established a campground on campus and plan to remain until the university disinvested, Agrawal said, determined to "stay here for the long haul."
"We'll do what we have to do," Agrawal added.
'Students take seriously their role'
Civil rights organizations encourage universities to be prudent in handling protests, acknowledging protesters' rights to free speech: The New York Civil Liberties Union responded to arrests at New York University with, "City and campus officials should distinguish between controversial speech, which aids students and society, and actual threats."
"Officials should not equate criticism of Israel with antisemitism or use hate incidents as an excuse to silence political views they find disagreeable," the organization stated.
Nevertheless, there are boundaries to free speech. It ceases at violence, according to Bob Greenberg of the Anti-Defamation League. Schools have a "responsibility" to maintain security and safety, he said, and perhaps at disruption.
Some argue that not all pro-Palestinian protesters intend to engage in honest dialogues. Adam Lehman, president and CEO of Hillel International, labeled the free speech justification a "red herring."
"Sadly, numerous students who sympathize with Palestinians – ideally they also empathize with Israelis, victims of numerous assaults, including 9/11 and others – are being hijacked into a political movement marked by hateful, discriminatory, and violent speech and actual harassment and violence spawned from these protests," Lehman explained to CNN's Dana Bash.
Suppressing dissent on campus and the ongoing US military aid to Israel signals to Palestinian students and their allies that they're not important, according to Palestine Legal's Khalidi. Still, they remain resolute, understanding "what's at stake here."
"They recognize they are morally in the right," she said. "They comprehend the significance of their involvement in a long tradition of student activism for justice, from the anti-Vietnam War movement to the civil rights movement and more."
"We see that students appreciate their part, their moral duty to speak out and mobilize their communities to combat injustice," Khalidi concluded. "And in the future, history will commend them."
Correction: A previous version of this story misused the pronoun for Arman Deendar, who uses they/them.
CNN's Nicquel Terry Ellis, Chelsea Bailey, Isabel Rosales, and Devon Sayers contributed to this report.
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