CHICAGO (AP) — Police said Tuesday that a parent at the University of Chicago had been arrested after officials, who had initially taken a lenient approach, said protests had crossed the line and raised safety concerns. The Palestinian tent encampment was cleared.
University President Paul Alivisatos acknowledged the school's role as a champion of free speech after police in riot gear blocked access to the school's quad, but said enough is enough. I also took a stance.
In a message to the university community, Alibisatos said, “While universities remain places with many avenues for expressing dissent, the expression of a few views can dominate and threaten the health of the rest of the community.'' We cannot create an environment that interferes with the functions of .
Tensions continue to rise as standoffs with protesters erupt on campuses across the country. increasingly in Europe — almost 3 weeks He joined a movement started by protests at Columbia University. Some universities immediately cracked down on antigovernment movements. israel-hamas war. Some students who had tolerated camping in tents have lost patience and started calling the police, concerned about disruption to campus life, safety, and involvement of non-students.
AP correspondent Haya Panjwani reported that Jewish groups on college campuses are condemning anti-Semitism displayed at protests on Israeli-Palestinian campuses.
More than 2,600 people have been arrested on 50 campuses since April 18, a figure based on reporting by The Associated Press and statements from universities and law enforcement agencies.
But not all schools have taken that approach, with some letting protesters hold rallies or organize camps if necessary.
The president of Wesleyan University, a liberal arts school in Connecticut, praised the campus demonstration, which included a pro-Palestinian tent encampment, as an act of political expression. The camp there has grown from about 20 tents a week ago to more than 100.
“The protesters' cause is important and draws attention to the killing of innocent people,” President Michael Ross said in a letter to the campus community Thursday. “And we will continue to create space for them to do so, as long as that space does not interfere with campus operations.”
Rhode Island School of Design, where students began occupying the building on Monday, affirms students' rights to free speech and peaceful assembly and supports all members of the community, a spokesperson said in a statement. said the person. The school said President Crystal Williams spent more than five hours that night discussing her demands with protesters.
The school announced Tuesday that classes that were scheduled to be held in the building will be relocated. Posters reading “Liberate Palestine'' and “Let Gaza Live'' were pasted, and doves were drawn in colored chalk on the sidewalks.
Campuses have tried tactics ranging from appeasement to threats of disciplinary action to resolve protests. Pave the way to the beginning.
What you need to know on Tuesday
In Gaza: Authorities say an Israeli tank brigade has taken control of the Gaza Strip side of the Rafah border with Egypt as Israel threatens to launch a broader offensive on the southern city. Follow us for live updates.
Ceasefire proposal: Hamas announced on Monday that it had accepted a ceasefire offer from Egypt and Qatar, but Israel said the deal did not meet its core demands and was pressing ahead with plans to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Still, Israel said it would continue negotiations. Here's what's on the table for ceasefire negotiations:
On campus: German police on Tuesday broke up a protest by hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists who had occupied a courtyard. Early morning at Free University of Berlin.And in the US, police cleared a pro-Palestinian tent encampment. at the University of Chicago.
Hundreds of protesters gathered at the University of Chicago for at least eight days before administrators warned them to leave or leave on Friday. On Tuesday, law enforcement cleared the encampment.
Officers then picked up barricades that had been set up to keep protesters out of the quad and moved them toward the protesters, some of whom chanted, “Stand up for liberation.” Stop the occupation! ” Police and protesters pushed back and forth along the barricades as officers moved to restore control.
Officials at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill told deans and deans on Monday that some students had been contacted by faculty members who objected to the suspension of student protesters to have their grades withheld.
The school governor's office said it supports “sanctions against instructors found to have unfairly withheld grades.”
At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, protesters were given a deadline to voluntarily expel or be suspended. After demonstrators arrived from outside the university, demonstrators broke through the fence and many people left, an MIT spokesperson said.Dozens of people on Monday night remained in the camp For a more calm atmosphere.
MIT officials announced the next day that dozens of interim suspensions and referrals to disciplinary committees were underway, and that steps were being taken to ensure “the safety of the community.”
Sam Innes, a graduate student studying mechanical engineering and a member of MIT Jews for a Ceasefire, said the group has been on the ground for two weeks calling for an end to the killings in Gaza.
“In particular, our camp protests MIT's direct research relationship with the Israeli Ministry of Defense,” he said.
Many of the protesters want the school to divest from companies that do business with Israel or otherwise contribute to the war effort. Some simply want to draw attention to the death toll in Gaza and the end of the war.
Wesleyan senior Uday Narayanan said Wesleyan students are prepared to protest all summer long if necessary to get their demands met.
“Our tuition fees are still being spent on Palestinian atrocities,” said the 21-year-old physics major. “So at the end of the day, even if the president says, 'Oh, I'm not going to call the police,' it's still not enough to just say, 'Oh, I'm not going to hit a student.' That's not the bare minimum for us.
And as Wesleyan's May 26 graduation ceremony approaches, some protesters fear they will be forcibly removed from the center of campus, adjacent to the grounds where the ceremony will take place. There is.
“The longer they're here, the more their laid-back, hands-off façade wears off,” said Batya Klein, a 22-year-old graduate student. She said, “We know the university doesn't want us here, and we know they can change the pace at a moment's notice without letting us know.”
Frank Straub, senior director of violence prevention at the nonprofit advocacy group Safe and Sound Schools, said this protest and previous protests have involved universities, police, and protesters working together to establish ground rules. He said that this shows the need for early dialogue between the two parties.
Straub said, for example, Wesleyan should have discussions about the start of classes and the whereabouts of protesters, and should have a response plan in place to respond non-violently if protesters want to make arrests. Ta.
“Protests are hostile by their nature, but I think it is possible to control adversity,” he added. “And I think the more campus officials engage with protesters and the more police come into the conversation, the more important that is.”
The protests stem from the conflict that began on October 7 when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 hostages.
Pledging to annihilate Hamas, Israel launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip that killed more than 34,500 Palestinians, about two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled area's health ministry. Ta. The enclave was destroyed by Israeli military attacks and most of the population was evacuated.
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LeBlanc reported from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Associated Press journalists from the U.S. and around the world contributed, including Jeff Amy, Christopher Weber, Mike Corder, Barbara Sirk, Rick Callahan, Sarah Brumfield and Pietro de Cristofaro.