Protests against the war in Gaza are currently disrupting dozens of university campuses across the United States, many of them prestigious and well-regarded universities. Why do students set up tents and refuse to go out? What exactly do they want to achieve?
Tensions quickly escalated at American universities following the October 7 Hamas attack, which left about 1,200 people dead in Israel and more than 34,000 Palestinians killed in retaliatory attacks.
But over the past two weeks, those tensions have boiled over into riots that have joined the ranks of the Occupy Wall Street movement and the anti-apartheid movement of the 1980s and evoked memories of protests against the Vietnam War.
Amidst all the historical comparisons, university administrators, law enforcement, and politicians are grappling with how to curtail a nationwide uprising in a new era dominated by social media and 24-hour news. I'm letting you do it.
Why are students protesting?
Since October, students have launched rallies, sit-ins, hunger strikes, and recently camps to protest the war.
They provide financial assistance to schools, many of which have large endowments. withdrawal from israel. Divestment means selling or otherwise dissolving a financial relationship.
Student activists argue that companies doing business in or with Israel are complicit in the ongoing war in Gaza, as are the universities that invest in those companies.
University endowments fund everything from research labs to scholarships, and most use the proceeds from investments of millions or even billions of dollars. They own stocks in big companies from Amazon to Microsoft, and invest money in private equity, hedge funds, and index funds.
What happened at Columbia University?
To understand what's going on, let's look back to last December, when Ivy League leaders testified before Congress about anti-Semitism on campus. The seemingly inexplicable situation has left officials in limbo and led to the resignations of the presidents of Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania.
Last week, Columbia University President Nemat Shafik, who has come under fire for his handling of the campus department regarding the war, sat in a high-profile seat on Capitol Hill and said he has far more to say about anti-Semitism than his own president. He took a tough stance.
While she traveled to Washington to testify, hundreds of students camped in tents in the heart of the New York City campus, demanding a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and calling on university leaders to move away from Israel. called for a withdrawal.
By the second day of the camp, city police were called in to disperse and clear the protests. More than 100 students have been arrested for trespassing, many have been suspended from school and now face possible criminal charges.
The raid appears to have angered and emboldened the protesters, and student activists have regrouped and organized on campus via social media.
With classes ending next month and final exams just around the corner, these Occupy-style tactics led schools to close all in-person classes on Monday and encourage faculty and staff to work remotely. Protests continue.
Where else are students protesting?
Similar camps have now started at private and public universities in at least 16 states and Washington, D.C., in response to the escalating crisis at Columbia University. they are:
- emory
- northwest
- George Washington
- george town
- yale university
- brown
- new york university
- California State Polytechnic Institute, Humboldt
- University of California, Berkeley
- University of Southern California
- University of Washington
- new school
- Harvard University
- emerson college
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- tufts
- University of Rochester
- University of Pittsburgh
- kennesaw state
- Vanderbilt
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte
- University of Texas at Austin
- rice
- florida
- University of Minnesota
- Ohio
- University of Miami (Ohio)
- University of Michigan
Why did USC cancel graduation?
On Thursday, the University of Southern California announced it had canceled its main stage graduation ceremony for students in response to protests on campus.
Officials said the May 10 event, which was scheduled for about 65,000 students and their guests, could no longer take place because new safety measures would be required.
The school added that it had received several threats to disrupt the ceremony.
Asna Tabassum, a South Asian Muslim student chosen by the school to be its valedictorian, or high-achieving graduate, had previously been barred from giving the event's traditional valedictorian speech. The school also cited safety concerns.
Were the protests effective?
Pro-Palestinian campus groups have long urged their institutions to support Palestine. Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movementas a means to strike back against Israel.
Although some universities have cut off certain financial relationships in the past, no U.S. university has ever committed to a BDS framework.
In practice, endowment portfolios are often managed by asset managers rather than the universities themselves, and information about stock market positions is closely guarded. But student activists are pushing for more transparency about these funds, even if they do not actively or directly invest in Israel.
And while divestment has had little, if any, impact on the war in Gaza, those profiting from the war, just as divestment from fossil fuel companies has fueled climate change activity. Protesters say it will help shine a light on the issue and raise awareness of the issue. .
Organizers also appear to be drawing inspiration from the 1980s, when university students targeted companies doing business in apartheid South Africa, ultimately forcing more than 150 schools to leave the country.
The past two weeks of events have not been very successful so far.