In a recent protest for Palentines which was held at Emerson College in Boston, more than 100 people were arrested. There has been a consistent wave of demonstrations and protests all around many US campuses and it has become much stronger, and a lot of people have been talking about these events a lot and even prominent figures like House Speaker Mike Johnson have taken notice of it.
Johnson even made this much more interesting by his visit to Columbia University, where there was much more tension after the NYPD was invited to scatter the protests and demonstrations of the students. His call for university president Minouche Shafik To resign even made the whole situation worse, and the pro-Palestines booed him.
At the University of Texas in Austin and the University of Southern California (USC) , there were also similar things that happened. There was another large demonstration there which made the Police and the students clash. Many others spoke about their concerns of Police violence as they saw that the police used rubber bullets on the students.
This crackdown even entered into the California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, where the campus had to shut down itself for a while as the students formed a barricade. The situation grew worse when the police got involved to send the crowd away.
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At Emerson College, students spoke about the fact that they don’t feel safe during the arrests, as the police were handling them roughly. Meanwhile, Columbia University’s protests, initially calling for divestment from weapons manufacturers that were tied to Israel, have made a lot of people arrested and suspended.
Johnson called it a “mob rule” and condemned what he called an increase in anti-Semitism on campuses. He was booed, and was responded to by Governor Kathy Hochul and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The protests primarily involve pro-Palestinian students, including some Jews, saying that their schools should do away with Israel. The demonstrations have gone nationwide, with students demanding for divestment and academic boycotts increasing.
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At New York University and UC Berkeley, protests swelled in size, with demonstrators calling for financial disengagement from companies linked to Israel’s military activities. Clashes between protesters and police intensified, leading to arrests and injuries.
The situation at UT Austin got worse as Students and Police clashed again. A photographer was arrested and a journalist was shot. The Faculty responded with a strike, speaking against the “militarized response” to what they called a peaceful demonstration.
Columbia University remains at the center, with President Shafik extending deadlines for talks with protest leaders. However, Jewish students said they felt marginalized, facing physical obstruction and some form of racism from some demonstrators.
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On President Biden’s New York trip, he refused to visit Columbia. He spoke about the importance of free speech and the safety of students on college campuses.
Everyone talking about this shows a much more interesting view of the public’s views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which further shows how challenging it is to properly articulate societal issues within academic institutions.
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