Students at universities across the U.S. and Canada are protesting for Palestinian human rights, demanding divestment from companies profiting from the conflict and transparency regarding investments. Many universities have allowed protests on campus but cracked down on encampments, resulting in arrests at colleges like USC and Northeastern. At the University of Southern California, protests led to vandalism on campus and disruptions to normal operations, while the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is at a stalemate after negotiations with student protesters fell through.
Emerson College faced 118 arrests as officers moved in on a campus encampment, but President Jay Bernhardt said the college will not bring disciplinary charges against the protesters. At the University of Mary Washington, 12 people were arrested, including nine students, for trespassing after an encampment was prohibited. Northeastern University saw about 100 people detained at a pro-Palestinian protest, with the administration citing the use of anti-Semitic slurs as justification for the arrests, a claim disputed by the leading student organization behind the protest, Huskies for a Free Palestine.
At Columbia University, pro-Palestinian protests continued into the second weekend with talks between protesters and the administration at a standstill. Portland State University announced a pause on receiving gifts or grants from Boeing following accusations of complicity in the occupation and genocide in Palestine. 72 people were arrested at Arizona State University related to setting up an encampment, mostly by individuals not affiliated with the university. Indiana University saw 23 people arrested after protesters were warned to remove tents violating university policy.
At Washington University in St. Louis, over 80 arrests were made after students, employees, and others refused to leave following a protest and encampment. Protests at universities have gained support from various communities, with Palestinian students showing solidarity with protests at Harvard, Yale, and other universities. Despite crackdowns on encampments and arrests at several campuses, protests for Palestinian human rights and divestment from companies profiting from the conflict continue to resonate with students across North American universities.
