April 27, 2024 (EIRNS)—Before the ink even dries on stories about campus protests against the genocide in Gaza, the numbers are obsolete, but according to figures published by the New York Times as of Saturday morning they could confirm anti-genocide protests in at least 75 U.S. colleges and universities. The demonstrations are also now spreading overseas to multiple locations in at least four other countries. The Times also reported they had documented at least 700 arrests of students, professors, and even a few pedestrians who were not participating in the protests. Facebook and other social media – both in the United States and internationally—are filled with video clips and testimonials of large vocal rallies, marches, sit-ins, camp-outs, and other activities.
Videos of police using tasers, tear gas, rubber bullets, on peaceful protesters at Emory University on April 25 have caused particular shock around the world. Jewish Voice for Peace-Atlanta reported: “Police violently escalated an entirely peaceful encampment by storming in with riot gear and chemical weapons to arrest and forcibly disperse students.”
Tenured professors at Emory called for the president of the university to resign over the decision to call in the police. The American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to leaders at public and private universities on April 25 demanding restraint: “As you fashion responses to the activism of your students (and faculty and staff), it is essential that you not sacrifice principles of academic freedom and free speech that are core to the educational mission of your respected institution,” said the letter from the ACLU’s executive director Anthony D. Romero and its National Legal Director David Cole.
