According to figures cited in the [Washington Post](www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/05/01/columbia-university-protests-palestine-live/) 1,600 people have been arrested at college campuses across the United States over the last two weeks. However, the arrests have politically backfired, and are merely causing more and bigger protests the next day. Most of the student unrest can be traced back to the first large arrests at Columbia University on April 18. Even the mainstream College Democrats of America, who are considered loyal to Biden, issued a statement warning the President that “each day that the Democrats fail to stand united for a permanent ceasefire, two-state solution, and recognition of a Palestinian state, more and more youth find themselves disillusioned with the party.”
Others are demanding even harsher crackdowns. A congressional committee has called D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith to testify as to why they decided not to use police force to close down the peaceful protest at George Washington University on April 27. A press release from the committee reads that the GWU protest was “radical, anti-Semitic, and unlawful.”
Although information is changing rapidly, below is a sample of the campus activity in the U.S. and abroad.
New York City police took away “standing room only” busloads of arrested students and activists (about 300 total) on April 30 from Columbia and City College of New York (CCNY). Police had body armor and riot shields as they cleared Hamilton Hall at Columbia.
Washington University in St. Louis: Professor Steve Tamari was beaten, causing one hand and several ribs to be broken, as seen in a video he made of the April 30 protest. While he was filming, a cop or security guard pointed him out, and several police descended on him for no apparent reason, pushed him to the ground, beating him. He is in the hospital and under arrest.
University of Wisconsin-Madison: Police arrested 12 and cleared the encampment on Library Mall.
Portland State University, Oregon: The library remains occupied.
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill: 6 arrested and 30 given “trespass” citations.
