For the past month, a growing number of college students across the country have set up pro-Palestine encampments and demanded that their schools divest from Israel amid the ongoing war in Gaza. University administrators and police have cracked down on the protests, arresting students and threatening protesters with consequences including being banned from campus, evicted from university housing, suspension, and expulsion. As of May 2, police had arrested more than 1,700 people on over 30 college campuses across the country. The situation continued to escalate this week, with police raiding campuses in riot gear and counterprotesters storming an encampment at UCLA. Since Monday, more than 800 people have been arrested in connection with student protests across the country. Here’s a breakdown of what’s happening where.
California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt
Officers in riot gear arrested 32 people at Cal Poly Humboldt on April 30 and cleared a building that had been occupied by student protesters for eight days. The takeover of Siemens Hall, where the office of the university’s president is located, had led the administration to announce it was shutting down the entire campus until May 10, one day before commencement. The people arrested faced a wide array of charges, including unlawful assembly, vandalism, conspiracy, and assault of police officers, the school said.
City College of New York
The NYPD arrested 173 people at City College in Harlem on April 30 after demonstrators attempted to occupy an administrative building. The City University of New York (CUNY) said it requested the NYPD’s assistance after a crowd of protesters marching from Columbia to City College grew in size. Police arrested demonstrators who tried to take over the building before moving on to apprehend protesters in the encampment at the school’s quad. Following the arrests, City College president Vince Boudreau announced classes and other campus operations will be conducted online until further notice.
Columbia University
New York police arrested 109 people at Columbia on April 30, nearly two weeks after student protesters set up a pro-Palestinian encampment on the school’s main lawn. Officers in riot gear entered the campus around 9 p.m. and administration urged students to shelter in place while the NYPD conducted its raid. Dozens of arrests took place at Hamilton Hall, which demonstrators had occupied the night before. (The arrests took place on the 56th anniversary of anti-war protesters being detained after taking the building.) Within two hours, police had cleared Hamilton Hall and two encampments on the main lawn. The school administration asked the NYPD to remain on campus until May 17, two days after commencement.
Dartmouth College
Police arrested 90 people and dismantled an encampment at Dartmouth College on May 1. Those arrested face charges including trespassing and resisting arrest. Among them was history professor Annelise Orleck, who told the Washington Post that she was rushed by several state troopers while videoing the scene. “Brutal is the word that I’m using. It was punitive,” the 65-year-old said of her arrest.
Florida State University
Campus police arrested five people who tried to set up camp at Florida State University on April 30. The school administration said the demonstrators “made a conscious choice to engage in unlawful conduct.” The protesters were charged with misdemeanor trespass on property after warning, court records show.
Fordham University
NYPD officers arrested 15 people and cleared an encampment at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus on May 1. The school administration said it requested police’s help to disperse a protest, with officers showing up in riot gear. The protesters who were arrested face trespassing charges.
Princeton University
Officers arrested 13 people who briefly occupied a graduate-school building at Princeton University on April 29. The students, who said the protest was a peaceful sit-in at Clio Hall, were banned from campus and evicted from university housing. They were cited for trespassing, the school said.
Stony Brook University
Police arrested 29 people at Stony Brook University in the early hours of May 2. The school said officers moved in after demonstrators failed to disperse a protest on the Staller Steps by the deadline the administration gave them.
Tulane University
Police arrested six people on April 29 after they “stormed university property and erected tents,” Tulane University said in a statement. Then, in the early hours of May 1, officers in riot gear arrested 14 people and cleared an encampment at the school. Administrators had said the demonstrators participated in the “unlawful occupation” of the lawn outside of Gibson Hall. Student protesters were referred to the student-conduct office for “immediate disciplinary action,” the school said. Several buildings on campus remained closed after the encampment was cleared, with classes being held online.
Virginia Commonwealth University
On April 29, officers arrested 13 people who set up an encampment at Virginia Commonwealth University after using pepper spray to disperse the crowd, the school announced. The protesters were charged with unlawful assembly and trespassing; those who are students will face disciplinary action, according to administrators.
University of California, Los Angeles
Police in riot gear moved to dismantle UCLA’s encampment and arrested 132 people in the early hours of May 2. The operation came two days after university administrators declared the camp “unlawful” and a mob of pro-Israel counterprotesters tried to storm the encampment, with police standing by for hours before intervening.
University of Connecticut
Campus police officers at the University of Connecticut dismantled an encampment and arrested 25 people on the morning of April 30. The protesters were charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct, the school announced.
University of Florida
Police and state troopers arrested nine students at the University of Florida on April 29, five days after protesters had set up an encampment in the campus’s Plaza of the Americas. In a statement, the administration said, “This is not complicated: The University of Florida is not a daycare. We do not treat protestors like children — they knew the rules, they broke the rules, and they’ll face the consequences.” Those arrested face charges including failure to obey a lawful command and resisting without violence to trespass after warning.
University of Georgia
Officers arrested 16 protesters at the University of Georgia on April 29. The school said the students violated school policy when they began erecting tents and barricades that reportedly blocked the sidewalk. Those arrested faced a misdemeanor charge of trespassing and remaining on property after a notice was given to move, officers said.
University of New Hampshire
Campus police arrested 12 people who tried to form an encampment at the University of New Hampshire on May 1. Those arrested face charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct.
University of New Mexico
On April 29, police arrested 16 people at the University of Mexico who school officials said refused to vacate a school building. The protesters were charged with criminal trespass and wrongful use of public property, according to court records. Police also destroyed five tents in the building, though the outside encampment remains.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Police detained 36 protesters at UNC-Chapel Hill on the morning of April 30, about half an hour after receiving a letter from the school administration demanding that they disband the encampment and leave the premises. Thirty of them were cited for trespassing and released, while six others were arrested and booked on trespassing charges at the county jail. Police cleared the encampment and later clashed with students who replaced the U.S. flag with the Palestinian one in the school’s quad. The UNC chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine announced it wouldn’t return to the site of the encampment due to the heavy police presence.
University of South Florida
Campus police arrested three protesters during a demonstration at the University of South Florida on April 29. The next day, officers used tear gas to disperse another protest and took an additional ten people into custody.
University of Texas, Austin
Police arrested 79 people at UT-Austin during a campus demonstration on April 29 after the students had set up an encampment that morning. Officers used pepper spray and flash-bang explosives to disperse the crowd. Those arrested were charged with criminal trespassing. Two people also faced additional charges: One of them was charged with obstructing a highway or passageway and the other with interfering with public duties. Last week, police arrested 57 demonstrators, but Travis County attorney Delia Garza dropped all criminal charges against them.
University of Texas, Dallas
Campus police broke up a protest, arrested 21 people, and removed encampments at UT Dallas on May 1. Those arrested face criminal trespassing charges. In a statement, the school said encampments are prohibited and failing to comply with the policy can lead to removal from campus.
University of Utah
Officers arrested 19 protesters and dismantled an encampment at the University of Utah on April 29, school officials said. A student organizer was also arrested the next evening, protesters said. Afterward, University of Utah president Taylor Randall said in a statement that establishing a camp on school grounds violates university policy and state law.
This story has been updated.
