A series of college protests have overtaken the news cycle and captured American cities from coast to coast.
Top News Today :
Multiple pro-Palestinian college protests have sprung up on campuses across America as students express their opposition toward the Israeli-Hamas conflict. The conflict began last year when Hamas unexpectedly attacked Israel. Israel retaliated, but, according to Reuters, their attack ended up killing 34,488 innocent Palestinians and wounding 77,643 more.
The students (from mostly Middle Eastern nations) are now demanding that their schools stop funneling massive endowments to Israeli companies and to financially divest from Israel IMMEDIATELY. Student activists say that because companies doing business in Israel or with Israeli organizations are complicit in its ongoing war on Gaza, so are the colleges that invest in those companies. They have taken over large portions of campuses and college buildings with pro-Palestinian encampments and have refused to move unless they’re able to convince universities to force an end to the killings.
Here’s a list of what has occurred among student groups since the protests began:
At the University of North Carolina, school officials and college protesters clashed after demonstrators repeatedly removed an American flag on the campus and replaced it with a Palestinian flag.
At Portland State University, students built multiple encampments and blocked the Millar Library in protest. Last week, the university paused seeking or accepting gifts or grants from Boeing pending a review of weapons sales to Israel.
At the University of Utah, police dismantled an encampment and dispersed more than 300 protesters at a rally outside an administration building at the Salt Lake City campus.
At Emory University in Atlanta, police clashed with college protesters while removing the students and their encampments from the campus.
At UCLA in Los Angeles, protestors marched and shouted at police as television cameras captured the melee. Additionally, Asher Taxon, a freshman public affairs student at UCLA, said pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked him and his Jewish classmates from attending class or accessing certain buildings.
At Princeton University, 13 people were arrested late Monday after unlawfully occupying an administration building.
At California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, students used furniture, tents, chains, and zip ties to block entrances to an academic and administrative building.
At Virginia Commonwealth University, police used tear gas to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters.
At the University of Southern California Los Angeles, college protesters defaced the school’s Trojan statue on behalf of their cause.
At the University of Texas at Austin, demonstrators engaged in a physical altercation with police. At least 100 people were arrested.
And, on Monday night, demonstrators at Columbia University in New York City overtook Hamilton Hall, forcing administrators to close the entire campus.
“An autonomous group of students reclaimed [Hamilton Hall] as ‘Hind’s Hall’ in honor of Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old girl from Gaza,” Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine said in a social media post. “We continue to stand in solidarity with Palestinian Liberation.”
On Tuesday, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik sent a letter to the NYPD requesting that they send a sizeable presence “to maintain order and ensure encampments are not re-established.” New York City Mayor Eric Adams and local law enforcement officials responded by saying that because they believed “outside agitators” had “co-opted” the on-campus protests, they were ready to move in.
By Tuesday night, a dramatic scene unfolded as students on campus were warned to “shelter in place for your safety due to heightened activity” and “avoid the area until further notice.” By 9pm, the NYPD was present in full force and gained entry to a second-floor window of Hamilton Hall. According to police, flash bangs were used to disorient the protesters as officers made their way inside.
Although dozens of students were arrested, many of the college protestors shifted their demonstration 20 blocks north to City College in Manhattan, where additional protests continued throughout the night.
In light of the college protests, GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee has called for the US government to revoke the visas given to international students who have participated in the demonstrations and to deport them
“You cannot go around yelling ‘I am Hamas’ or ‘We are Hamas’ or ‘River to the sea’ and pushing out Jewish students and have the University not step up,” Blackburn said. “Now, in my opinion, for the students who are out protesting, shouting ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel’ and … being Hamas sympathizers, if they’re foreign students, I would pull their visa and deport them,” she added.
The ongoing Israeli-Hamas-Palestinian conflict has the ability to grow beyond student protests and into a global movement.
Stay tuned…
OK WASSUP! discusses the Top News Today:
Pro-Palestinian college protests ramp up in NYC and beyond.
As I shared the other day, I do not support Lawlessness, in any way, shape or form.
One of the greatest challenges of any group of people Peacefully protesting for a “Just” cause is to maintain Control of their protest. Be on the lookout for actual trouble makers (anarchists) who seek to slither in like snakes and Co-opt your good cause to carry out their Evil agenda!
Young, naive college students won’t know what’s happening until it’s too late!