College protests updates: Police begin dismantling University of Chicago encampment

Police entered the campus encampment early Tuesday, WLS reported.

ByNadine El-Bawab, Bill Hutchinson, and Julia Reinstein
Last Updated: May 7, 2024, 2:01 PM EDT

Protests have broken out at colleges and universities across the country in connection with the war in Gaza.

Many pro-Palestinian protesters are calling for their colleges to divest of funds from Israeli military operations, while some Jewish students on the campuses have called the protests antisemitic and said they are scared for their safety.

The student protests -- some of which have turned into around-the-clock encampments -- have erupted throughout the nation following arrests and student removals at Columbia University in New York City. Students at schools including Yale University, New York University, Harvard University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Southern California and more have launched protests.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing.
May 06, 2024, 4:35 PM EDT

MIT students ordered to leave campus encampment

In a message to the campus community Monday, Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth gave students until 2:30 p.m. to leave the encampment on campus.

However, protesters remained in the area until after the deadline. It's unclear if police will move in and make arrests.

Protesters at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were told to clear out their encampment Monday, May 6, 2024, generating further demonstration.
WCVB

"In short, this prolonged use of MIT property as a venue for protest, without permission, especially on an issue with such sharp disagreement, is no longer safely sustainable," Kornbluth said.

The encampment on MIT’s campus, on the Kresge lawn, has been ongoing for more than two weeks, according to Kornbluth.

May 06, 2024, 2:58 PM EDT

More than 60 arrests made at UC San Diego

Police moved in on an encampment at the University of California, San Diego early Monday morning, dismantling it and arresting 64 people, according to authorities.

There were 40 students among those arrested, with officials saying they "have been or will be placed under immediate interim suspension."

More than 60 people, including 40 students, were arrested when an encampment was disassembled by police at the University of California, San Diego on Monday, May 6, 2024.
KGTV

All classes were moved to remote learning and nonessential personnel were asked to remain home.

May 06, 2024, 12:48 PM EDT

Dozens of protesters detained at UCLA

Several dozen protesters were detained on UCLA’s campus Monday morning, according to Los Angeles ABC station KABC.

University officials said all classes would be held remotely Monday “due to ongoing disruptions,” and police would be stationed around campus.

Several protesters were arrested outside UCLA's Moore Hall early Monday, May 6, 2024, after attempting to block the building's entrance, the school said.
KABC

May 06, 2024, 12:00 PM EDT

Harvard president threatens 'involuntary leave' for students who continue encampment

Harvard University students who continue to take part in the pro-Palestinian protest encampment at the school will be “referred for involuntary leave,” the university’s interim president, Alan M. Garber, said Monday.

In a letter to the student body, Garber called on protesters “to end the occupation of Harvard Yard,” arguing that the encampment “favors the voices of a few over the rights of many who have experienced disruption in how they learn and work at a critical time of the semester.”

A police cruiser sits by tents and signs that fill Harvard Yard by the John Harvard statue in the Pro-Palestinian encampment at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., on May 5, 2024.
Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

Students placed on involuntary leave “may not be able to sit for exams, may not continue to reside in Harvard housing, and must cease to be present on campus until reinstated,” he wrote.

“As an academic institution, we do not shy away from hard and important questions,” Garber wrote. “There are many ways for our community to engage constructively in reasoned discussion of complex issues, but initiating these difficult and crucial conversations does not require, or justify, interfering with the educational environment and Harvard’s academic mission.”

-ABC News' Julia Reinstein