College protests updates: Police crackdown leads to hundreds of arrests
Hundreds were arrested at USC, Emerson and UT Austin in the last day.
ByABC NEWS
Last Updated: April 28, 2024, 10:09 AM 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.
Campus police have issued a dispersal order at the University of Southern California amid ongoing protests over the Israel-Hamas war.
LAPD officers have surrounded Alumni Park on campus, and while much of the crowd has dispersed, an estimated group of 50 protesters remain in the park.
University of Southern California protesters fight with University Public Safety officers as they try to remove tents at the campus' Alumni Park during a pro-Palestinian occupation, on April 24, 2024, in Los Angeles.
Richard Vogel/AP
In an update shared on X Wednesday evening, the university’s Department of Public Safety said, "If you are in the center of campus, please leave; LAPD will be arresting people who don’t disperse."
Apr 24, 2024, 7:09 PM EDT
House Speaker calls on Columbia president to resign if she can't control protests
During a visit to Columbia University, House Speaker Mike Johnson joined his New York House Republican colleagues in calling on the school's president, Minouche Shafik, to resign unless she can improve what he called her failure to handle the anti-Israel protests on campus.
During the news conference on the university's campus, Johnson said Shafik should step down "if she can't immediately bring order to this chaos."
"As speaker of the House, I am committing today that the Congress will not be silent as Jewish students are expected to run for their lives and stay home from -- fighting in fear," Johnson said.
The scene at the news conference was rowdy itself, as Johnson and other House Republicans got booed and heckled throughout -- their words sometimes nearly drowned out by shouting from the crowd.
Shafik, who met with Johnson on Wednesday, and the rest of the university administration are committed to ensuring the safety of the campus community and ending the encampment, Columbia spokesman Ben Chang said in a briefing with reporters later on Wednesday.
-ABC News' Lauren Peller and Sarah Beth Hensley
Apr 24, 2024, 6:44 PM EDT
USC updates community on protest, campus shutdown
Andrew T. Guzman, the provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs at the University of Southern California, sent a letter to the school's students, faculty and other members with an update on the situation taking place on campus.
Guzman reiterated the university "values freedom of expression and protects the right of every member of our community to express themselves," but added, "We have well-established policies regarding limits on the time, place, and manner of free expression."
People carry a tent as USC Safety officers try to disperse students who protest in support of Palestinians, at the University of Southern California's Alumni Park, in Los Angeles, on April 24, 2024.
Zaydee Sanchez/Reuters
Guzman said the call to shut down the campus stemmed from a confrontation between protesters outside the Doheny Library and security. Security members asked the protesters, many of whom Guzman said weren't affiliated with USC, to leave and remove tents they set up, but the protesters refused, according to the school.
"Their actions have escalated to the point of confrontation and have threatened the safety of our officers and campus community," Guzman said.
USC Public Safety Officers detain a protester during a Gaza solidarity occupation on campus to advocate for Palestine in Los Angeles, on April 24, 2024.
Caroline Brehman/EPA via Shutterstock
Until further notice, only people with "USC identification or verifiable business purpose will be able to access campus, attend classes, and participate in activities" will be allowed on campus, according to Guzman.
"In these challenging times, we call on the Trojan Family to remember that every member of our community is deserving of respect, has the right to be safe on campus, take classes, and participate in other campus activities without fear of harassment or bullying. It should be everyone’s priority to treat each other with kindness and care," he said.
-ABC News' Jenna Harrison
Apr 24, 2024, 6:09 PM EDT
Columbia administrators deny rumors of National Guard deployment
Columbia University President Minouche Shafik and administrators said they are committed to ensuring the campus community's safety and ending the encampment following their meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson, a school spokesman told the press.
Ben Chang, the school's vice president of the Office of Public Affairs, told reporters that the encampment on the west lawn has raised serious safety concerns, but the university has been in a dialogue with students on ending it and those discussions will be "successful."
Pro-Palestine students continue to camp on Columbia University's campus to protest the university's ties with Israel, in New York, on April 24, 2024.
Sarah Yenesel/EPA via Shutterstock
He refuted rumors that the National Guard would become involved and called those reports false and "unsubstantiated." Chang said that the university has been in contact with the NYPD and will continue to be going forward.
The university will have to consider "alternative options" to end the encampment in time for graduation, according to Chang.
Protesters so far have already committed to dismantling "a significant number" of tents and only Columbia students will be involved in the encampment at this point, he added.
For the time being, the Morningside campus will only be open for people with a Columbia ID, Chang said.
