College protests updates: Police begin dismantling University of Chicago encampment
Police entered the campus encampment early Tuesday, WLS reported.
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:
- Over 300 Harvard professors sign letter urging Harvard to negotiate with protesters
- Police begin dismantling encampment at University of Chicago
- MIT students ordered to leave campus encampment
- More than 60 arrests made at UC San Diego
- Harvard president threatens 'involuntary leave' for students who continue encampment
Protesters clash with police at UT-Austin
Police and protesters clashed on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin on Monday afternoon after authorities issued a dispersal order.
The UT Austin Police Department asked protesters to leave the South Mall area at about 1 p.m. local time.
Protesters could be heard chanting, "There is no riot here, why are you in riot gear?" Soon after, police moved in to clear the area by force.
The university said in a statement, "After protesters ignored repeated directives from both the administration and law enforcement officers to comply with Institutional Rules and remove tents assembled on the University’s South Lawn, then physically engaged with and verbally assaulted Dean of Students staff who attempted to confiscate them, UT and partner law enforcement agencies dismantled an encampment and arrested several protesters."
It continued, "Baseball size rocks were found strategically placed within the encampment. The majority of protesters are believed to be unaffiliated with the university."
More than 50 people were arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest on the campus last week, however, charges were later dropped.
Columbia protesters defy 2 p.m. deadline to disperse
Protesters camped out at Columbia University are defying the school's order to pack up and leave by 2 p.m.
Sueda Polat, a representative from the protesters' negotiating team, told reporters that the university did not engage in good-faith negotiations and failed to meet their demands to divest from Israel.
"It is against the will of the students to disperse," she said. "We do not abide by university pressures. We act on the will of the students."
Police were outside of the campus as the deadline approached but they did not immediately enter after it passed.
"Students are aware of the risk of law enforcement. ... They know how to come together in that risk," Polat said.
Cal Poly Humboldt campus leaders offer escorts to concerned students
Cal Poly Humboldt said it will close off campus to non-school members through May 10 as protesters have occupied two buildings.
Campus leaders also said it will now offer escorts off campus to anyone who feels their safety is threatened.
The school urged the protesters who have been occupying Siemens Hall and Nelson Hall East since last week to leave immediately.
"Leaving voluntarily will be considered as a possible mitigating factor in University conduct processes and may reduce the severity of sanctions imposed. This does not, however, eliminate responsibility for any potential conduct or criminal charges."
-ABC News' Bonnie McLean
UGA arrests protesters after 'crossing a line,' blocking sidewalks
The University of Georgia-Athens said protesters who set up an encampment on campus "crossed a line" Monday morning and several were arrested.
Approximately "25 protesters began erecting tents and a barricade, blocking sidewalks and building entrances and using amplified sound," school spokesman Greg Trevor said in a statement.
The protesters met with university police and student affairs members to discuss the violation and were given multiple warnings to remove the barriers, but they refused, according to Trevor.
"At 8:30 a.m., UGA Police were left with no choice but to arrest those who refused to comply," he said.
The school did not specify how many people were arrested.
"While we must provide ample opportunity for protected expressive activities, we also have the right and duty to regulate the time, place and manner in which they occur," Trevor said.
-ABC News' Ahmad Hemingway
Columbia threatens 'consequences' for protesters who occupied building
Columbia University has threatened student protesters with "clear consequences" after protesters occupied a building in an escalating standoff. Students defied a 2 p.m. deadline to disperse Monday.
Students occupying the building face expulsion, the university warned.
"We made it very clear yesterday that the work of the University cannot be endlessly interrupted by protesters who violate the rules. Continuing to do so will be met with clear consequences. Protesters have chosen to escalate to an untenable situation—vandalizing property, breaking doors and windows, and blockading entrances—and we are following through with the consequences we outlined yesterday," Columbia said in a statement.
Students who did not commit to the terms Columbia's proposed agreement to vacate the encampment by 2 p.m. Monday have been suspended.
"Those students will be restricted from all academic and recreational spaces and may only access their individual residence. Seniors will be ineligible to graduate," Columbia said.
"This is about responding to the actions of the protesters, not their cause," Columbia said.