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.


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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.


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.”

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


Emory to move commencement ceremony off campus

Emory University in Atlanta announced Monday they will be moving commencement activities off campus, citing "concerns about safety and security."

"Please know that this decision was not taken lightly. It was made in close consultation with the Emory Police Department, security advisors, and other agencies — each of which advised against holding Commencement events on our campuses," Emory President Gregory Fenves wrote in a message to the university.

The commencement ceremonies will now be held in Duluth, about a half hour from campus, the university said.

On April 25, there were 28 people arrested, including 20 affiliated with Emory University, during a protest on campus, according to the school.

-ABC News' Ahmad Hemingway


Columbia will not hold campuswide commencement

Columbia University announced Monday it will not hold a campuswide commencement ceremony on May 15 as originally scheduled.

Columbia will focus on the smaller, school-based ceremonies instead based on "input and feedback from student leaders," the school said.

"Our students emphasized that these smaller-scale, school-based celebrations are most meaningful to them and their families," the school said in a statement. "They are eager to cross the stage to applause and family pride and hear from their school’s invited guest speakers."

The smaller school ceremonies will begin on Friday. Columbia said it may hold "a festive event" on May 15 instead. Security concerns were among the reasons the larger ceremony was canceled.

One of the reasons Columbia said it had called in the New York Police Department last Tuesday was in order to make room for the schoolwide ceremony in the same location as the encampment.


NYC mayor on Columbia University building occupation: 'This must end now'

New York City Mayor Eric Adams urged protesters at Columbia University to "walk away" after dozens of demonstrators stormed the campus' Hamilton Hall in what he called a "violent spectacle that serves no purpose."

Adams said the peaceful demonstrations were being co-opted by "professional outside agitators" seeking to "create discord and divisiveness."

"That is why I'm urging every student, every protester to walk away from this situation now. Continue your advocacy through other means," Adams said at a press briefing Tuesday evening. "We will always protect the right to protest, but we must balance that right with the right to keep students in school and our city safe."

"We cannot wait till this situation becomes even more serious. This must end now," he added.

Chief Edward Caban reiterated that protesters who are not Columbia students are working to escalate the situation and said the New York City Police Department is ready to assist the university as needed.

"We have seen the tactics changing in a way that's endangering public safety," he said.

The NYPD showed footage of what Deputy Commissioner for Intel Rebecca Weiner said showed outside actors making barriers inside Hamilton Hall and "escalating" tactics such as scaling buildings and breaking windows. Cameras in the building have also been destroyed, Weiner said.

Individuals who occupied Hamilton Hall could face charges including burglary in the third degree, trespass and criminal mischief, police said.

A Columbia University spokesperson said Tuesday evening that dozens of protesters were in Hamilton Hall.