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
7 additional protesters arrested at Portland State University: Police
The Portland Police Bureau announced seven additional arrests were made Thursday evening amid ongoing protests at Portland State University.
The seven arrests came a couple of hours after PPB announced 22 people had been arrested on Thursday, bringing the total to 29 people arrested on Thursday.
PPB said the seven arrests were from "trespassers" breaking "back into the library" by pulling the fence down.
"Arrests have also been made for people refusing to leave the park block at the library," the bureau said in an update on X late Thursday evening.
Police arrest 22 protesters at Portland State University
The Portland Police Bureau said 22 arrests have been made amid the ongoing protests at Portland State University.
"PPB has arrested a total of 22 people during the events on the PSU campus," the bureau said in an update on X Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek released a statement condemning vandalism reported at the PSU Library.
“I fully condemn the criminal actions taken Thursday morning that resulted in the burning of 15 Portland Police Bureau cars, endangering first responders and the surrounding community," Kotek said, adding, "This includes the acts of vandalism seen this week at the Portland State University library and against nearby businesses."
Students at Rutgers University agree to end protest peacefully
The protest at Rutgers University over the Israel-Hamas war ended peacefully, the university chancellor said in a statement Thursday afternoon.
"We are pleased to report that these students have agreed to peacefully end their protest," Chancellor Francine Conway, Ph.D. said.
The deadline for students to leave the Voorhees Mall encampment was 4:00 p.m. local time.
Conway noted that the protesters' request for the university to "divest from companies engaged in Israel and to sever ties with Tel Aviv University" falls outside of the administration’s scope, however, the "divestment request is under review."
209 arrested at UCLA after protesters resisted orders to disperse
At least 209 people were arrested at UCLA after protesters resisted orders to disperse early Thursday, the LA sheriff's department has confirmed. Another 300 protesters voluntarily left campus, according to UCLA.
"Several days of violent clashes between demonstrators and counter-demonstrators put too many Bruins in harm’s way and created an environment that was completely unsafe for learning," UCLA Chancellor Gene D. Block said in a statement.
"Over the past several days, we communicated with and made a formal request to meet with demonstration leaders to discuss options for a peaceful and voluntary disbanding of the encampment. Unfortunately, that meeting did not lead to an agreement," UCLA said.
Block said the last week has been among the most painful periods the UCLA community has ever experienced.
"We will also continue to investigate the violent incidents of the past several days, especially Tuesday night’s horrific attack by a mob of instigators. When physical violence broke out that night, leadership immediately directed our UCPD police chief to call for the support of outside law enforcement, medical teams and the fire department to help us quell the violence. We are carefully examining our security processes that night and I am grateful to President Drake for also calling for an investigation," Block said.
White House: 'We don't want to see anybody hurt in the process'
The White House said Sunday that President Joe Biden respects the right of demonstrators to make their voices heard -- peacefully -- and "we don't want to see anybody hurt in the process."
"The president knows that there are very strong feelings about the war in Gaza. He understands that, he respects that, and as he has said many times, we certainly respect the right of peaceful protest. People should have the ability to air their views and to share their perspectives publicly, but it has to be peaceful," White House national security spokesman John Kirby told ABC News "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos on Sunday.
Kirby did warn that some language heard during the demonstrations crossed a line with the administration.
"We absolutely condemn the antisemitism language that we've heard of late, and we certainly condemn all the hate speech and the threats of violence out there. These protests, we understand they're important, but they do need to be peaceful," he said.
"We'll leave it to local authorities to determine how these protests are managed," Kirby told Stephanopoulos, "but we want them to be peaceful protests and obviously we don't want to see anybody hurt in the process of peacefully protesting."
-ABC News' Tal Axelrod