College protests updates: Police crackdown leads to hundreds of arrests
Hundreds were arrested at USC, Emerson and UT Austin in the last day.
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:
- Arizona State University arrests 69 people, clears pro-Palestinian encampment
- Northeastern University detains 100 protesters, removes encampment
- NYU students set up new encampment days after over 130 students, faculty arrested
- Students arrested, charged with trespass at Ohio State University
- DPS says they used a Taser, pepper balls at Emory, but not tear gas
Northeastern says it will 'take action' against demonstrators
Northeastern University in Boston said it will "take action accordingly" against pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrating on its Centennial Quad on Thursday.
"The quads on Northeastern's Boston campus are reserved by the division of Student Life for scheduled university events," a university spokesperson said in a statement. "Students currently demonstrating on Centennial Quad do not have authorization and are in violation of the Code of Student Conduct. Those who are not affiliated with Northeastern are trespassing. The university will take action accordingly."
Main USC graduation ceremony canceled
The University of Southern California has canceled its main graduation ceremony, the school announced Thursday.
"With the new safety measures in place this year, the time needed to process the large number of guests coming to campus will increase substantially," the school said in a statement. "As a result, we will not be able to host the main stage ceremony that traditionally brings 65,000 students, families, and friends to our campus all at the same time and during a short window from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m."
The individual school commencement ceremonies will continue as planned, it said.
The decision comes after USC had previously canceled this year's valedictorian speech while citing potential threats regarding the selection of the valedictorian, who expressed pro-Palestinian views on social media. It subsequently canceled all commencement speakers.
Emory encampment cleared after dozens taken into custody: University
Law enforcement cleared a quad at Emory University where students had erected an encampment, the Atlanta university said.
A "couple of dozen people" were taken into custody, the university said. It did not have information on exactly how many people were taken into custody or what charges, if any, have been filed.
Emory previously said that dozens of protesters who were not part of the school community had trespassed onto the campus early Thursday morning and erected tents on the quad. Some members of the school community later joined, it said.
"Emory Police issued multiple warnings asking the crowd to disperse. When those requests were ignored, Atlanta Police and Georgia State Patrol assisted Emory Police with clearing the Quad," the university said.
Footage showed officers escorting detained protesters off campus, including in one case appearing to deploy a stun gun on an individual handcuffed on the ground.
Encampment erected at UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles said it is "actively monitoring" a demonstration after students erected an encampment Thursday morning.
"Our top priority is always the safety and wellbeing of our entire Bruin community," Mary Osako, a UCLA spokesperson, said in a statement. "We're actively monitoring this situation to support a peaceful campus environment that respects our community's right to free expression while minimizing disruption to our teaching and learning mission."
Access to the campus' Royce Hall and Powell Library has been restricted to students who present ID, the university said.
Students for Justice in Palestine, University of California Los Angeles, one of the organizers of the encampment, called on the university to divest of funds from Israeli military operations and said in a social media post that they are "staying until our demands are met."
At least 20 arrested at UT Austin
At least 20 people have been arrested at the University of Texas at Austin, according to the school.
“UT Austin does not tolerate disruptions of campus activities or operations like we have seen at other campuses," the UT Division of Student Affairs said in a statement. "This is an important time in our semester with students finishing classes and studying for finals and we will act first and foremost to allow those critical functions to proceed without interruption."
The University of Texas at Austin's Office of the Dean of Students sent a letter to the Palestine Solidarity Committee Tuesday night saying the protest was not allowed to take place.
"The Palestine Solidarity Committee student organization's event 'Popular University for Gaza,' which is planned for tomorrow, has declared intent to violate our policies and rules, and disrupt our campus operations. Such disruptions are never allowed and are especially damaging while our students prepare for the end of the semester and final exams. For these reasons, this event may not proceed as planned," the letter, obtained by ABC News, stated.