Student Spring protests: Here's what's happening on American campuses

Protests against Israel's war on besieged Gaza — or Student Spring protests — have popped up at many college campuses following the arrest of demonstrators this month at Columbia University.

The students are calling for American universities to separate themselves from companies that are advancing Israel's military invasion in Gaza — and, in some cases, from Israel itself.

The number of arrests nationwide has approached 1,000 since New York police arrested demonstrators at Columbia on April 18.

Protests on many campuses have been orchestrated by coalitions of student groups. The groups largely act independently, though students say they're inspired by peers at other universities.

Here is a look at the ongoing protests on campuses:

Columbia University

Student demonstrators at Columbia University, the epicentre of pro-Palestine protests that have erupted at US colleges, began to be suspended after defying an ultimatum to disperse.

Authorities at the prestigious university in New York demanded that the protest encampment be cleared by 2:00 pm [1800 GMT] or students would face disciplinary action.

"These repulsive scare tactics mean nothing compared to the deaths of over 34,000 Palestinians," said a statement, read out by a student at a press conference after the deadline.

"We will not move until Columbia meets our demands or... are moved by force," said the student, who would not give his name.

A few hours later, Columbia vice president of communications Ben Chang said the university had "begun suspending students as part of this next phase of our efforts to ensure safety on our campus."

Columbia's president Minouche Shafik faced a significant but largely symbolic rebuke from faculty on Friday but retains the support of trustees, who have the power to hire or fire the president.

The protest is the latest in a Columbia tradition that dates back more than five decades — one that also helped provide inspiration for the anti-apartheid protest of the 1980s, the Iraq war protests, and more.

Soph Askanase, a Jewish pro-Palestinian protestor, has been suspended from Columbia and arrested for trespassing.

"Being uncomfortable is different than being unsafe," Askanase said. "We live in a country and we go to attend a university that extremely values free speech, open dialogue and rhetoric."

Arrests at University of Texas

Meanwhile, at the University of Texas at Austin, police clashed with protesters and made arrests while dismantling an encampment, adding to the more than 350 people detained across the United States over the weekend.

"No encampments will be allowed," Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on social media Monday afternoon.

"Instead, arrests are being made."

Protests against the Gaza war, with its high Palestinian civilian death toll, have posed a challenge to university administrators.

Just last week, hundreds of police — including some on horseback and holding batons — pushed into protesters at the university, sending some tumbling into the street.

Northeastern University

Police in riot gear cleared an encampment at Boston's Northeastern University on Saturday.

State police said about 100 protesters were arrested and would be charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct.

Northeastern said in a statement that the demonstration was "infiltrated by professional organisers" with no affiliation to the university and that anti-Semitic slurs, including "kill the Jews," had been used.

The Huskies for a Free Palestine student group said that counter-protesters were to blame for the slurs and that no student protesters "repeated the disgusting hate speech."

University of Mary Washington

A dozen people, including nine students, were arrested on Saturday after a protest at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, according to a statement from the university's president.

Attendees were told on Friday that they could stay if they followed university policies, and additional safety guidelines were communicated to organisers, according to the statement.

The encampment was prohibited, and tents were not permitted. Tents were taken down on Friday night, and the protest continued into Saturday when they were put back up.

On Saturday evening, attendees were told to leave, according to the president's statement. After some time, 12 people remaining in Jefferson Square were arrested for trespassing.

University of Southern California

The University of Southern California said on Saturday it had temporarily closed its University Park Campus to non-residents without providing details of the closure or possible enforcement measures.

Joel Curran, senior vice president of communications, said in a statement that USC property was vandalised by members of a group "that has continued to illegally camp on our campus," as well as disrupting operations and harassing students and others.

Students declined attempts by university President Carol Folt to meet, and the administration hopes for "a more reasonable response Sunday before we are forced to take further action," Curran said.

The university cancelled its main stage graduation ceremony, set for May 10. It already cancelled a commencement speech by the school's pro-Palestinian valedictorian, citing safety concerns.

The Los Angeles Police Department said more than 90 people were arrested on Wednesday during a protest at the university.

University of California, Los Angeles

Protesters shouted and shoved each other during duelling demonstrations on Sunday at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Police set up barricades before hundreds of people on both sides joined a growing crowd at UCLA's Dickson court, near where pro-Palestinian students have been staying round-the-clock in tents.

Counter-protesters who organised a "Stand in Support of Jewish Students" rally said their goal was to "stand up against hatred and antisemitism."

George Washington University

About 50 students at George Washington University in Washington, DC, set up a tent encampment on the school's University Yard on Thursday.

A group of students and professors staged their own protest walkout and marched to campus to join them.

The protesters are demanding that the university divest from Israel and lift a suspension against a prominent pro-Palestinian student group.

The university said in a statement that early on Monday, protesters at an encampment near the university breached and dismantled the barriers used to secure University Yard.

The university's last day of classes before final exams was set for Monday, and commencement is scheduled for May 19.

Because of the noise generated by the protests, the university said it would move law school finals to another building from the one where they had originally been scheduled.

Virginia Tech

A university spokesperson said on Monday that an unknown number of arrests resulted from a protest at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.

Protesters began occupying the lawn of the graduate life centre on Friday, the university said in a statement.

The gathering violated university policy, the university said, but was a "safe and peaceful environment" over much of the weekend.

After protesters took further steps to occupy the lawn and outdoor spaces next to a nearby student centre on Sunday, the university said the situation "had the increasing potential to become unsafe" and advised those gathered to disperse.

Those who failed to comply were warned they would be charged with trespassing, the university said.

California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt

University officials extended the closure of the campus until May 10 — the end of the semester — saying instruction would continue to be remote, after protesters at the university in Northern California used furniture, tents, chains and zip ties to block entrances to an academic and administrative building April 22.

Commencement is scheduled for May 11.

In a statement on Sunday night, the university urged people occupying the buildings and camping near them to "leave the campus peacefully now" and said it "continues to talk to anyone willing to have productive and respectful dialogue."

Case Western Reserve University

More than 20 people were detained and released shortly after an encampment sprang up on Monday at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

The protesters had set up tents on the public green and erected a small sign that read, "Welcome to the People's University for Palestine" as they called on the school's administration to divest from Israel.

Police soon moved in and dismantled the tents. Those detained at the protest were released a short time later, and it wasn't clear if they would face any charges or disciplinary action.

Yale University

Protesters at Yale set up a new encampment with dozens of tents on Sunday afternoon, nearly a week after police arrested nearly 50 and cleared a similar camp nearby.

Protesters and school officials said a Yale official notified them that they could face discipline, including suspension and possible arrest.

No deadline to leave was set. Yale said in a statement on Monday that it supports peaceful protests and freedom of speech but does not tolerate policy violations.

School officials said the protest is near residential colleges where students are studying for final exams, and permission must be granted for groups to hold events and put up structures on campus.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

On Monday, dozens of people idled at an encampment protest at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Students and other community members sat on blankets chatting while another small group sat around a woman dancing with a keffiyeh, a traditional Arab headscarf.

The tents were set up on Sunday after a march urging the university to divest from Israel.

University of Washington Students at the University of Washington in Seattle set up an encampment on Monday morning in front of Miller Hall.

About six tents were visible on the grassy area despite a sign that said "no camping allowed" in large letters. The few dozen protesters pinned banners to their tents in support of Gaza under a light drizzle. They are demanding the university cut ties with Boeing, which was founded in Seattle and makes products used by the Israel Defense Forces, and cut ties with study abroad programs that operate in Israel. There was no sign of police activity.