Student protests on Israel’s Gaza war engulf US campuses. Here’s the latest

Student Spring protests have popped up at many American college and university campuses in which the students are calling for universities to cut ties from companies advancing Israel's war on Gaza, and, in some cases, from Israel itself.

The demonstrations — the most sweeping and prolonged unrest to rock US college campuses since the Vietnam war protests of the 1960s and 70s — have led to several hundred arrests of students and other activists.

Officials are trying to resolve the protests as the academic year winds down, but students have dug in at several high-profile universities.

Here is the latest on campus protests👇

University of California, Los Angeles

Police deployed in force on the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) campus on Wednesday morning after Israel supporters attacked a camp set up by anti-war protesters.

Witness footage from the scene showed people wielding sticks or poles to attack wooden boards being used as makeshift barricades to protect Israel's Gaza war protesters.

Footage from the early hours showed mostly male counter-demonstrators, many of them masked and some apparently older than students, throwing objects and trying to smash or pull down the barriers erected to shield the encampment.

Some yelled pro-Jewish comments as anti-war protesters tried to fight them off.

"They were coming up here and just violently attacking us," said protester Kaia Shah, a researcher at UCLA.

"I just didn't think they would ever get to this, escalate to this level, where our protest is met by counter-protesters who are violently hurting us, inflicting pain on us when we are not doing anything to them."

Columbia University

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has said about 300 people were arrested in police crackdowns on anti-war protests at Columbia University and City College.

Columbia University President Minouche Shafik released a letter on Tuesday in which she requested police stay on campus until at least May 17 — two days after graduation — "to maintain order and ensure that encampments are not re-established."

Adams, a Democrat who was formerly a police captain, insisted that while the people who entered Columbia’s Hamilton Hall included students, “It was led by individuals who were not affiliated with the university.”

“There is a movement to radicalise young people. And I’m not going to wait until it is done to acknowledge the existence of it,” Adams said Wednesday morning.

University of Texas

In a confrontation between police and protesters at the Austin school late on Monday, 79 people involved were jailed, according to the Travis County sheriff's department. Most were charged with criminal trespass.

About 150 protesters sat on the ground as state troopers and police encircled them, with hundreds of other students and protesters shouting when officers dragged someone away.

After police cleared the original group of demonstrators, hundreds of students and protesters ran to block officers from leaving campus.

Protesters pushed in on officers, creating a mass of shoving bodies before police used pepper spray on the crowd and set off flash-bang devices to clear a path for a van to take those arrested off campus.

Brown University

Brown University has reached an agreement with students protesting against Israel's war on Gaza to end an encampment they have been maintaining on school grounds since April 24 in solidarity with Palestinians.

"Students agreed to end the encampment and refrain from further actions that would violate Brown's conduct code through the end of the academic year," Brown University said in a statement.

The university, located in Providence, Rhode Island, said although the establishment of tents and other activities have violated a range of policies, the university leaders agreed that ending the encampment will be viewed favourably in disciplinary proceedings.

The university agreed that five students will be invited to meet with five members of the Corporation of Brown University in May to hear their arguments on why the institution should divest from Israel.

"In addition, [Brown University President Christina] Paxson will ask the Advisory Committee on University Resources Management to provide a recommendation on the matter of divestment by September 30, and this will be brought to the Corporation for a vote at its October 2024 meeting," the school said.

Harvard University

In a statement, protesters said the Cambridge, Massachusetts, school "has sought to shut off all outside access and visibility to the encampment."

"The Harvard administration has initiated disciplinary action against nearly forty students and student workers," the statement said.

Last week, Harvard limited access to its famous Harvard Yard to those with school identification after a camp was set up.

University of New Mexico

In Albuquerque, police in tactical gear tore down tents and clashed briefly with protesters who occupied the University of New Mexico's student union building for about seven hours on Monday night into Tuesday morning.

University officials said 16 people were arrested, including five students and 11 people not affiliated with the school. They alleged the protesters vandalised the student union building and sprayed painted graffiti across campus. They didn't immediately provide a damage estimate.

California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt

Protesters have occupied two buildings at the Northern California school. Dozens of helmeted police officers carrying batons marched onto campus and cleared both halls. The university said 25 people were arrested, and there were no injuries.

The university earlier announced a "hard closure," meaning that people were not permitted to enter or be on campus without authorisation. At 3:24 am, the university's website posted a shelter-in-place order for campus residents "due to continuing criminal activity on campus."

The order was lifted several hours later but residents were told to stay in living, dining and market areas.

Yale University

Yale authorities cleared a protesters' encampment after students heeded final warnings to leave, university officials said.

No arrests were reported. Demonstrators said on social media that they were moving their gathering to a sidewalk area.

Princeton University

The university's president, Chris Eisgruber, posted a statement on Instagram saying 13 protesters — 12 affiliated with the university — have been arrested after briefly occupying Clio Hall, the campus graduate school building.

"All those arrested received summonses for trespassing and have been barred from campus," Eisgruber said in the statement.

"The students will also face University discipline, which may extend to suspension or expulsion."

Northwestern University

The school in Evanston, Illinois, said that it had reached an agreement with students and faculty who represent the majority of protesters on its campus since Thursday.

The university said in a statement that it agrees to answer questions within 30 days about "holdings and investments in specific companies, including those whose investments support Israeli apartheid."

It also said it would reconvene an advisory committee this fall "with the ultimate goal of ensuring that any vendor who profits from the Israeli occupation will not be given the opportunity to provide services on our campus."

The statement said the university plans to support visiting Palestinian faculty and students and invest further in supporting Muslim and Jewish life on campus.

Northwestern says it will permit peaceful demonstrations that comply with university policies through June 1, which is the end of spring quarter classes. The university says it will allow one aid tent to remain, and all other tents must be removed.

University of Connecticut

Police moved in on a campus encampment at the Storrs, Connecticut, school and arrested protesters after giving them several warnings to leave, UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz said.

The number of arrests was not immediately available and officers were clearing the scene. The arrests came a day after protest leaders met with university officials.

University of South California

Encampment organisers met with university president Carol Folt for about 90 minutes on Monday. Folt declined to discuss details of what was discussed but said the purpose of the meeting was to allow her to hear the concerns of protesters.

Another meeting was scheduled for Tuesday. The university has cancelled its main graduation ceremony, set for May 10.

It already cancelled a commencement speech by the school's pro-Palestinian valedictorian, citing safety concerns.

George Washington University

Pro-Palestinian students and activists continued to sustain their Gaza solidarity encampment at George Washington University in Washington, DC.

The Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement that it will continue monitoring the situation and that the protest remained peaceful.

Commencement is scheduled for May 19.

The university said it would move law school finals to a different building because of the noise from the protests.

Virginia Tech

Dozens of protesters at Virginia Tech have been reportedly arrested overnight as the student-led Gaza Liberation Encampment grew to occupy a larger area of campus.

Protesters occupied the lawn of the Graduate Life Center on Friday. After protesters took further steps to occupy the lawn and outdoor spaces on Sunday, the university advised those gathered to disperse.

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

Case Western Reserve University

Dozens of students, faculty and staff camped out overnight at the Cleveland school hours after a similar encampment had been broken up and more than 20 people were detained but later released.

School officials initially had said protests would be limited to daylight hours but announced Monday night that students and others affiliated with the school would be allowed to stay at the makeshift encampment on the school's public green.

Officials were checking the participants' identification before they were given wristbands signifying they could remain at the site. Roughly 100 people camped out overnight without incident, officials said.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

About 30 people were detained by campus police on Tuesday morning after the university said encampment protesters refused to leave. At 5:30 am, a university statement said protesters needed to remove tents and other items and leave the area by 6 am or risk arrest.

Clearing out the encampment took approximately 45 minutes, according to the university.

During the sweep, the university said protesters blocked police vehicles and threw objects at officers.

University of Florida

Nine people, including six students, have been arrested at Gainesville University — where about 50 people began protesting last week — by campus police and state troopers.

Steve Orlando, the school's associate vice president of communications, said many of the protesters are "outside agitators" and they had been warned for many days that prohibited activities would result in a trespassing order, barring them from campus for three years.

Individuals who didn't comply were arrested after campus police gave them multiple warnings, he said.

Virginia Commonwealth University

At the Richmond, Virginia, campus, police clashed with demonstrators overnight after officers tried to remove a makeshift encampment.

Protesters put up tents and built a barricade with shipping pallets. Police, some wearing riot gear, charged the line of demonstrators to clear the crowd, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.

Some protesters were seen hurling water bottles and other objects at police. Officers made numerous arrests and took down the tents.

VCU said in a statement on Tuesday that 13 people, including six VCU students, were charged with unlawful assembly and trespassing. VCU said officers used pepper spray to disperse the crowd.

Portland State University

A small group of students at the downtown Portland, Oregon, school broke into its library late on Monday.

Students have been protesting in a park on campus and on the library steps since Thursday, but the demonstration has been mostly peaceful. The campus was closed on Tuesday due to the library occupation.

Tulane University

Tulane University said it has closed three buildings on its main campus in New Orleans after Monday protests.

New Orleans news outlets reported six arrests.

Dozens of protesters walked among about a dozen tents pitched on a grassy lawn on Tuesday morning as rush-hour traffic flowed by. The university said classes normally held in the closed buildings would be held remotely.

University of Georgia

Police arrested protesters on Monday who tried to set up an encampment at the university northeast of Atlanta. A spokesperson wouldn't say how many people were arrested on the final day of classes before spring exams.

Athens-Clarke County jail records showed 12 people had been booked into the jail by mid-afternoon by University of Georgia police on criminal trespassing charges. State troopers aided university police.

The Red and Black student newspaper reported 16 people were detained at the site.

University of Utah

Protesters at the University of Utah have been forcibly disbanded and 19 were arrested, local media said.

Protesters erected an encampment at the Salt Lake City school on Monday. About two dozen tents were set up on the lawn outside the university president's office, and roughly 200 students held protest signs and Palestinian flags.

Later on Monday, dozens of officers in riot gear sought to break up the encampment.

Police dragged students off by their hands and feet, snapping the poles holding up tents and zip-tying those who refused to disperse. About 19 people were arrested on Tuesday. The university says it's against the code to camp overnight on school property, and the students were given several warnings to disperse before police were called in.

University of Minnesota

Students at the University of Minnesota are in the midst of the seventh day of demonstrations on Minneapolis' East Bank campus, local media reported.

Hundreds of protesters gathered on Monday at the Twin Cities campus, setting up dozens of tents in solidarity with Palestinians. Dozens of students sat in and near the tents while others participated in a Muslim prayer outside on the campus.

The university said earlier on Monday in a statement that it was closing several buildings "to ensure the safety of those who work and study on our campus" during protests that are expected to continue on campus in the coming days.

Ali Abu, who said he is a protest organiser, said the students plan on staying "as long as possible" until their demands are met.

Depaul University

Tents were erected on Tuesday on the school's Chicago-area campus.

The university said in a letter that tents and other structures without permits violate school policies.

The school also warned that actions that interfere with operations, damage property or are disruptive will lead to disciplinary measures, including suspension, expulsion and criminal sanctions.