After Columbia, it's Texas, California universities: Which US colleges have joined Gaza protests?

Student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza have spread in universities across the United States. After Columbia University, the Pro-Palestine demonstrations have now reached the campuses of several other colleges.

These new protests come after over 100 demonstrators who had encamped on Columbia’s upper Manhattan campus were arrested last week. The police action catapulted other students across the US to stage similar protests.

The demonstrators on several campuses are calling for their universities to divest from companies that are closely linked to Israel’s military operations in Gaza. However, some Jewish students have dubbed the protests “antisemitic” and expressed concerns for their safety on the campus, according to the Associated Press (AP).

Which other universities in the US have joined Columbia in the Pro-Palestine protests? Let’s take a closer look.

University of Southern California (USC)

As many as 93 protestors were arrested at the University of Southern California by the Los Angeles Police Department on trespassing charges on Wednesday (24 April), reported NBC News.

The university said in a post on X that it had closed campus and that police would arrest anyone who did not leave. Earlier on Wednesday, the police removed tents and got into a tugging match with the protestors over the tents, as per AP.

The police detained one protester and put him in a campus police car. However, he was released later as a crowd chanted “Let him go!”

Claudia Galliani, 26, a master’s student in public policy at USC, said she was protesting “to stand in solidarity with the students of Columbia and other campuses across the States who are receiving brutality due to their advocacy for Palestine,” reported New York Times (NYT).

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The University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas at Austin saw one of the biggest new protests on Wednesday, reported NYT.

Dozens of police officers and state troopers, some on horseback and with batons, aggressively detained over two dozen student protesters.

As per the Texas Department of Safety, at least 34 people had been arrested at the University of Texas at Austin by Wednesday night.

Local news station Fox 7 Austin confirmed one of its photographers was among those arrested on campus during the protests.

Texas governor Greg Abbott threatened that these arrests would take place until the protesters dispersed. “These protesters belong in jail. Students joining in hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in Texas should be expelled," he wrote on X.

Arrests being made right now & will continue until the crowd disperses.

These protesters belong in jail.

Antisemitism will not be tolerated in Texas. Period.

Students joining in hate-filled, antisemitic protests at any public college or university in Texas should be expelled. https://t.co/XhLlQdvUl0

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 24, 2024

Demonstrators at UT Austin had planned a march to the main campus lawn, which students wanted to occupy and hold events throughout the afternoon. However, the university said it would “not tolerate disruptions” like other colleges, reported AP.

Faculty members at the varsity denounced what they called a “militarised response” to pro-Palestine demonstrators. They said the police and state troopers responded violently to the peaceful protests, as per The Guardian report.

Harvard University

A Harvard University spokesperson said they were “monitoring” a pro-Palestinian encampment that was set up in the center of campus. “We are closely monitoring the situation and are prioritising the safety and security of the campus community,” spokesperson Jason Newton said in a statement, as per NBC News. 

While the university had restricted access to its historic Harvard Yard, it did not stop student protesters from erecting 14 tents on the grassy patches, reported NYT.

According to ABC News, students released a statement on Wednesday announcing their encampment against the suspension of the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee, a pro-Palestinian campus group.

New York University (NYU)

Hundreds of protesters took part in the pro-Palestine encampment at NYU earlier this week.

The police said on Wednesday 133 protesters were taken into custody. However, all of them were later released with “summonses to appear in court on disorderly conduct charges,” reported AP.

An assistant professor of journalism at NYU told NBC News that as he and other faculty members went to show solidarity with student protesters on Tuesday, they saw several “intimidating” police officers in helmets close in and arrest them.

”I can’t even count how many police. Then they arrested faculty and they violently arrest students, and sort of destroyed this academy that the students had set up. Took all of us down to One Police Plaza, the NYPD headquarters, and everyone was charged with trespass,” Dr Chenjerai Kumanyika said.

He said students were handcuffed with zip ties and officers were seen throwing chairs.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Students propped up a pro-Palestinian camp at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Monday (22 April). The protesters want the university to cut research ties with the Israeli military.

A Jewish student at MIT raised safety concerns amid protests, accusing the administration of not doing enough to protect them, as per WBZ News.

Responding to the development, MIT said that the protesters have “the full attention of leadership, who have been meeting and talking with students, faculty, and staff on an ongoing basis,” AP reported.

Other universities

At least 48 protesters, including four who were not students, were arrested after riot police stormed the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut on Monday. They were held for not leaving the encampment on a plaza at the center of the campus, according to AP.

The US House of Representatives Speaker, Mike Johnson, visited Columbia University in New York on Wednesday, where the protests began last week. He demanded the resignation of the president of the varsity over her handling of the protests, as per The Guardian.

Many tents remain on the campus and the Columbia University officials have now extended the deadline for protesters to clear out, reported AP.

The Ohio State University; California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt; Emerson College; the University of Michigan; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Minnesota; and the University of Michigan also saw pro-Palestine protests.

With inputs from agencies