 "Police stand guard near an encampment of protesters supporting Palestinians on the grounds of Columbia University, during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, in New York City, US. Reuters")
Over the last two weeks, a wave of protests on US campuses has spread, with students demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and divestment from Israeli-linked companies. Some have also requested amnesty for student protesters who may face suspension or other disciplinary action.
It all began on 17 April, when an encampment emerged at Columbia University in New York City. Since then, it has spread to dozens of other campuses, including Harvard and the University of California, Los Angeles.
University officials have reached agreements with protesters on several campuses, including Northwestern University, as per Associated Press report. Others have called the police to clear camps or campus buildings, as was the case at UCLA.
Also Read: Are Columbia University’s pro-Palestine protests turning antisemitic?
At least 2,000 people have been arrested at campus protests nationwide in the last two weeks, according to a tally by AP.
Below is a timeline of significant events in the biggest wave of US student activism since the anti-racism protests of 2020.
17 April - Columbia University students set up a Gaza solidarity encampment on their Manhattan campus the same day the university’s president tells the US Congress she will protect Jewish students from a “moral crisis” of antisemitism.
18 April - Over 100 pro-Palestinian protesters are arrested at Columbia after university president Minouche Shafik asks New York police to clear the encampment.
22 April - Police arrest hundreds of people at pro-Palestinian protests at Yale University in Connecticut and New York University in Manhattan after Columbia University cancelled classes in response to its encampment.
Impact Shorts
View All24 April - Riot police are deployed against pro-Palestinian protesters at University of Texas, Austin with 57 arrests for criminal trespass. The level of force, until then unprecedented, is later seen at other campuses. All charges were later dropped for lack of probable cause.
25 April - In comments at Columbia University, US House Speaker Mike Johnson portrays the campus as out of control and suggests US military reserve forces should be brought in to restore order.
27 April - Arrest numbers swell over 1,000 on campuses as administrators call in police to break up encampments at universities from Massachusetts to Arizona.
28 April - Pro-Palestinian protesters tussle with pro-Israeli demonstrators at UCLA after an Israeli American advocacy group holds a counter demonstration near an encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters.
29 April - Clashes between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protests erupt at UCLA after Jewish student activist records himself being blocked from areas of campus by pro-Palestinian protesters and UCLA authorities declare the protest encampment unlawful. Columbia begins suspending pro-Palestinian student activists at encampment.
Also Read: First US, now UK, Europe, and Australia: How anti-Israel student protests are going global30 April - Brown University students agree to remove camp in return for vote by university trustees on divestment from firms supporting Israel, marking first such deal for protest movement. Pro-Israeli protesters attack UCLA Gaza solidarity camp, four UCLA student journalists among injured. Police arrest dozens of people at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt as they clear buildings occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters
1 May - New York City police arrest dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators occupying an academic building on Columbia University campus and remove protest encampment.
2 May - Police clear pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA .
With inputs from Reuters