April 30, 2024 - US university protests

Brown University student protesters have reached an agreement to disband their encampment after the university agreed to hold a vote on divestment from companies that support Israel, according to the protest group.

The Ivy League university agreed to the vote on a divestment resolution, after protesters negotiated with the administration over the last two days, according to the student group.

As part of the agreement, the protesters have agreed to end their encampment by 5 pm this evening, according to the release. 

In a statement, Brown President Christina H. Paxson said that 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, which includes Commencement and Reunion Weekend."

"The University agreed that five students will be invited to meet with five members of the Corporation of Brown University in May to present their arguments to divest Brown’s endowment from 'companies enabling and profiting from the genocide in Gaza,'" according to the statement. The president will ask an advisory committee to give a recommendation by September 30.

The headline of this post has been updated to indicate the university is agreeing to hold a vote on divestment.

One of Columbia University’s main student protest groups claims an “autonomous group” has “reclaimed” the university's Hamilton Hall overnight, with intentions of remaining in the building until Columbia meets their demands of “divestment, financial transparency, and amnesty," a statement from Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) released Tuesday said.

Mahmoud Khalil, the lead negotiator of CUAD, told CNN he left Columbia’s campus Tuesday morning before 4 a.m. ET and received a suspension notice soon after.

He said the group occupying Hamilton Hall is not CUAD, but that it includes some of its members.

Khalil said dozens of CUAD members remain in the encampment on campus, adding he did not know how many members were in Hamilton Hall.

All the protesters at Yale University have chosen to leave the campus encampment after the university demanded students must end their actions or face discipline, including suspension for violating university rules and arrest for trespassing. 

According to the university, some protesters remained near the area and on nearby streets Monday morning after leaving the encampment, but no arrests were made.

The Columbia University students who have been occupying Hamilton Hall now face expulsion, the university said in a statement Tuesday.

The statement said that restoring order and safety is the administration’s top priority, noting that the disciplinary actions are not political.

“This is about responding to the actions of the protesters, not their cause,” Chang said.

The university also said the demonstrations have created disruptions on campus. Many Columbia students are headed into final exam week, which marks the end of Spring 2024 term.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday he is in “daily communication” with Columbia University leadership, as pro-Palestinian protests on continue to unfold on campus.

Speaking at his weekly media briefing, Adams said the NYPD is standing by in the event that university administrators request help handling protesters inside the campus.

CNN reported Tuesday Columbia University has not made any official requests for police assistance so far. Overnight, Columbia University protesters breached the entrance into Hamilton Hall and moved metal gates to barricade the doors. Protesters also blocked entrances and zip-tied doors shut.

For days now, the NYPD has been on the scene around the perimeter of the campus, where Adams said they’re helping monitor entry points and the surrounding streets. 

Columbia students are also currently headed into final exam week marking the end of Spring 2024 term.

Adams is treading a tightrope — on the one hand, saying he supports student’s right to protest, while on the other, stressing that calls for violence are unacceptable. 

Asked whether he would support Governor Kathy Hochul deploying the National Guard to help with protesters on campus, Adams said he believes the NYPD has done a good job so far and the National Guard is not needed.  

Adams said he is expected to be briefed by the NYPD this afternoon and will meet with the university’s president to determine “next steps.”

The leaders of University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill issued a statement Tuesday afternoon, expressing their disappointment in the way the Pro-Palestinian encampment on campus had to be broken up and assured current students that the protests would not impact graduation.

“We were disappointed that we had to take action this morning regarding protesters, including many who are not members of the Carolina community, who violated state law and University policies that provide for peaceful demonstration,” Interim Chancellor Lee H. Roberts and Provost J. Christopher Clemens wrote.

Their note said while university leaders had been engaged in “constructive conversations” with protest organizers over the weekend, “that changed Sunday evening when protestors backtracked on their commitment to comply with these [reasonable time, manner and place] policies,” and ended the university’s “attempts at constructive dialogue.”

University officials also assured students and families that their commencement ceremony would take place as planned, writing “The Class of 2024 had both their senior year of high school and their first year at Carolina severely disrupted by the pandemic. We want to reassure the Class of 2024 that Commencement will be a joyous day for them and their loved ones and that the Carolina community near and far will celebrate their accomplishments.” 

Thirteen people were “arrested and charged with unlawful assembly and trespassing” during a protest on Virginia Commonwealth University’s campus Monday night, the school said in a statement.

Demonstrators were asked “respectfully and repeatedly” to follow VCU gathering policies, according to a Tuesday campus update, and were issued four mass warnings urging them to leave the encampment after tents and other structures were raised. Some of those who stayed despite orders to leave threw objects and used chemical spray on officers, who utilized pepper spray to disperse the crowd, the university said.

Of the 13 protesters arrested and charged, six were students who will now face the university’s student conduct process, the campus alert read. University officials say the encampment was not permitted under VCU’s “reservation and use of space policy.” The Richmond Police Department, who were joined by VCU and Virginia State Police officers, determined it was an unlawful assembly.

On Monday, dozens of protesters gathered near the university’s library in an area they called a “liberation zone,” according to CNN affiliate WWBT. Video from the affiliate shows officers in riot gear apprehending individuals and throwing one person to the ground while shouting: “Stop resisting. You’re under arrest.”

“As has happened on other campuses around the country, conflict between police and protesters took place," Rao said. “I deeply appreciate those who peacefully expressed their views and the efforts of our staff during this time.”

Canada's McGill University has requested police assistance amid pro-Palestinian protests on campus, the university said in a statement on Tuesday.

The decision to request law enforcement for help came after dialogue with student representatives failed to reach a resolution, leading the institute to take the "final step" in its protocol and request police assistance on Monday, according to the statement.

Students have been protesting the war in Gaza at McGill, setting up an encampment since Saturday. The university said it informed the students the protest was not authorized, but that the students chose to remain.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators and Johns Hopkins University reached an agreement to disperse the encampment that had been set up on campus, according to a university spokesperson. 

“Our priority today was to accommodate a protest while maintaining a safe environment for our community," a statement released early Tuesday morning said. "The peaceful resolution of today’s events speaks to the value of these principles."

After an hours-long meeting, Johns Hopkins President Ron Daniels and Provost Ray Jayawardhana and student participants came to a mutual agreement that the encampment would be dismantled overnight and that a peaceful protest would only be allowed from 10 am to 8 pm ET.

A group of around 100 protesters gathered on the university’s Baltimore campus Monday, according to reporting from CNN affiliate WJZ, establishing an encampment of tents, despite being told to leave. Around 1 am, attendees began to collect their supplies peacefully and shut down the encampment.

A university spokesperson noted that though most of the protesters appeared to be students, not all of the approximately 100 demonstrators were affiliated with the university. 

The university joins campuses nationwide that have seen students protest in solidarity with the Palestinian people in opposition to Israel’s attacks, calling on administrators to disclose and divest from investments linked to Israel. 

The university, according to the emailed statement, said it intends to “continue dialogue” with students as protests persist.

“We are immensely relieved at this peaceful and productive resolution, and express our profound appreciation to those who helped reach this agreement,” the statement said.

Students can return to a designated area on “the Beach,” an outdoor gathering space on campus, each day to continue “daytime protest activities” as permitted under Johns Hopkins' policy, according to the statement from university leaders.