April 24, 2024 - US university protests

Two arrests were made during a pro-Palestinian protest on Ohio State University’s campus on Tuesday, according to a university spokesperson.

“When yesterday’s demonstration became disruptive to the students, faculty and staff in Meiling Hall, the university issued multiple warnings. When the disruptive activity continued, two individuals were arrested,” OSU spokesperson Benjamin Johnson said. “Ohio State has an unwavering commitment to freedom of speech and took this action in alignment with our space use rules to provide for the orderly conduct of university business.”

“When protected speech becomes incitement or threats of violence, Ohio State has and will always move quickly to enforce the law and university policy. I will not compromise on this,” the president wrote, noting that OSU would continue to have university police on site for student demonstrations.

Any violation of university policy will get a warning, but may be “cited, referred to Student Conduct and/or arrested” should they continue, Johnson told CNN.

When asked if OSU would consider the students’ demands for divestment from Israel, Johnson said state law “prohibits the university from divesting any interests in Israel and prohibits adopting or adhering to a policy that requires divestment from Israel or with persons or entities associated with it.”

President Joe Biden will be in New York City Friday, but White House and campaign officials told CNN Wednesday there have been no internal discussions about him visiting Columbia University.

Some demonstrators say the Biden administration is complicit in the deaths of the many thousands of civilians in Gaza.

Groups of senior White House officials have traveled to cities with large Muslim and Arab populations in recent weeks to meet with local community leaders and hear their concerns – gatherings that have at times prompted calls for boycotts.

White House spokesman Andrew Bates said Tuesday that the White House was monitoring “closely” the protests on college campuses and that he takes seriously the conversations he has had with community leaders about the current “painful moment.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson says he will call on Columbia University President Nemat "Minouche" Shafik to resign when he joins Jewish students on campus Wednesday. 

Johnson added that “what we're seeing on these college campuses across the country is disgusting and unacceptable.”

While at the university this afternoon, Johnson will have a meal with Jewish students before the event. He will be joined by New York Reps. Mike Lawler, Nicole Malliotakis and others in the New York Republican delegation. 

“We're relying on and calling upon and demanding these university officials to control of the situation, which is just completely out of control right now,” Johnson said. 

Johnson also proposed revoking federal funding and "student visas for these violent protests" in the wake of the unrest.

Columbia University notified students and faculty Wednesday morning that the hybrid model for classes will extend to final exams.

Provost Angela Olinto said in an email that all final course assessments, including exams, presentations and projects, "must include a remote option for students who have requested support for virtual assessment."

The university announced classes, which end Monday, would be hybrid for the remainder of the academic year. Final exams take place from May 3 to May 10. 

Olinto said that final assessments at Columbia's Medical Center and Manhattanville campus will continue as scheduled.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday criticized the ongoing protests on US college campuses, saying they "are not only antisemitic, but also inciting terrorism" in a post on his X account. 

"To our Jewish brothers and sisters — we stand with you," Gallant said, calling for university officials and US authorities to "act now to defend Jewish youth."

Some background: More than 130 people were arrested at New York University at a pro-Palestinian protest Monday night. NYU said it asked for help from the NYPD after school officials said there were “intimidating chants and several antisemitic incidents” during a protest. That led to scenes of a chaotic confrontation between protesters and police in full riot gear. An NYPD official said the demonstrations weren’t violent overall, except for a few bottles thrown at police officers.

Yale University police arrested 45 protesters Monday and charged them with criminal trespassing after they refused orders to leave, said police in New Haven, Connecticut, though dozens of protesters remained Tuesday morning.

US House Speaker Mike Johnson said he plans to visit Jewish students at Columbia University on Wednesday and hold a press conference “regarding the troubling rise of virulent antisemitism on America’s college campuses,” according to his office.

Brown University said about 90 students were seen setting up an encampment and protest around 6 am ET on Wednesday, according to a university spokesperson, which is a "violation of University policy."

The students on the Providence, Rhode Island, campus have been told they will be subject to "conduct proceedings," according to spokesperson Brian Clark.

"We have been troubled by reports of violence, harassment and intimidation at some encampments on other campuses, but we have not seen that kind of behavior at Brown. Any such behavior would not be tolerated," the spokesperson added.

He also said there have been incorrect reports that the university's policy prohibiting encampments was established this year. It has existed since 2011, but it was reformatted and moved to a different website about the school's policies as part of a yearslong project, according to Clark.  

As universities across the US continue to see pro-Palestinian protests, data shows that only about 7% of younger Americans strongly favor the US providing military aid to Israel in its war against Hamas, while 29% strongly oppose it.

Meanwhile, about 30% of US adults over the age of 65 strongly favor providing military aid, while about 9% strongly oppose, according to Pew Research Center.

Meanwhile, there is not a big age difference among US adults on whether the country should provide aid to Gaza, with 25-33% strongly in favor of giving support, according to Pew Research Center.

As pro-Palestinian protests spread throughout college campuses nationwide, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New York condemned the way administrators like Columbia University President Minouche Shafik have handled the issue on behalf of the student protesters.

“Calling in police enforcement on nonviolent demonstrations of young students on campus is an escalatory, reckless, and dangerous act,” wrote Rep. Ocasio-Cortez in a post on X Tuesday. “It represents a heinous failure of leadership that puts people’s lives at risk. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”

Her comment came a day after a fellow New York Democrat, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, accused Columbia of caving to “right wing pressure.”

Overnight, protesters at Columbia University were seen removing tents from the lawn and carrying them off campus or relocating to other parts of the campus. 

According to the university, student protesters "have committed to dismantling and removing a significant number of tents." 

"Student protesters will ensure that those not affiliated with Columbia will leave," according to the university. 

A Columbia spokesperson said student protesters “have taken steps to make the encampment welcome to all and have prohibited discriminatory or harassing language," and will comply with FDNY safety requirements.