The Israel-Hamas war had created ripples of division on several U.S. college campuses. Many students, predominantly pro-Palestine, have staged protests over the past weeks. A plethora of schools, ranging from Columbia University in New York to The University of California Los Angeles, have been sites for students to express their frustration with multiple aspects of the Israel-Hamas conflict and how their schools are handling the situation.
The protests occurring on school grounds are part of the aftermath of the Hamas, a Palestinian militant group designated by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization, attacks in Israel. On October 7, Hamas charged from the Gaza Strip into Israeli neighborhoods nearby. This initial attack, according to the Associated Press, was a response to Israel’s 16-year blockade of Gaza, past Israeli invasions in the West Bank, and the expanding of Jewish settlements in territories that Palestine plans to claim for a future state, as Mohammed Deif, the leader of Hamas’ military wing, said in a recorded message. The attack stunned the Israeli military and citizens and injured or killed civilians in many of the Israeli towns; 252 people were taken hostage. Shortly after, Israel’s army fired airstrikes in Gaza, killing hundreds of Palestinian civilians. The attacks were the result of a build-up over decades and a history of anger and pain experienced by both sides of the conflict over land ownership and civil rights. The current war in Gaza is not the first, as major conflicts between Israel and Palestine have occurred four times in the 21st century.
According to the New York Times, a central theme of demonstrations nationwide is divestment. Phrases like “Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest” were chanted throughout Columbia’s campus in April. Protesters were calling for divestment in Israel supporting companies and more transparency from universities about their investments. The term “divestment” differs across the board of many colleges: Yale and Cornell’s protesters, for example, were calling for the divestment of weapon manufacturers sending aid to Israeli armies. Columbia University’s demonstrators spoke out for the school to hold their investments from companies that profit from Israel’s attacks in Gaza, including Google, which has significant contact with the Israeli government.
In addition to calls for divestment, pro-Palestine protesters were demanding that Israel cease its military actions. Protestors were using signs to convey their message, urging an end to what they describe as genocide against the Palestinian people.
While tensions have been high on college campuses since the October 7 attack, the first encampment on Columbia’s campus did not come until several months later on April 17. The protest started with a group of about 50 students, known as the Columbia University Apartheid Divest. The group placed tents in the epicenter of Columbia’s campus near a banner that read “Gaza Solidarity Encampment.” Columbia University administration stated that this protest was unauthorized as a school policy states a demonstration must be approved and authorized in advance notice. Student suspensions followed the beginning of the encampment as they were violations of Columbia policy.
After a few days of the encampment university delegates arrived on the site. They stated that student protesters would face disciplinary action if they continued their demonstrations. This announcement triggered the chants of “Hell no! Hell no!” from protesters, as many felt that the series of suspensions mixed with a crackdown on the demonstrations was a form of Columbia suppressing Pro-Palestinian rights and free speech. These initial warnings were followed by more student safety measures that same day: threats of discipline and academic and overall suspension. Chants like “The more you silence us, the louder we’ll be,” and “Minouche Shafik [The President of Columbia University], open your eyes! Use of force, genocide!” reverberated throughout the encampment and beyond. Ultimately, the combined neglect to disband fused with the overall nature of the unauthorized demonstration triggered the arrival of the New York Police Department (NYPD) to the site. “This is the New York State Police Department,” said the NYPD upon arrival, “You are attempting to participate in an unauthorized encampment. You will be arrested and charged with trespassing.” Continued resistance resulted in the forceful arrest of over 100 students and protestors.
This day triggered a shockwave of student activism all over the United States, and Columbia acts as a model for how protests across the country have tended to pan out. The University has a history of being a hotspot for activism in New York, containing a diverse and politically active student body. Dating back to 1968, the campus held protests surrounding U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
Isabella Ramírez, editor-in-chief of the Columbia Daily Spectator, stated in The Daily Podcast that she experienced “disunity of the community in ways that [she has] never really seen it before.” For instance, a pro-Palestine protestor held a cardboard sign that read “Al Qasam’s [sic] next targets,” pointing at a group of Jewish counter-protesters. (According to the New York Times, Al-Qassam refers to Hamas’s armed faction). Masses of Jewish protesters amid the pro-Palestine’s chanting “stop killing children,” created immense polarization on Columbia’s campus and caused a number of schools nationwide to engage in similar encampments. Generally promoting Palestinian rights and the divestment in Israel-supporting companies.
The impacts of the Israel-Hamas war are being felt on the grounds of over 100 college campuses nationwide. Although the initial encampments have begun to simmer down as of mid-May, pro-Palestine protests and pro-Israel counterprotests have stayed prevalent. From pro-Palestine Columbia students walking across their graduation stage in zip-ties to ripping up their diplomas, actions of protest are taking place in many different forms nationwide.
Minouche Shafik, President of Columbia University, released a statement on Columbia’s website on May 1, 14 days after the Columbia protests began. Shafik wrote he believed the protests, from both sides, caused “a disruptive environment for everyone and rais[ed] safety risks to an intolerable level.” Shafik stated that she, alongside the administration, has been “patient in tolerating unauthorized demonstrations,” but has also considered the complaints of the protestors. Shafik said Columbia’s “academic leaders spent eight days engaging over long hours in serious dialogue in good faith with protest representatives.” Through extended hours of conversation and consideration, “The University offered to consider new proposals on divestment.”
Further, Shafik wrote that Columbia University aims to “reaffirm [their] commitment to free speech,” and sharpen the line between expression of views and “acts of destruction.” Overall, Shafik wrote that her “first responsibility is safety” and therefore asked the NYPD to dismantle the Columbia encampment, as well as intervene to end the protesters occupying Hamilton Hall, an academic building on Columbia’s campus.
Over the past few weeks, universities have pushed the limits of student protest on campus and have undoubtedly snatched the attention of the press, their college boards, and even the President of the United States. With the arrest of over 2,000 students across this protesting period, Biden addressed the conflicts in his country. In an interview in the Roosevelt Room, Biden said, “There’s the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos.” He continued to say, “Destroying property is not a peaceful protest. It’s against the law. Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, and threatening people, intimidating people, instilling fear in people is not peaceful protest. It’s against the law.”
When asked by a reporter if the protests have caused him to reconsider his policies surrounding Gaza and his support for Israel, Biden responded with one word: “No.” The response by Biden has led many to contemplate whether the protests are productive, methodical demonstrations that could make a change in policy or simply rallies ensuing disarray, anti-Semitism, and anti-Islamophobia on campuses, according to Times-Herald. Ultimately, the polarization in Gaza between Israelis and Palestinians is being directly echoed onto college campuses nationwide, and protesters are testing just how far the limits of student protest can be pushed.
