Some colleges with pro-Palestinian protests begin taking a tougher stance

By Charles Rex Arbogast, Pat Eaton-Robb and Steve LeBlanc The Associated Press

7 months ago

Pro-Palestinian protesters return to the University of Chicago's quad outside Levi Hall as as a ... — Pro-Palestinian protesters return to the University of Chicago’s quad outside Levi Hall as as a patchwork of dying grass mark the locations of tents in an encampment that was dismantled in the pre-dawn hours by university police Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

A police officer stands guard blocking pro-Palestinian protesters from returning to their encampment as the encampment is dismantled at the University of Chicago, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

A pro-Palestinian protester leads chants at the university’s police as they are kept from the university’s quad while the student encampment is dismantled at the University of Chicago, on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Pro-Palestinian protesters chat as police kept them away from the university’s quad while the student encampment is dismantled at the University of Chicago, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

CHICAGO — Police cleared a pro-Palestinian tent encampment at the University of Chicago on Tuesday after administrators who had initially adopted a permissive approach said the protest had crossed a line and caused growing concerns about safety.

University President Paul Alivisatos acknowledged the school’s role as a protector of freedom of speech after officers in riot gear blocked access to the school’s Quad but also took an enough-is-enough stance.

“The university remains a place where dissenting voices have many avenues to express themselves, but we cannot enable an environment where the expression of some dominates and disrupts the healthy functioning of the community for the rest,” Alivisatos wrote in a message to the university community.

Tensions have continued to ratchet up in standoffs with protesters on campuses across the U.S. nearly three weeks into a movement launched by a protest at Columbia University.

Some colleges have cracked down immediately on protests against the Israel-Hamas war. Among those that have tolerated the tent encampments, some have begun to lose patience and call in police over concerns about disruptions to campus life, safety and the involvement of nonstudents.

Since April 18, just over 2,600 people have been arrested on the campuses of 50 colleges and universities, according to figures based on AP reporting and statements from universities and law enforcement agencies.

But not all schools are taking that approach.

The president at Wesleyan University, a liberal arts school in Connecticut, has commended the on-campus demonstration as an act of political expression.

Activists at Wesleyan and some other schools have been left to hold rallies and organize their camps as they see fit. The encampment has grown from about 20 tents a week ago to more than 100.

Wesleyan senior Uday Narayanan said students there are prepared to stay through the summer at the encampment if that’s what it takes for their demands to be met.

At the University of Chicago, hundreds of protesters had gathered for at least eight days until campus administrators warned them Friday to leave the area or face removal. On Tuesday, law enforcement dismantled the encampment.

At MIT, protesters were given a Monday afternoon deadline to voluntarily leave or face suspension. Many left, according to an MIT spokesperson, who said protesters breached fencing after the arrival of demonstrators from outside the university. On Monday night, dozens of protesters remained at the encampment in a calmer atmosphere, listening to speakers and chanting before taking a pizza break.