Tensions build over campus protests
About 400 people marched against Penn State’s ties to Defense Department
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NEW YORK (AP) -- Colleges around the U.S. implored pro-Palestinian student protesters to clear out tent encampments with rising levels of urgency Monday, as police made more arrests at the University of Texas and Columbia University said it was beginning to suspend students who defied an ultimatum to leave the encampment by an afternoon deadline.
Protesters who returned to the University of Texas at Austin on Monday were quickly greeted by dozens of law enforcement officers, many in riot gear. Six protesters were quickly arrested and others were taken into custody one by one. Officers used pepper spray after a group of protesters blocked the path of a police van carrying demonstrators who were arrested. The crowd backed away but continued to block the exit from campus. Officers then used two flash bang explosives to clear a path so the van could leave.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott reposted on social media video of troopers arriving on the 50,000-student campus. "No encampments will be allowed. Instead, arrests are being made," Abbott said.
In Pennsylvania, roughly 400 students and community members gathered Saturday to march through downtown State College to protest Penn State University's acceptance of funds from the federal Department of Defense.
The funds reportedly go to the university's Applied Research Lab, which -- among other responsibilities -- does weapons research that allegedly directly helps fuel the war in Gaza, according to protest organizers.
The demonstration was organized by several pro-Palestinian, anti-capitalist student groups. The organizers said the goal of the event was to pressure the university to refuse any more government funding that would directly lead to its involvement in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
The march began at the Allen Street gates and continued through the downtown business district. Participants then protested in front of the Applied Research Lab and ended in front of the Old Main building.
Some of the signs held by protestors read "Divest from death," "Stop the Penn State war machine: ARL off campus" and "Admin back war crimes," among others.
Campus police, State College police and Pennsylvania State Police were all present at the protest, but did not get involved in any way. The protest was allowed to continue until it was disbanded by the organizers.
In New York, Columbia began suspending students after activists defied a 2 p.m. deadline to respond to the ultimatum, school spokesperson Ben Chang said.
Instead, the students continued chanting, clapping and drumming from the encampment of more than 300 people. No officials appeared to enter the encampment, with at least 120 tents staying up as the deadline passed. Hundreds of protesters marched around the quad, weaving around piles of temporary flooring and green carpeting meant for graduation ceremonies. A handful of counter-demonstrators waved Israeli flags, and one held a sign reading, "Where are the anti-Hamas chants?"
The notice sent by the Ivy League university in Manhattan said that if protesters left by the deadline and signed a form committing to abide by university policies through June 2025 or an earlier graduation, they could finish the semester in good standing. If not, the letter said, they would be suspended, pending further investigation.
"University representatives engaged in good faith dialogue with the organizers and maintain that dialogue," Chang said. "We were hopeful and we were disappointed when the student protesters couldn't reach consensus on the issues under discussion."
Early protests at Columbia, where demonstrators set up tents in the center of the campus, sparked the pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the country. Students and others have been sparring over the Israel-Hamas war and its mounting death toll. Many students are demanding their universities cut financial ties with Israel.