Tensions are high at colleges and universities across the country as students continue to demonstrate against Israel’s war on Gaza, despite more than 2,000 arrests by police.
Cal Cary|Daily Progress|AP
May 4, 2024 | Police with riot shields and protesters stand across from one another on the grounds of the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Inspired by Columbia University students, anti-war demonstrations at colleges and universities have spread across the country. Dozens of campuses have now become home to pro-Palestinian encampments, with many of the participants coalescing around calls for their schools to divest financially from companies advancing Israel’s military efforts in the Gaza Strip or to separate from Israel entirely.
But as more than 2,000 activists have been arrested by police, a national debate weighing free speech and campus safety has taken center stage.