Student protests in solidarity with Palestinians are heating up on college campuses across the United States, triggering clashes with counter-protesters and, in some cases, intervention from campus authorities leading to hundreds of student arrests.
Nearly 100 protestors were arrested at a pro-Palestine encampment on the USC campus yesterday and nearly 60 were arrested at the University of Texas by hundreds of Texas state troopers alongside local police.
At least 14 college campuses and counting are currently holding encampments, also known as “Liberated Zones,” including the newly set up encampments at UCLA, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton and Temple University today.
The zones hearken back to the 1968 uprisings at Columbia University and in Paris, Prague, Mexico City, and elsewhere that saw students occupying universities and creating temporary autonomous zones challenging the Vietnam War. The first encampment at Columbia constructed on April 17 mirrored this spirit, creating a space outside traditional university structures.
By replicating the “liberated zone” concept, Columbia students say they are linking their specific grievances to a broader movement for social change happening internationally. They hope that this act of solidarity amplifies their message and resonate with student activists worldwide – and so far it has, spreading from coast to coast since the first Columbia started the first encampment.
“I admire you all for standing up,” said Columbia alumni Thomas Kennedy, who graduated from Law School in 1969, to the student activists. Kennedy was a student during the 1968 protests that saw the NYPD arresting hundreds of occupying students and employing disproportionate force against those protesting the Vietnam War. “The key is not to be afraid to speak up, to protest, to occupy.”
The current protests echo a long history of student activism in America, often met with resistance and sometimes leading to tragic consequences. Students advocating for Palestinian rights are employing tactics reminiscent of earlier movements, including sit-ins, teach-ins, and social media campaigns, to push for university divestment from companies linked to Israel.
Universities have acted with varying measures in response. Some institutions are negotiating with protesters while others have sought to limit demonstrations. Tensions have escalated with some universities calling in police, resulting in arrests.
House Speaker Mike Johnson called to send the National Guard to quell protests at Columbia on Thursday and the White House rejected it. NYC mayor Eric Adams also stated on the same day that there was no need to call the National Guard.
The situation remains fluid as the violence in Gaza intensifies, and student activists vow to maintain pressure for change.
“Because of all the arrests, I think a lot more (demonstrations) are going to happen,” said Dane Urquhart, a third-year University of Texas student, who called the police response an “overreaction,” stressing that the protest “would have remained peaceful” without the excessive show of force.
The legacy of police violence on campus
This wave of protests highlights the enduring clash between student activism and concerns about campus safety and order. Observers note it revives memories of past student movements like those against the Vietnam War, which were met with repression and, in cases like the 1970 Kent State shootings, deadly police violence.
The current wave of arrests and militarized reactions are reigniting discussions about the historical use of force against student movements in the United States:
Ohio National Guardsmen throw tear gas at students across the campus lawn at Kent State University during an anti-Vietnam War demonstration at the university on May 4, 1970. The Guard killed four students and wounded nine. (AP Photo)AP
Kent State (1970): A peaceful protest against the Vietnam War at Kent State University turned deadly. When the Ohio National Guard fired into the crowd, four students were killed and nine wounded, one suffering permanent paralysis. The event became a symbol of anti-war sentiment and drew international condemnation.
Two students at Jackson State College peer from a window that was shot out by police on campus May 15, 1970. Two youths died as police riddled windows of a girl's dormitory as they claimed they were returning sniper fire. (AP Photo/Jack Thornell)AP
Orangeburg Massacre (1968): A peaceful civil rights protest at South Carolina State University by 200 unarmed Black students turned into a massacre. Highway patrolmen opened fire, killing three young men and injuring 28 others. Despite being a brutal turning point in the Civil Rights Movement, the Orangeburg Massacre remains largely unknown.
Two black demonstrators killed in the Orangeburg Massacre lie on the ground at the edge of South Carolina State College in Orangeburg, S.C., Thursday night, Feb. 8, 1968. Following three days of protests, which began when blacks were barred from entering a bowling alley by the proprieter, state police and national guardsmen confronted demonstrators. Three students were killed and twenty-seven wounded. (AP Photo)ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jackson State (1970): Days after Kent State, protests erupted at Jackson State College, an HBCU. Fueled by nationwide student anger over the Vietnam War and the Kent State shootings, along with local racial tensions, the situation escalated when false rumors of a prominent activist’s murder circulated. On May 15, police opened fire on a girl’s dormitory, injuring 12 and tragically killing two young men.
Why does this matter?
Studying past movements reveals successful (and unsuccessful) tactics. Did marches work? Did hunger strikes bring change? Historical examples can offer a toolbox of approaches for today’s student activists.
In the 1960s, it was widely argued that the central aim for college campus protests were to end the military draft to Vietnam, and while they did not directly end the draft, the large-scale student protests helped turn public sentiment against the war. This increased political pressure on the government to re-evaluate its involvement in Vietnam.
It remains to be seen if universities will decide to divest or how much the current student movement will sway public opinion on Israel, but in the meantime, the number of Americans disapproving Israel’s actions in Gaza continues to grow. According to a March Gallup poll, about 55% of Americans disapprove of Israel’s military response in Gaza, a 10-percentage point increase since November.
If history says anything, idealist students will continue to take risks older generations won’t, forcing the public to confront uncomfortable issues like the violence in Gaza. But their activism often comes at a price. Universities can suspend students, and as history shows, far worse is possible.
There’s no telling yet where this will end, but it’s far from over as the student protest movement for Palestine continues to gain momentum, spreading like wildfire across campuses in the US.
“This is about solidarity,” said Alex, a Jewish student at the University of Michigan who is part of the pro-Palestinian movement and asked to be identified only by his first name out of fear of retaliation, told NBC News. “We have colleges all across the nation performing a synchronized act because we work together. This is a collective movement far beyond the United States.”