By JIM VERTUNO, ACACIA CORONADO and NICK PERRY (Associated Press)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Some U.S. universities called in police to break up demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war, resulting in ugly scuffles and dozens of arrests, while others appeared content to wait out student protests Thursday, as the final days of the semester ticked down and graduation ceremonies loomed.
At Emerson College in Boston, 108 people were arrested at an alleyway encampment overnight and four police officers suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, Boston police said. Those arrested were expected to appear Thursday in Boston Municipal Court.
Video of the scuffle shows students in the alleyway linking arms and using umbrellas to resist officers, who move forcefully through the crowd and throw some protesters to the ground. College leaders had earlier warned students that the alley, which is not solely owned by Emerson, had a public right-of-way and city authorities had threatened to take action if the protesters didn’t leave. The video shows officers first warning students to leave before moving in. Emerson canceled classes Thursday.
Another 93 people were arrested Wednesday night during a protest at the University of Southern California, the Los Angeles Police Department said. There were no reports of injuries.
While grappling with growing protests from coast to coast, schools have the added pressure of May commencement ceremonies. At Columbia University in New York, students defiantly erected an encampment where many are set to graduate in front of families in just a few weeks. Columbia continued to negotiate with students after several failed attempts — and more than 100 arrests — to clear the encampment.
At USC, tensions were already high after the university canceled a planned commencement speech by the school’s pro-Palestinian valedictorian, citing safety concerns. After scuffles with police early Wednesday, a few dozen demonstrators standing in a circle with locked arms were detained one by one without incident later in the evening.
Officers encircled the dwindling group sitting in defiance of an earlier warning to disperse or be arrested. Beyond the police line, hundreds of onlookers watched as helicopters buzzed overhead. The school closed the campus.
Earlier Wednesday, officers at the University of Texas at Austin aggressively detained dozens of protesters. Hundreds of local and state police — including some on horseback and holding batons — bulldozed into protesters, at one point sending some tumbling into the street. Officers pushed their way into the crowd and made 34 arrests at the behest of the university and Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott, according to the state Department of Public Safety.
A photographer covering the demonstration for Fox 7 Austin was in the push-and-pull when an officer yanked him backward to the ground, video shows. The station confirmed that the photographer was arrested. A longtime Texas journalist was knocked down in the mayhem and could be seen bleeding before police helped him to emergency medical staff.
Dane Urquhart, a third-year student at Texas, said the police presence and arrests were too much and the protest would have stayed peaceful if officers hadn't shown up in such large numbers.
Urquhart said that because of all the arrests, more demonstrations are likely to occur.
After hours of trying to control the crowd, the police left, and about 300 demonstrators returned to sit on the grass and chant under the school’s iconic clock tower.
The university’s president, Jay Hartzell, said in a statement on Wednesday night, “Our rules matter, and they will be enforced. Our University will not be occupied.”
At California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, protesters were barricaded inside a building for a third day, prompting the school to shut down campus through the weekend and make classes virtual.
Harvard University in Massachusetts had tried to prevent protests this week by restricting access to Harvard Yard and requiring permission for tents and tables. However, protesters still set up a camp with 14 tents Wednesday after a rally against the university’s suspension of the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee.
Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war are asking for schools to end financial connections with Israel and stop investing in companies supporting its months-long conflict. Some Jewish students feel the protests have turned into antisemitism and made them reluctant to be on campus as graduation approaches, which has led to a stronger response from universities.
This week, 133 protesters were taken into custody at New York University, and over 40 protesters were arrested at Yale University on Monday.
Columbia University avoided another conflict between students and police on Wednesday. University President Minouche Shafik had set a midnight deadline on Tuesday to reach an agreement on clearing an encampment, but the school extended negotiations until early Friday.
During a visit to campus on Wednesday, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, called on Shafik to resign “if she cannot bring order to this chaos.”
He said, “If this is not contained quickly and if these threats and intimidation are not stopped, there is an appropriate time for the National Guard.”
On Wednesday evening, a Columbia spokesperson said the rumors about the university threatening to bring in the National Guard were untrue. “Our focus is to restore order, and if we can achieve that through dialogue, we will,” said Ben Chang, Columbia’s vice president for communications.
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Meredith Perry reported from New Hampshire, and Associated Press journalists including Joey Cappelletti, Will Weissert, Larry Lage, Steve LeBlanc, Dave Collins, Jim Salter, Haven Daley, Jesse Bedayn, John Antczak, Julie Walker and Joseph Krauss contributed to this report.
