“You should be outraged”: Student Anti-war Protests Roil Campuses Across The Country

Photo by Ian Murphy

Inside the front entrance to the Elmhurst University library sits a modest memorial that countless students pass by each day, but which has never gotten public acknowledgment beyond that.

This impromptu shrine first popped up in February of this year and has since grown in size throughout the semester with the addition of drawings, messages, and prayers to candles and Palestinian flag pins.

‘4/24/24, 200 days of horror. You should be outraged,’ reads one sign more recently added to the memorial. ‘To all the precious children no longer with us, I hope you found peace,’ reads another.

It’s not clear who originally established this memorial, but for the students who walk past this small act of solidarity to get into the library each day, the fake candles that continuously burn are a reminder of the lives lost in Gaza. A way to show that some part of the EU community has not forgotten, or turned a blind eye to what is happening across the globe — even if they feel it’s best to work in the shadows.

The admins of a new Instagram account, @eustudentsforpalestine, have started posting videos of other universities’ protests, aiming to shine a light on the lives of Palestinians and the ongoing conflict in Gaza. They did not respond to The Leader’s requests for comment.

These protests have been happening throughout April and have continued into May, with students from large universities like Columbia University, UC Berkley, University of Chicago, and countless others staging walkouts and setting up encampments in public areas on campus. These acts of protest and solidarity with the people in Gaza have led to countless arrests and national news coverage from people on both sides of the issue – as well as criticism over reported antisemitic incidents at some of the demonstrations.

There are now over 120 campuses nationwide that have started their own Gaza encampments, each with its own list of demands – but the common theme among them is calling on their universities to divest from companies that are currently funding Israel’s military efforts against Gaza.

Tensions have continued to rise as some of the universities’ encampments continued for days on end, with administrators from these universities calling in armed law enforcement to arrest protestors and take down their encampments.

Controversy sparked a few weeks ago amongst unverified reports of Indiana University and Ohio State University stationing snipers on the roofs of public buildings, silently taking up arms against students in a move all too familiar to those aware of the history of the Kent State Massacre in 1970.

However, officials from the universities stated that these were law enforcement officials serving as spotters, who are also employed during large school sports gatherings.

Days later, all eyes turned to the Columbia University campus as peaceful protests escalated to unprecedented violence with the university-sanctioned deployment of the NYPD on the night of April 30.

Columbia University President Minouche Shafik said in a letter sent to the community last Wednesday that protestors breaking into and occupying one of the buildings on campus pushed the university “to the brink,” and prompted the response of hundreds of NYPD officers on campus the night before.

The occupied building in question, Hamilton Hall, was renamed by student protestors to Hind’s Hall to honor the six-year-old child who was killed by Israeli fire in Gaza after spending hours on the phone with aid workers as she sat trapped in a car with her deceased family members.

Controversy surrounded the narrative of the occupants of Hind’s Hall as New York City Mayor Eric Adams claimed that the intelligence division gained sensitive intel that some of the people within the protest weren’t members of the student body but rather, ‘outside agitators.’

Student reporters from Columbia’s campus radio station, WKCR, were among some of the only press able to give coverage during these events as they were trapped on campus during its lockdown.

These reporters were on the field during the NYPD occupation of their campus and disputed these claims as they were touted on air by reporters on CNN and MSNBC. The student reporters stated they had confirmation from peers of students who occupied the Hall, and that any intelligence claiming the occupants were non-students was blatantly false.

One Police Plaza confirmed the next morning that the NYPD arrested 119 people on the Columbia University campus the night of April 30 but wouldn’t say how many of those were students. They also stated that no press was allowed during the de-occupation of Hind’s Hall, including the student reporters from WKCR.

Across the country on the very same night, pro-Palestine supporters were attacked by counterprotesters at the University of California, Los Angeles. The mob of counterprotesters attempted to dismantle barricades at the UCLA encampment, launching fireworks into the sea of tents and opening fire with tear gas in an attempt to flush the demonstrators out.

Law enforcement was called in to respond to this attack and prevent counterprotesters from launching further explosives, but many people on site say they didn’t act quickly enough.

The LAPD’s response to the violent attacks was most notably criticized by California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office. A spokesperson from his office said the “limited and delayed” police intervention was “unacceptable.”

After a night of dodging attacks from counterprotesters, UCLA students were greeted the next morning by the LAPD, who set off flash grenades and shot rubber bullets into the crowd, driving them out of the encampment so that it could be completely dismantled.

A spokesperson for UC Divest at UCLA told the Daily Bruin, UCLA’s student newspaper, “25 protestors within the pro-Palestinian encampment were hospitalized,” as a result of the two attacks from counterprotesters and law enforcement.

Closer to home, at Northwestern University, officials and student protestors have come to an agreement of sorts. The Daily Northwestern reported on April 29 that the university would agree to allow protests to continue on campus up until June 1, the final day of their spring quarter classes, so long as the protest only included students and faculty with no one else from the public allowed into the encampment.

“In exchange, students will still be able to organize under a permit granted by NU, they will use only approved devices to project or amplify sound. Previously scheduled events must be able to proceed,” the university said.

The nonprofit Human Rights Watch calls for universities to follow suit with Northwestern University, urging them to respect their students’ rights to protest, and reminding administrations across the country to “be careful not to mislabel criticism of Israeli government policies or advocacy for Palestinian rights as inherently antisemitic, or to misuse university authority to quash peaceful protest.”

While it’s unclear how long the war between Israel and Palestine will continue, the U.S. government doesn’t appear to be shying away from providing funding to Israel with the signing of foreign aid legislation into law that would provide over $94 billion in military aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.

Only a week later, the state department found in an investigation that five units of Israel’s security forces were responsible for “gross violations of human rights,” which is notably the first time this ruling has been made regarding Israeli forces throughout the conflict.

However, amidst the ruling, the state department has not barred any of these units from receiving U.S. military funding and assistance.

Since this war began on Oct. 7 of last year with Hamas’ attack on Israel, Israel’s military has killed at least 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza.

The U.S. has called for an immediate ceasefire, saying that future support and aid for Israel will depend on the ‘concrete action’ taken by Benjamin Netanyahu to protect civilians and aid workers in Gaza.

Last week, President Joe Biden addressed the nation with remarks on the campus protests, advocating for free speech while also condemning the student protestors for their methods.

“I understand people have strong feelings and deep convictions. In America, we respect the right and protect the right for them to express that,” said Biden. “But it doesn’t mean anything goes. It needs to be done without violence, without destruction, without hate, and within the law.”

“Dissent is essential to democracy. But dissent must never lead to disorder,” concluded Biden