NEW DELHI: Anti-war demonstrations stopped this week at a few US universities after university officials made agreements with pro-Palestinian protesters to prevent any disruptions of final exams and graduation ceremonies.
The agreements at schools such as Brown, Northwestern, and Rutgers are among the few universities that witnessed over 2,400 arrests on 46 campuses across the country since April 17.
Deals include commitments made by universities to review their investments in Israel or even consider calls to stop doing business with the long-time US ally.
“I think for some universities, it might be just a delaying tactic to diffuse the protests,” AP quoted Ralph Young, a history professor who studies American dissent at Temple University in Philadelphia.
“The end of the semester is happening now. And maybe by the time the next semester begins, there is a cease-fire in Gaza.”
Protesters at the University of Vermont achieved success when the university administration declared on Friday that the commencement speaker, the US ambassador to the United Nations, would no longer deliver a speech to the graduating students at the end of this month.
The demonstrators, who set up a camp on Sunday, had requested that Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield’s speech be excluded from the upcoming ceremony due to her involvement in the US vetoing several UN cease-fire resolutions.
Israel has accused the protests of being anti-Semitic; critics claim that the country employs such accusations to suppress dissent. While a few demonstrators were reported making anti-Semitic comments or threats of violence, the organizers of the protest – including some who are Jewish – have described it as a peaceful campaign to support Palestinian rights and oppose the war.
Administrators at the University of California, Riverside, made an announcement on Friday that they reached an agreement with protesters to shut down their campus encampment. The deal included the formation of a task force to explore removing Riverside’s endowment from the broader UC system’s management and investing those funds “in a manner that will be financially and ethically sound for the university with consideration to the companies involved in arms manufacturing and delivery.”
The announcement marked an apparent split with the policy of the 10-campus UC system, which last week said it opposes “calls for boycott against and divestment from Israel.”
“While the University affirms the right of our community members to express diverse viewpoints, a boycott of this sort impinges on the academic freedom of our students and faculty and the unfettered exchange of ideas on our campuses,” the system said in a statement.
“UC tuition and fees are the primary funding sources for the University’s core operations. None of these funds are used for investment purposes.”
Demonstrators at Rutgers University, where finals were paused due to the protests on its New Brunswick campus, also packed up their tents on Thursday afternoon. The state university agreed to establish an Arab Cultural Center and not to retaliate against any students involved in the camp.
Chancellor Francine Conway mentioned the protesters’ demand to stop investing in companies that have business dealings with Israel and to end Rutgers’ connections with Tel Aviv University. She said the the request is under review, but “such decisions fall outside of our administrative scope.”
Protesters at Brown University in Rhode Island agreed to take down their camp on Tuesday. School officials mentioned that students have the opportunity to make a case for removing Brown’s investment from companies involved in and benefiting from the conflict in Gaza.
In addition, President Christina Paxson of Brown University will request an advisory committee to provide a suggestion on divestment by September 30. This recommendation will then be presented to the university’s governing corporation for a vote in October.
Northwestern’s Deering Meadow in suburban Chicago also became quiet after reaching an agreement on Monday. The agreement reduced protest actions in exchange for bringing back an advisory committee on university investments and other obligations.
The arrangement received criticism from both sides. Some pro-Palestinian protesters condemned it as a failure to stick to their original demands, while some supporters of Israel said it represented “cowardly’ capitulation.
Seven of 18 members subsequently resigned from a university committee that advises the administration on addressing antisemitism, Islamophobia and expressions of hatred on campus, saying they couldn’t continue to serve “with antisemitism so present at Northwestern in public view for the past week.”
Michael Simon, who is the executive director of an organization for Jewish students called Northwestern Hillel, mentioned that he resigned because he believed that the committee would not be able to reach its objectives.
Faculty at Pomona College in California voted in favor of divesting from companies they said are funding Israel’s war in Gaza, a group of faculty and students said Friday.
The vote on Thursday does not have a binding effect on the liberal arts school, which has almost 1,800 students located to the east of Los Angeles. However, supporters expressed their hope that this vote would motivate the board to cease investing in these companies and to begin disclosing the locations of its investments.
“This nonbinding faculty statement does not represent any official position of Pomona College,” the school said in a statement. “We will continue to encourage further dialogue within in our community, including consideration of counterarguments.”
The movement started on April 17 at Columbia, where student protesters constructed a camp to demand an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Late Tuesday, the police arrested over 100 individuals when they disbanded the Columbia encampment. According to the NYPD, an officer unintentionally fired his weapon inside Hamilton Hall during the operation on late Thursday.
According to the health ministry in Gaza Strip, more than 34,000 Palestinians have lost their lives in the conflict. Following the incident on October 7, where Hamas militants caused the death of approximately 1,200 individuals, mainly civilians, and held around 250 hostages in southern Israel, Israel initiated its offensive.
( with input from agency)
The agreements at schools such as Brown, Northwestern, and Rutgers are among the few universities that witnessed over 2,400 arrests on 46 campuses across the country since April 17.
Deals include commitments made by universities to review their investments in Israel or even consider calls to stop doing business with the long-time US ally.
“I think for some universities, it might be just a delaying tactic to diffuse the protests,” AP quoted Ralph Young, a history professor who studies American dissent at Temple University in Philadelphia.
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Protesters at the University of Vermont achieved success when the university administration declared on Friday that the commencement speaker, the US ambassador to the United Nations, would no longer deliver a speech to the graduating students at the end of this month.
The demonstrators, who set up a camp on Sunday, had requested that Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield’s speech be excluded from the upcoming ceremony due to her involvement in the US vetoing several UN cease-fire resolutions.
Israel has accused the protests of being anti-Semitic; critics claim that the country employs such accusations to suppress dissent. While a few demonstrators were reported making anti-Semitic comments or threats of violence, the organizers of the protest – including some who are Jewish – have described it as a peaceful campaign to support Palestinian rights and oppose the war.
Administrators at the University of California, Riverside, made an announcement on Friday that they reached an agreement with protesters to shut down their campus encampment. The deal included the formation of a task force to explore removing Riverside’s endowment from the broader UC system’s management and investing those funds “in a manner that will be financially and ethically sound for the university with consideration to the companies involved in arms manufacturing and delivery.”
The announcement marked an apparent split with the policy of the 10-campus UC system, which last week said it opposes “calls for boycott against and divestment from Israel.”
“While the University affirms the right of our community members to express diverse viewpoints, a boycott of this sort impinges on the academic freedom of our students and faculty and the unfettered exchange of ideas on our campuses,” the system said in a statement.
“UC tuition and fees are the primary funding sources for the University’s core operations. None of these funds are used for investment purposes.”
Demonstrators at Rutgers University, where finals were paused due to the protests on its New Brunswick campus, also packed up their tents on Thursday afternoon. The state university agreed to establish an Arab Cultural Center and not to retaliate against any students involved in the camp.
Chancellor Francine Conway mentioned the protesters’ demand to stop investing in companies that have business dealings with Israel and to end Rutgers’ connections with Tel Aviv University. She said the the request is under review, but “such decisions fall outside of our administrative scope.”
Protesters at Brown University in Rhode Island agreed to take down their camp on Tuesday. School officials mentioned that students have the opportunity to make a case for removing Brown’s investment from companies involved in and benefiting from the conflict in Gaza.
In addition, President Christina Paxson of Brown University will request an advisory committee to provide a suggestion on divestment by September 30. This recommendation will then be presented to the university’s governing corporation for a vote in October.
Northwestern’s Deering Meadow in suburban Chicago also became quiet after reaching an agreement on Monday. The agreement reduced protest actions in exchange for bringing back an advisory committee on university investments and other obligations.
The arrangement received criticism from both sides. Some pro-Palestinian protesters condemned it as a failure to stick to their original demands, while some supporters of Israel said it represented “cowardly’ capitulation.
Seven of 18 members subsequently resigned from a university committee that advises the administration on addressing antisemitism, Islamophobia and expressions of hatred on campus, saying they couldn’t continue to serve “with antisemitism so present at Northwestern in public view for the past week.”
Michael Simon, who is the executive director of an organization for Jewish students called Northwestern Hillel, mentioned that he resigned because he believed that the committee would not be able to reach its objectives.
Faculty at Pomona College in California voted in favor of divesting from companies they said are funding Israel’s war in Gaza, a group of faculty and students said Friday.
The vote on Thursday does not have a binding effect on the liberal arts school, which has almost 1,800 students located to the east of Los Angeles. However, supporters expressed their hope that this vote would motivate the board to cease investing in these companies and to begin disclosing the locations of its investments.
“This nonbinding faculty statement does not represent any official position of Pomona College,” the school said in a statement. “We will continue to encourage further dialogue within in our community, including consideration of counterarguments.”
The movement started on April 17 at Columbia, where student protesters constructed a camp to demand an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Late Tuesday, the police arrested over 100 individuals when they disbanded the Columbia encampment. According to the NYPD, an officer unintentionally fired his weapon inside Hamilton Hall during the operation on late Thursday.
According to the health ministry in Gaza Strip, more than 34,000 Palestinians have lost their lives in the conflict. Following the incident on October 7, where Hamas militants caused the death of approximately 1,200 individuals, mainly civilians, and held around 250 hostages in southern Israel, Israel initiated its offensive.
( with input from agency)
