Picture: The New York Times
Law enforcement presence intensified on American university campuses on Wednesday following the dispersal of weeks-long protests against Israel's conflict with Hamas. At the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), numerous police vehicles patrolled in response to violent clashes overnight, sparked by counter-protesters assaulting a camp of pro-Palestinian students.
Similarly, at Columbia University in New York City, a focal point of the demonstrations, police remained on standby after intervening late Tuesday to halt the protests.
The sight of heavily equipped police at these prestigious institutions left some students disheartened. "Having a significant police presence on campus feels unsettling," remarked UCLA student Mark Torre, 22, as he observed from behind barricades. "Yet, as time passes, I'm starting to see it as a necessary measure to maintain campus safety."
Meanwhile, students at Columbia and the City University of New York (CUNY), where police dispersed demonstrators overnight, criticized the forceful tactics employed by officers. "We were subjected to violence, aggressively arrested. I was detained for up to six hours, enduring injuries, including being trampled and cut," recounted a CUNY student named Jose.
A medical student attending to released detainees described a range of injuries, including severe head trauma and unconsciousness induced by police actions.
Police Commissioner Edward Caban reported around 300 arrests at Columbia and CUNY during a press conference on Wednesday. Mayor Eric Adams attributed the escalated tensions to "outside agitators," a claim refuted by Columbia students.
Expressing regret over the turn of events, Columbia's president, Minouche Shafik, acknowledged feeling profound sadness. "I apologize that we've reached this point," she stated.
Campus unrest has swept across at least 30 US universities since last month, with protesters establishing tent encampments to decry the high death toll from Israel's Gaza conflict. This has posed a challenge for university administrations balancing free speech rights with concerns of criminality, anti-Semitism, and hate speech.
The Biden administration, despite its pro-Israel stance, emphasized the importance of peaceful protest within the confines of the law. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump applauded the police response at Columbia, urging college presidents to dismantle encampments and reclaim campuses from radicals.
In recent developments, protests persisted at Columbia and Fordham University in New York, with law enforcement intervening at several campuses across the country to disperse demonstrators labeled as engaging in "unlawful assembly."
The Gaza conflict ignited when Hamas militants launched a significant attack on Israel, resulting in approximately 1,170 deaths, mostly civilians, according to Israeli official figures. In retaliation, Israel's offensive in Gaza claimed over 34,500 lives, predominantly women and children, according to Gaza's health ministry, which is overseen by Hamas.