Last night protesters who occupied, vandalized and blockaded Columbia University's Hamilton Hall were arrested by the NY Police Department. Kicked off by Columbia, Connecticut has had its share of campus protests.
UConn: UConn police arrested protestors who refuse to vacate the encampment at Dove Tower. Some threatened to disrupt graduation ceremonies if their demands were not met.
Yale: Police moved in to remove a second pro-Palestinian protest encampments at Cross Campus. School officials issued final warnings to protestors that they must vacate or face discipline including suspension for violating university rules and arrest for trespassing.
Wesleyan: An encampment at Wesleyan's Middletown campus remained on Tuesday morning, and appeared to have grown in size.
Protestor demands: Students and faculty have called for (1) stop the war by Israel on Palestine civilians and children, (2) disclose and divest school investments in weapon-makers of which there are many based in CT. (3) financial transparency. At UConn, calls for the school to end its ties with Pratt & Whitney, the aircraft engine manufacturer, as well as Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies. Abolish "Lockheed Martin Day" is a day that has been marked by UConn to celebrate the school’s relationship with the defense giant. At Yale, the panel that advises the school's endowment has already said it has no plans to divest of weapons manufacturing that didn't meet the "grave social injury" prerequisite for divestment.
Lawmakers and alumni concerns: Safety for all students, notably Jewish students, over instances of antisemitism tied to the protests. Concerns about interrupting school activities including graduations. Suspicions about coordination of efforsts, outside groups funding tents (all the same type throughout all the campuses) and the presence of professional outside paid agitators.
Why: The nationwide campus protests began at Columbia in response to Israel’s offensive in Gaza after Hamas launched a deadly attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7. Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages. Vowing to stamp out Hamas, Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
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