A NATIONWIDE MOVEMENT
In one of the newest clashes, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, police moved in on Tuesday to clear one encampment, detaining some protesters in a tense showdown.
Meanwhile at northern California’s Cal Poly Humboldt, a week-long occupation was brought to a dramatic end early Tuesday when police moved in to arrest nearly three dozen protesters who had seized buildings and forced the closure of the campus.
In Oregon, Portland State University’s campus was closed Tuesday “due to an ongoing incident” in the library, college authorities said, after local media reported around 50 protesters had broken into the building a day earlier.
And Brown University reached an agreement in which student protesters will remove their encampment in exchange for the institution holding a vote on divesting from Israel – a major concession from an elite American university during the protests.
Footage of police in riot gear summoned at various colleges has been viewed around the world.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk voiced concern at the heavy-handed steps taken to disperse the campus protests, saying “freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly are fundamental to society”.
He added that “incitement to violence or hatred on grounds of identity or viewpoints – whether real or assumed -must be strongly repudiated”.
Shafik said many Jewish students had fled Columbia’s campus in fear. “Anti-Semitic language and actions are unacceptable,” she said.