The University of Virginia is located in Charlottesville, Virginia.
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Police arrested at least 25 pro-Palestinian protesters and cleared an encampment at the University of Virginia on Saturday, the University of Virginia said in a statement, as U.S. campuses braced for more unrest during graduation celebrations.
Tensions are rising on the University of Virginia’s Charlottesville campus, where protests had been largely peaceful until Saturday morning, when police in riot gear could be seen on video moving through an encampment on the campus lawn, using Zip ties were tied to some of the demonstrators and chemical sprays were used using what emerged.
Students across the United States rallied or set up tents at dozens of universities to protest the months-long war in Gaza and called on President Joe Biden, who supports Israel, to do more to stop the bloodshed in Gaza. They also demand that schools divest from companies that support the Israeli government, such as weapons suppliers.
The University of Virginia said in a news release that protesters violated several university policies, including setting up tents and using loudspeakers on Friday night.
University of Virginia President Jim Ryan wrote in a message that officials had learned that “individuals not affiliated with the university” who had raised “some safety concerns” had joined protesters on campus.
It was unclear how many of those arrested were University of Virginia students.
A group called “UVA Gaza Camp” said earlier this week it had established the camp and posted an Instagram post condemning the university’s decision to call police.
Dozens of people were arrested for trespassing during a demonstration outside the Art Institute of Chicago on Saturday, the Chicago Police Department said on Sunday, after police were called in to disperse protesters who were allegedly illegally occupying its property.
Elsewhere, confrontations did not escalate to arrests. In Ann Arbor, pro-Palestinian protesters briefly disrupted a University of Michigan commencement ceremony.
Video shared on social media showed dozens of students wearing traditional headdresses and graduation caps and waving Palestinian flags walking down the center aisle of Michigan Stadium as thousands of people cheered and booed.
University spokesperson Colleen Mastoni said the ceremony continued and campus police escorted protesters to the back of the stadium but no arrests were made.
“Similar peaceful protests have occurred at UM commencement ceremonies for decades,” Mastoni said in a statement. “The university supports freedom of speech and expression, and university leaders are pleased that today’s commencement ceremony is Such a proud and triumphant moment.”
Over the past few weeks, American campuses have erupted in conflicting, sometimes violent, views on Israel’s war in Gaza.
Many schools, including Columbia University in New York City, have called on police to quell the protests. So far, police have arrested more than 2,000 protesters at universities across the country.
The University of Michigan is one of many universities changing safety protocols for commencement ceremonies.
The anti-war protests were in response to Israel’s offensive in Gaza. According to health authorities in Gaza, Israel has killed more than 34,000 people in retaliation and razed the Palestinian territory to the ground.
Anger at Ole Miss
In a fiercely competitive and divisive US election year, campus protests have become a new political hot spot.
A pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Mississippi on Thursday was greeted by more counter-protesters who sang the national anthem and carried American flags.
The incident at Ole Miss, the state’s flagship university, sparked widespread outrage and condemnation after a video showed a group of mostly white students taunting a black female protester. Some chanted racist slurs, and one person could be heard making monkey-sounding noises toward black students.
Although the university’s president condemned the “racist overtones” of the incident and said an investigation was ongoing, Georgia Republican Rep. Mike Collins shared the video on his X account on Friday. And wrote, “The old lady takes care of business.”
A spokesman for Collins said he was referring to examples of “ordinary students… standing up to a tiny minority of left-wing demagogues who only care about disruption and destruction.”
Another Republican, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, said on Saturday he would send U.S. police officers to counterprotesters on college campuses “to protect our flag and stand up for America.” Popular fast food chain Chick-fil-A.
“The actions of these young people give me hope for the next generation to show their love for our country,” Graham’s X post read.
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