NEW YORK (AP) – Pro-Palestinian protesters who had been prevented by police from entering an encampment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Monday broke through a fence and carried weapons as Columbia University canceled its university-wide graduation ceremony. and surrounded the remaining tents.after the ceremony Demo over several weeks.
Sam Innes, a graduate student in mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a member of MIT Jews for a Ceasefire, said the group has been in the camp for the past two weeks and hopes to stop the killing of thousands of people. He said he was asking for it. Gaza.
“In particular, our camp protests MIT's direct research relationship with the Israeli Ministry of Defense,” he said.
Protesters also sat in the middle of Massachusetts Avenue, temporarily blocking the street during rush hour in the Boston area. By the evening, the atmosphere around the MIT protest had lessened, and protesters listened to speeches and joined in chants before taking a break for a pizza dinner.
The bulk of the police withdrew from the post after providing a stronger presence earlier in the day. An MIT spokesperson said the fence was breached after protesters arrived from outside the university, and no arrests had been made by Monday night.
Demonstrations at Columbia University have disrupted the campus, and officials announced Monday that while no major ceremonies would be held, students could celebrate with a series of smaller, school-based ceremonies this week and next.
This decision comes as universities across the United States are grappling with how to handle graduation ceremonies for students whose high school graduation ceremonies were canceled in 2020 due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). It was conducted. Emory University, another campus rocked by protests, announced Monday that it would move its graduation ceremonies from its Atlanta campus. To the suburban arena. University of Michigan, Indiana University, Northeastern University and others have canceled ceremonies. little confusion.
Columbia University's decision to cancel a major ceremony scheduled for May 15 has prompted the university's president, Minoush Shafiq, to hold the graduation ceremony in the same location on campus where police cleared a protest encampment last week. There will be no need to give a speech. The Ivy League school in upper Manhattan said the decision was made after discussions with students.
“Students emphasized that these small, school-based celebrations were the most meaningful to them and their families,” officials said.
Most of the ceremonies scheduled for the south lawn of the main campus, where the encampment was cleared last week, will now be held at Columbia University's sports complex, about 5 miles (8 kilometers) north, officials said. .
Several commencement speakers still scheduled at Columbia University include Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright James I. James and Dr. Monica Bertagnoli, director of the National Institutes of Health.
Columbia University had already canceled in-person classes.More than 200 pro-Palestinian demonstrators camped in Colombia's green spaces and parks. occupied an academic building He has been arrested in recent weeks.
Similar camps have sprung up elsewhere as universities struggle to decide where to base themselves. Draw a line Between allowing free expression while maintaining a safe and inclusive campus.
Formerly University of Southern California Major graduation ceremonies have been canceled.student abandoned their camp He was arrested Sunday at the University of Southern California after being surrounded by police and threatened with arrest.
Other universities also held graduation ceremonies with increased security. University of Michigan On Saturday, the ceremony was interrupted by several chants. In Boston, some students waved small Palestinian or Israeli flags at Northeastern University's graduation ceremony at Fenway Park on Sunday.
AP correspondent Julie Walker reports that Columbia University has canceled a major graduation ceremony following pro-Palestinian campus protests.
Emory's ceremony, scheduled for May 13, will be held at the GasSouth Arena Convocation Center in Duluth, nearly 20 miles (30 kilometers) northeast of the university's Atlanta campus, President Gregory Fenves said. stated in an open letter.
“Please know that this decision was not made lightly,” Fenves wrote. “This was done in close consultation with the Emory Police Department, security advisors, and other agencies. Each agency recommended that graduation events not be held on campus.”
The university, which has 16,000 students, has been the site of repeated protests since the conflict began on October 7, when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel. This is one of the universities where approximately 250 people were taken hostage. Student protesters are calling on the school to: Sale from a company Anyone who does business with Israel or contributes to the war effort.
Pledging to annihilate Hamas, Israel launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip that killed more than 34,500 Palestinians, about two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled area's health ministry. Ta. The enclave was destroyed by Israeli military attacks and most of the population was evacuated.
Hamas announced on Monday that it would accept Egyptian-Qatari nationals. ceasefire proposal, But Israel said the deal did not meet its “core demands” and was pressing ahead with attacks on the southern Gaza town of Rafah.
“The ceasefire is temporary,” said Georgetown University sophomore Selina Al Shihabi, who was participating in the protest at George Washington. “There could be a ceasefire, but the U.S. government will continue to arm the Israeli military. We're going to be here until the university disbands or the university drags us out of here.”
At the University of California, San Diego, police cleared an encampment and arrested more than 64 people, including 40 students.
The University of California, Los Angeles, has moved all classes online throughout the week due to continued disruption from last week's encampment clearing. University police reported 44 arrests.
Chancellor Gene Block announced Monday night that UCLA's newly appointed chief security officer will be working to identify and prosecute “a group of instigators” who led a violent attack on pro-Palestinian demonstrators on April 30. He announced that he would lead the investigation. The university requested the Los Angeles Police Department. Block said he is seeking assistance from the FBI and district attorney's office.
Schools have tried a variety of tactics, from appeasement to threats of disciplinary action, to get demonstrators to leave their encampments or move to areas of campus where the protests have less impact.
At the Rhode Island School of Design, where students occupied the building, a spokesperson said Monday that the school affirms students' rights to free expression, free speech, and peaceful assembly; He said he supports all members of the community. The RISD president and the governor were at the scene meeting with demonstrators on Monday, a spokesperson said.
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago said in a Facebook post Sunday that it would provide “academic sanctions and amnesty from trespass charges” if the protesters were moved.
“Many demonstrators left the premises of their own accord after being advised by police that they could be arrested for trespassing,'' the school said. “Those who remained were arrested after being warned multiple times to leave, including some who identified themselves as SAIC students.”
A group of faculty and staff at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has asked the administration to pardon students who were arrested and suspended during recent protests. The UNC Palestine Justice faculty member said in a media advisory that he is delivering the letter on behalf of more than 500 faculty members who support student activists.
Other universities have taken a different approach.
Harvard University interim president Alan Garber has warned students that students attending a pro-Palestinian camp in Harvard Yard could face “involuntary leave.” That means they may not be allowed on campus, lose their residence halls and be unable to take exams, Gerber said.
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LeBlanc reported from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Associated Press writers Jeff Amy in Atlanta and Christopher Webber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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This story has been corrected to change the Columbia University president's first name to Minouche, reflecting her preference.
