Student anger with university officials and law enforcement fueled worsening tensions on several US campuses Tuesday after days of pro-Palestinian protests that have triggered mass arrests and shut down classes.
Some of America's most prestigious universities have been rocked by protests in recent weeks as students and other agitators take over quads and disrupt campus activities, furious over the Israel-Hamas war and ensuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
At Columbia University in New York, the core of the spreading protests, organizers are calling for the university to divest from companies "that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide and occupation in Palestine."
Pro-Israel supporters and others worried about campus safety have pointed to anti-Semitic incidents and argue that campuses are encouraging intimidation and hate speech.
"Students have the right to protest, but they are not allowed to disrupt campus life or harass and intimidate," Columbia's vice president of public affairs Ben Chang told reporters Monday.
"We are acting on concerns we are hearing from our Jewish students," he said, adding that university officials were meeting "in good faith" with the demonstrators.
