by: Mariama Bah
There have been several pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses across the United States ever since the October 7 attack on Israel. Tensions have risen between colleges and their students as they put on brave demonstrations advocating for human rights and an end to the war which has killed over 30,000 Palestinians and over 1,000 Israelis.
Protests and encampments have taken place in dozens of colleges across the U.S. including Columbia University, University of Southern California, New York University, Yale, and more. Students at Columbia and Barnard College in New York City set up the Gaza Solidarity Encampment on the university’s lawn on April 17. Columbia's president, Dr. Minouche Shafik called the police which led to the arrests of more than 100 people. However, this mass arrest sparked a nationwide movement across other college campuses.
Encampments, in solidarity with Columbia students, have been set up at other Ivy League institutions such as UPenn, Harvard, Yale, and the University of Texas. Controversy has been ongoing at USC since the university decided to cancel the speech of their pro-Palestine valedictorian, Asna Tabassum. The university stated the cancellation was due to safety concerns. Over the past week, the university has seen an increase in pro-Palestinian protests which has led to the cancelation of USC’s main stage graduation ceremony.
The unrest on these campuses has led many to ponder: Why are these students sacrificing their education and what do they want? Students are asking for their universities to divest from companies linked to Israel and to cut academic ties with Israeli universities. These fearless students continue to put on an incredible stand all in the name of human rights and an end to the war in Gaza.
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