April 29, 2024 - Columbia begins suspending student protesters

Our live coverage of the protests has moved here.

Dozens of Columbia University students are occupying Hamilton Hall, one of the campus buildings occupied during 1968 student protests, according to a social media post early Tuesday from Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine. 

Overnight, protesters on campus made their way from the West Lawn encampment to Hamilton Hall, one of the main academic buildings for undergraduates.

A large group of protesters rallied in front of Hamilton Hall early Tuesday, chanting the call-and-response, "What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now."

Hours earlier, the university announced it had begun suspending students who refused to leave the encampment before a 2 p.m. Monday deadline set by the administration.

CNN has reached out to Columbia University and the New York Police Department for more information.   

At least six protesters were arrested at Tulane University on Monday after tents were set up on the campus in New Orleans that day, a university public safety official said.

"Today, participants in a protest that was unregistered and unsanctioned by Tulane University stormed university property and erected tents on the edge of the lawn in front of Gibson Hall near the sidewalk," said Kirk Bouyelas, Tulane's associate vice president for public safety.

After university police warned protesters not to enter school property, they began arresting people and clearing tents, Bouyelas said. He called it an "ongoing situation."

The protesters were arrested on suspicion of offenses including trespassing, battery on an officer and resisting arrest, according to Bouyelas.

"We are working with local law enforcement and government officials to resolve the situation. The safety and well-being of the members of the Tulane community is our top priority," he said. 

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee warned protesters who established an encampment on its campus Monday that "camping on campus grounds is unlawful" and violates state code.

"The vast majority of protests on UWM’s campus during the last several months have been peaceful and lawful, and UWM is steadfast in respecting the right to free speech. At the same time, it is critical that we maintain a safe and welcoming environment for our students, employees and visitors," the school said in a release.

The university also reiterated its calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages.

The university said it has received a list of demands from protesters, which includes calls to suspend academic ties with Israeli institutions.

"While UWM does not have any active study abroad programs with universities in Israel, prohibiting faculty from engaging with any institution or country would infringe on their academic freedom. Although we understand the protesters’ desire for the safety and peace of all those in Gaza, stifling academic freedom or free speech would not accomplish that goal," the university said.

Amid widespread calls from US student protesters for their schools to divest from entities that profit from the war in Gaza, the school also said it "has no investments in weapons manufacturers."

Many of the concerns from protesters were addressed in meetings between students and administrators, the university said.

"We ask again that people respect each other’s diverse viewpoints as well as the laws so that we can all feel safe and welcome here," the school concluded in its statement.

Police in Richmond responded to protesters at Virginia Commonwealth University's campus Monday.

Video from CNN affiliate WWBT shows people being taken into custody.

Dozens of protesters gathered near the university’s library in an area they’ve called a “liberation zone,” according to WWBT. Video from the affiliate shows officers in riot gear apprehending individuals and throwing one person to the ground while shouting: “Stop resisting. You’re under arrest.”

In a statement to CNN, Virginia Commonwealth University said the gathering "violated several university policies."

“VCU respectfully and repeatedly provided opportunities for those individuals involved – many of whom were not students — to collect their belongings and leave. Those who did not leave were subject to arrest for trespassing,” the university said.

Both students and non-students were arrested and the university is dismantling the encampment, according to Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. She noted a "significant number" of non-students were in the crowd. A Virginia State Police spokesperson said the department responded to the protest to assist campus police.

In a Monday evening advisory on its website, the university initially described the protests as "violent," but later removed the advisory language from its website and instead described the gathering as a "public assembly."

A university spokesperson declined to comment when asked about the change in language.

CNN’s Aaron Eggleston contributed to this report

University of Southern California President Carol Folt said she met with student organizers of campus protests Monday, but conceded that no agreement has been reached.

“The students said at the end they wouldn't have considered this meeting a win from their perspective, and I can fully appreciate that,” Folt said in a statement. “For me, the most important point was that we were starting to talk, and I think that was vital. I felt like they were being honest and telling me how they felt, which was very meaningful.”

The meeting, which also included a faculty member, lasted about 90 minutes, the president said. Folt said she plans to meet with the group again tomorrow.

“I think we need to continue to have those conversations, and I'm pleased we all agree on that. We'll go day by day,” she said. 

Some of the pro-Palestinian demonstrators who were taken into custody at UT-Austin on Monday were arrested on suspicion of trespassing, while others are accused of disorderly conduct after refusing to disperse, university officials said in a statement. 

Demonstrators set up an encampment that included a “barricade enclosure of tables secured by metal chains, and strategically placed tools, tents, and rocks,” the statement read. 

 Protesters “escalated” the situation, and in response, officials “took swift action to preserve a safe, conducive learning environment for our 53,000 students as they prepare for final exams,” according to the statement. 

“UT Austin requested backup assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety to protect the safety of the campus community and enforce our Institutional Rules, such as the rule that prohibits encampments on campus,” officials explained. “Because of the encampments and other violations of the University’s Institutional Rules related to protests, protestors were told repeatedly to disperse.”

In a statement to CNN Monday, Travis County Attorney Delia Garza said she was concerned the protests on “could escalate and lead to more disruption and violence.” 

“I have begun discussions with the University administration and am hopeful that a reasonable solution can be reached to ensure everyone involved is kept safe and their constitutional rights protected,” Garza said. “We will continue to collaborate with our partners and individually review each case that is presented to our office.”

Nine people were arrested Monday evening at the University of Florida campus protests in Gainesville, Florida, according to Cynthia Roldán Hernández, UF director of public affairs.

"They knew the rules, they broke the rules, and they’ll face the consequences," Steve Orlando, UF spokesperson, said in a statement.
"For many days, we have patiently told protesters — many of whom are outside agitators — that they were able to exercise their right to free speech and free assembly," he said. "And we also told them that clearly prohibited activities would result in a trespassing order from UPD (barring them from all university properties for three years) and an interim suspension from the university."
"For days UPD patiently and consistently reiterated the rules," Orlando said. "Today, individuals who refused to comply were arrested after UPD gave multiple warnings and multiple opportunities to comply.”

CNN has reached out to the Gainesville Police Department for additional information. 

Dozens of people were arrested Monday at a protest on the campus of University of Texas at Austin, according to the university’s Defend Palestine Encampment, who also alleged that officers used force to take people into custody.

The encampment was formed on the school’s South Mall Lawn around 12:30 p.m. CT, and around an hour later, officers from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Austin Police Department and campus police responded wearing riot gear, a news release from organizers said. 

The university is working on compiling information, including the number of people arrested, for a news release later Monday, said Brian Davis, senior manager for issues and crisis communications at the university. 

The Travis County Sheriff’s Office will not have a total number of arrests until Tuesday morning, spokesperson Kristen Dark told CNN. 

CNN has reached out to the Department of Public Safety for comment. 

"We demand that UT divest from the Zionist state of Israel and from all institutions and companies that are enabling the current genocide in Gaza … We demand the resignation of President (Jay) Hartzell for green-lighting the militarized repression of peaceful student protesters on their own campus,” Lenna Nasr, of the Palestinian Youth Movement, said in the news release. 

CNN's Joe Sutton and Cindy Von Quednow contributed to this report.