Widespread pro-Palestinian demonstrations at American colleges in the past week and a half accounted for one-fifth of such protests since the war in Gaza began, according to a Post analysis of Crowd Counting Consortium data.
How pro-Palestinian college protests have grown, visualized
Updated April 30, 2024 at 5:24 p.m. EDT|Published April 30, 2024 at 4:04 p.m. EDT
The outbreak of nearly 400 demonstrations is the most widespread since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. From the Ivy League to small colleges, students have set up encampments and organized rallies and marches, with many demanding that their schools divest from Israeli corporations.
The Crowd Counting Consortium is a collaborative project collecting data on political crowds in the United States, including pro-Palestinian protests on campuses. In addition to a marked increase in the number of protests, the data also shows that estimated attendance at the largest protests has increased, with some drawing thousands. The group recorded a police presence at about one-third of the demonstrations.
Protests on U.S. campuses
in the last three weeks
*Protests over multiple days are depicted
with one circle for each day.
Police presence
Est. crowd size
Yes
No
2,000
200
Week beginning April 10
Northwestern
Univ.
Univ. of
North Texas
Univ. of
Oregon
George
Wash.
Brown
Georgetown
Pomona
College
Week beginning April 17
Yale
Indiana
Emerson
Columbia
(April 23)
Harvard
Tufts
Columbia
(April 18)
Univ. of
Minnesota
NYU
USC
Week beginning April 24
Emory
Univ.
Washington
Univ.
Ohio
State
Arizona
State Univ.
Stanford
Yale
Univ. of
Penn.
Univ. of
Texas at
Austin
UCLA
Univ. of
Delaware
UNC
Chapel Hill
Note: Estimated crowd size represents the
low estimates given for each protest.
Protests on U.S. campuses
in the last three weeks
*Protests over multiple days are depicted with
one circle for each day.
Police presence
Est. crowd size
Yes
No
2,000
200
Week beggining April 10
Northwestern
Univ.
Univ. of
North Texas
Univ. of
Oregon
George
Wash.
Brown
Georgetown
Pomona
College
Week beginning April 17
Yale
Indiana
Emerson
Columbia
(April 23)
Harvard
Tufts
Univ. of
Minnesota
Columbia
(April 18)
USC
NYU
Week beginning April 24
Emory
Univ.
Washington
Univ.
Ohio
State
Arizona
State Univ.
Stanford
Yale
Univ. of
Penn.
Univ. of
Texas at
Austin
UCLA
Univ. of
Delaware
UNC
Chapel Hill
Note: Estimated crowd size represents the low estimates given
for each protest.
Protests on U.S. campuses in the last three weeks
*Protests over multiple days are depicted with one circle for each day.
Police presence
Est. crowd size
Yes
No
2,000
800
200
Week beginning April 10
Northwestern
Univ.
Univ. of
North Texas
Univ. of
Oregon
George
Wash.
Brown
Georgetown
Pomona
College
Week beginning April 17
Indiana
Emerson
Yale
Columbia
(April 23)
Harvard
Tufts
USC
Columbia
(April 18)
Univ. of
Minnesota
NYU
Week beginning April 24
Emory
Univ.
Ohio
State Univ.
Washington
Univ.
Arizona
State Univ.
Stanford
Yale
Univ. of
Pennsylvannia
Univ. of
Texas at
Austin
UCLA
Univ. of
Delaware
UNC
Chapel Hill
Note: Estimated crowd size represents the low estimates given for each protest.
Police presence at campus protests has increased in April, according to the data.
Protests with recorded
police presence
Oct. 2023
41 out of 275 protests
Nov.
54 out of 355
Dec.
14 out of 137
Jan. 2024
9 out of 128
Feb.
27 out of 205
March
26 out of 176
April, as of Sunday
At least 150 out of 539
Note: Circles representing protests in similar locations may overlap
Protests with recorded police presence
Oct. 2023
41 out of 275 protests
Nov.
54 out of 355
Dec.
14 out of 137
Jan. 2024
9 out of 128
Feb.
27 out of 205
March
26 out of 176
April, as of Sunday
At least 150 out of 539
Note: Circles representing protests
in similar locations may overlap
Protests with recorded police presence
Oct. 2023
41 out of 275 protests
Nov.
54 out of 355
Dec.
14 out of 137
Jan. 2024
9 out of 128
Feb.
27 out of 205
March
26 out of 176
April, as of Sunday
At least 150 out of 539
Note: Circles representing protests in similar locations may overlap
More than 1,200 people have been arrested in college protests over the past two weeks, according to a Washington Post tally of news reports and police and university statements.
The major escalation in student activism poses a challenge for schools as commencement season begins.
