25 arrested from University of Virginia for pro-Palestine protests

NEW DELHI: 25 people were taken into custody on Saturday for trespassing at the University of Virginia following a confrontation between police and pro-Palestinian protesters who declined to remove their tents from the campus grounds.
Meanwhile, at the University of Michigan, demonstrators expressed their opposition to the ongoing conflict by chanting anti-war slogans and waving flags during the commencement ceremonies, according to an AP report.
The protest at the University of Virginia began on Tuesday when student demonstrators set up camp on a lawn outside the school chapel. By Saturday, the situation had escalated, with WVAW-TV footage showing police in heavy gear and holding shields, lined up on the campus in Charlottesville. The protesters chanted "Free Palestine," and the university police declared an "unlawful assembly" in the area via the social platform X.
As the police intervened, students were subjected to forceful measures, including being pushed to the ground, pulled by their arms, and sprayed with a chemical irritant, according to Laura Goldblatt, an assistant professor of English and global studies who has been assisting the student demonstrators. Goldblatt expressed concern for the safety of the students while to the Washington Post, stating, "Our concern since this began has been the safety of our students. Students are not safe right now."
The university administration issued a statement explaining that the demonstrators were informed that the tents and canopies they had erected were prohibited under school policy and were requested to remove them. To enforce this policy, the university sought assistance from the Virginia State Police.
This incident is the latest in a series of tense and occasionally violent confrontations at colleges and universities across the country, where dozens of protests and hundreds of arrests have taken place in response to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The Associated Press has documented at least 61 incidents since April 18, resulting in more than 2,400 arrests on 47 campuses.
At Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, a group of approximately 75 staged a protest as the event commenced. Many of the protesters wore traditional Arabic keffiyehs in combination with their graduation caps as they proceeded up the main aisle, heading towards the graduation stage.
The protesters chanted in unison, "Regents, regents, you can't hide! You are funding genocide!" while carrying signs, one of which bore the message: "No universities left in Gaza."
In the sky above, planes flew with banners displaying contrasting messages. One banner read, "Divest from Israel now! Free Palestine!" while another proclaimed, "We stand with Israel. Jewish lives matter."
At Indiana University, protesters encouraged attendees to don their kaffiyehs and exit during President Pamela Whitten's speech on Saturday evening. The university designated an area outside Memorial Stadium, the venue for the commencement, as a protest zone.
Eighteen students at Princeton University in New Jersey initiated a hunger strike to pressure the institution into divesting from companies connected to Israel. Senior David Chmielewski, one of the participants, stated via email that the strike commenced on Friday morning, with strikers consuming only water. He added that the strike would persist until university administrators meet with students to discuss their demands, which include "amnesty from criminal and disciplinary charges for protesters." Chmielewski also mentioned that other demonstrators are engaging in 24-hour "solidarity fasts."
Earlier this week, Princeton students established a protest encampment and staged a sit-in at an administrative building, resulting in approximately 15 arrests. Prior to the recent surge of encampments, students at other universities, such as Brown and Yale, initiated similar hunger strikes earlier this year.
However, students at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, peacefully dismantled their encampment on Friday night without any police intervention.