On Monday, police officers raided protesters who had set up camp on the campus of Yale University in support of the Palestinian cause, the latest Ivy League institution to be disciplined following demonstrations against Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. I was arrested.
Protesters were camping for the third night to demand that Yale University divest from its military weapons manufacturing company. Yale Daily News report.
Police gathered at the Beinecke Square protest site shortly before 7 a.m. Monday. And there was The school newspaper wrote that X was seen approaching the encampment and “overturning the tent entrance.”
Officers then warned students and journalists to leave. Otherwise you will be arrested.
A few minutes later, the school newspaper reported that the police were arresting people about X. Yale University Police Lt. Roosevelt Martinez told the newspaper that students who participated in the protest were arrested for trespassing and that the arrested students were being transported by shuttle for “processing.”
A total of 45 people were arrested, according to the New Haven Mayor's Office. New Haven police were called to the scene “to ensure safety and assist with traffic control on city streets,” the mayor's office said.
By 8 a.m., there were no students in the square, and all demonstrators who remained in the square were arrested.
After the arrest, a crowd of more than 200 protesters blocked an intersection on campus as organizers “announced that those arrested would be charged with a Class A misdemeanor,” the school newspaper wrote in the X. .
Forty police officers were reportedly on the scene to prevent students from entering the Schwarzman Center Rotunda.
NBC News has reached out to Yale Police and university officials for comment.
Tensions on campus come as Columbia University in New York City, another Ivy League institution, held classes virtually on Monday following pro-Palestinian encampments and protests, which also led to mass suspensions and arrests. arises from.
Yale officials said in a statement Sunday that protests at Beinecke Plaza and other locations on campus “escalated significantly over the weekend, with some members of the broader community joining students.” .
The school “supports free speech and civil discourse,” but the protests at the camp violate some of the university's guidelines and policies, and school leaders have warned participants. Ta.
Peter Salovey, president of Yale University and professor of psychology, said: “Anyone who violates university policies or guidelines by erecting structures, disobeying instructions from university officials, remaining on campus beyond the permitted time, etc. “Any other actions that occur pose a safety risk and disrupt university operations.” Chris Argyris wrote.
While many of the students participating in protests and counter-protests are “acting peacefully,” the school says it is “intimidating, harassing, shoving students in the crowd, removing flags from the plaza, and other harmful acts.” It was aware of reports of “egregious acts such as” said the statement.
“Yale University does not tolerate conduct that includes language that threatens, harasses, or threatens members of the university's Jewish, Muslim, or other communities,” officials said, adding that school police We are investigating these acts.
School officials said they understand the disagreement over the School's Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility's decision not to recommend a divestment policy from military weapons manufacturers.
“ACIR (a committee of faculty, students, staff, and alumni) reached this conclusion after careful consideration and hearing from student presenters. This is part of a formal process. “We rely on the University's Guide to Ethical Investing, which has served Yale for decades,” the statement said, adding, “There are available avenues to continue this discussion in an open and civil manner.” For those with suggestions, I recommend the following: Follow them. “
