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Campus Watch May 14, 2025

A roundup of incidents, good and bad, happening on school campuses.
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May 14, 2025

Columbia AAUP Chapter Denounces University’s Actions Against Anti-Israel Protesters Occupying Library

Columbia University’s American Association of University Professors (AAUP) chapter issued a statement on May 8 denouncing the university’s actions against anti-Israel protesters that occupied the main library on campus on the day before.

“Our senior administration, guided by the Board of Trustees, has taken a series of actions which, in an attempt to placate the Trump administration, have weakened academic freedom and shared governance and accelerated an institutional slide toward executive rule, echoing the authoritarian ethos now holding sway in Washington,” the Columbia AAUP statement, which was first reported by Fox News, read. “As the Trump administration has demanded ever more draconian crackdowns on student protest, our administration has responded by granting enhanced powers to public security that can as easily escalate as defuse confrontations with students and that last night did not prevent the administration from again summoning the NYPD to campus.” The AAUP chapter added that “the tragic events of last night illustrate the countervailing and urgent need for developing consultation protocols and mediation strategies that mitigate harm during protests, facilitate informed and balanced reporting, and ensure due process for all parties.”

According to The Washington Free Beacon, anti-Israel protesters in the library “clashed with security officials, injuring two, passed out pamphlets endorsing Hamas’s violence, vandalized and damaged the library.”

Arizona Bans Encampments on State University Campuses

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) signed a bill into law on May 7 officially making it a state crime to erect encampments on state university campuses.

The Arizona Daily Sun reported that the bill requires university administrators to clear out any encampments being built on their campuses and arrest and discipline anyone that doesn’t comply for trespassing. The bill received bipartisan support, though the Daily Sun quoted some state legislators who were critical of it. State Rep. Quanta Crews (D-Phoenix), for instance, contended that the law “could be weaponized against different groups that are not intending to harm other students and are just trying to exercise their First Amendment right.” State Rep. Alma Hernandez (D-Tucson), who introduced the measure, pointed out that when Students Against Apartheid established their encampment at the University of Arizona in 2024, they presented the university with a “ridiculous list of demands” that included denouncing “Israel’s genocidal campaign.” “They had no intention of leaving,” Hernandez contended.

Police Clear Out Anti-Israel Encampment at Brooklyn College

The New York Police Department (NYPD) arrested at least 14 individuals on May 8 when it cleared out an anti-Israel encampment at Brooklyn College, which is part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system.

“Video from the wild scene shows an officer using a megaphone to warn the demonstrators to ‘disperse immediately’ or ‘face arrest,’ as defiant protesters bellow, ‘Free Palestine!’” The New York Post reported. “Another clip then shows officers wrestling a man before unleashing a Taser on him.” An officer also yelled at a woman carrying her toddler to “get that baby out of here now!”

A spokesperson for Brooklyn College said in a statement to the Post, “After multiple warnings to take the tents down and disperse, members of CUNY Public Safety and NYPD removed the tents and dispersed the crowd. The safety of our campus community will always be paramount, and Brooklyn College respects the right to protest while also adhering to strict rules meant to ensure the safe operation of our University and prohibit individuals from impeding access to educational facilities. Brooklyn College remains dedicated to fostering a respectful space for all voices to be heard in accordance with CUNY policy.”

Anti-Israel Protesters Launch Hunger Strike at Yale

Six people members of the Yalies4Palestine group began a hunger strike at Yale University on May 10.

The Yale Daily News reported that the six individuals plan to fast indefinitely until the university meets their demands of divesting from companies that enable human rights abuses; additionally, the protesters demanded that the university “end partnerships with Tel Aviv University, the Peace and Dialogue Leadership Initiative and any fellowships that fund student travel to Israel; to rescind its regulations that “limit peaceful protest and student advocacy” and to reduce the number of employees who mediate protests; and to ensure that ‘peaceful’ protesters, including the hunger strikers, would not be punished,” per the Daily News.

The protesters said they are expressing solidarity with the more than 25 students in the California State University system who have been engaging in a hunger strike since May 5. Six students at Sacramento State ended their hunger strike after “some participants [experienced] health issues,” KCRA reported on May 12.

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