New Jersey: As pro-Palestinian protests are swelling across US universities amid the Israel-Hamas war, an Indian-origin woman was among the two students arrested and banned from the Princeton University for demonstrating against Israel. The student was identified as Achinthya Sivalingan, hailing from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and raised in Columbus, who was apprehended along with Hassan Sayed after protesters set up tents for a pro-Palestine encampment.
According to Princeton Alumni Weekly, about 110 people were at the encampment by 9 am, which increased to 300 by noon. The crowd was a mix of Princeton students, faculty members, community members, and some people from outside the University. After warnings from University officials, two Princeton students were arrested and the remaining protesters continued the demonstration as a sit-in.
Jennifer Morrill, a spokesperson for the Princeton University, said that pitching tents violated the institution's policy and two graduate students were arrested for trespassing "after repeated warnings from the Department of Public Safety to cease the activity and leave the area". The two graduate students "have been immediately banned from campus, pending a disciplinary process," said Morrill.
Did police use force against the two students?
Urvi, a first-year PhD student who asked to be identified only by her first name, called the arrest “violent” and said zip ties were put around their wrists. “They’ve been evicted from their houses and were given under five minutes to get their stuff,” Urvi said. However, Morrill denied the use of force by the Public Safety officers and said the arrest occurred without resistance.
Max Weiss, associate professor of history, said he and members of the class were walking out in solidarity with faculty of the University of Texas Austin, who have stopped classes for the day to support student-led protests. The crowd grew as Weiss thanked the organizers for standing up in support of Gaza. Students face arrest and being barred from campus if they refuse to stop after a warning, according to a campus-wide message from Vice President for Campus Life W Rochelle Calhoun on Wednesday morning.
Protesters are demanding Princeton to divest from companies that “profit from or engage in Israel’s ongoing military campaign” in Gaza, end any University research “on weapons of war” funded by the US Department of Defence, enact an academic and cultural boycott of Israeli institutions, support Palestinian academic and cultural institutions, and publicly advocate for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Universities turn to police as pro-Palestinian protests surge
The pro-Palestinian protests at US universities flared up on Wednesday, as police bulldozed into student protesters at a Texas university and arrested over a dozen people including a local news photographer. The clashes between police and students were widely reported from the campus of the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, which also saw some arrests. Dane Urquhart, a third-year Texas student, called the police presence and arrests an “overreaction", adding that the protest “would have stayed peaceful” if the officers had not turned out in force.
At Emerson College in Boston, 108 people were arrested at an alleyway encampment overnight and four police officers suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, Boston police said. Those arrested were expected to appear Thursday in Boston Municipal Court. Another 93 people were arrested on Wednesday night during a protest at the University of Southern California, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
Police first tried to clear the encampment at Columbia last week, when they arrested more than 100 protesters. The move backfired, acting as an inspiration for other students across the country to set up similar encampments and motivating protesters at Columbia to regroup. At New York University this week, police said 133 protesters were taken into custody, while over 40 protesters were arrested Monday at an encampment at Yale University.
Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war are demanding schools cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies enabling its monthslong conflict. Some Jewish students say the protests have veered into antisemitism and made them afraid to set foot on campus as graduation nears, partly prompting a heavier hand from universities.
(with inputs from agencies)
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