Student demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza are erupting at colleges across the country, with more than 30 schools in 16 states from California to Massachusetts reporting on-campus protests as of April 25.
More than 500 people have been arrested in confrontations with police, according to a USA TODAY review of news reports.
The movement, which calls for an end to civilian casualties in Gaza, started at Columbia University on April 17. About 100 Columbia students have been arrested, and the protests have been spreading to other colleges in the U.S. and overseas.
More than 34,000 deaths have been reported in Gaza since Israel invaded the Gaza Strip after a Hamas attack that killed almost 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7.
Students are setting up protest camps – essentially groups of tents on campus spaces – as a way of maintaining solidarity and visibility.
Some college officials have responded by sending police to force students to disband.
At Columbia, President Minouche Shafik gave students until Friday morning to remove their tents. At Emory University in Atlanta, officers used tear gas on protesters and arrested a number of them.
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