Annabel DeChant

Here in the U.S., students on college campuses have been at the forefront of discourse and action surrounding the conflict in Gaza. In the wake of continued conflict in the region and of President Trump’s criticism of students protestors, these activists have gained renewed attention. 

Since they began, protests have caught tons of national headlines and garnered strong reactions. In May of last year, the Crowd Counting Consortium (a collaborative project between entities at Harvard and University of Connecticut) identified over 3,700 days that included pro-Palestinian protests, across more than 500 schools in the United States, since October of 2023. More than 130 of these included encampments, the features of some of the most attention-grabbing demonstrations. 

Building take-overs have also been some of the most dramatic examples. In the spring of 2024, dozens of protestors took over Hamilton Hall at Columbia University, a building that had been previously occupied in 1968 during protests for civil rights and against the Vietnam War. This action came a couple of weeks after the first encampments on the campus. In reaction to these encampments, arrests were made and student protestors were given an ultimatum to leave the encampment or face suspension. Protestors defied the ultimatum and responded by taking over Hamilton Hall, barricading it using furniture and metal blockers and calling it Hind’s Hall, in memory of a young girl who was killed during Israeli fire in Gaza. The New York Police Department was sent in to clear protestors out of the building. 

Photo of the Hamilton Hall take-over at Columbia University. 

Credit: Alex Kent/Getty Images, FILE. Accessed via ABC News. 

The protests have happened at universities across the U.S. and across the world. The New York Times posted a map reflecting protests at many American universities, including University of Virginia, New York University, Stanford University, and University of Pennsylvania. These protests also appeared in Europe, such as at the Free University in Berlin, the University of Amsterdam, Oxford University and Cambridge University in Britain, and Trinity College in Dublin. 

Protests have called for divestment and cease-fire. Many have also connected the war to a variety of other issues. Some of these have included, “policing, mistreatment of Indigenous people, discrimination toward Black Americans and the impact of global warming.” They link the struggles Palestinian people have faced to “global power structures that thrive on bias and oppression,” drawing in concepts of imperialism, colonialism, and intersectionality. For example, one student at Cornell discussed what the conflict means from an environmentalist and climate justice lens, pointing out the many “dimensions of identity” and connecting issues to imperialist and capitalist struggles. 

Reactions to these protests have been mixed, with various individuals and organizations supporting or opposing them, or finding themselves somewhere in between. Some raise concerns of anti-semitism, while others, such as the Columbia organizers, say that they are meant to be “a peaceful movement aimed at defending Palestinian rights and protesting the war.” There are also debates about what actions are too far, as well as over matters of free speech. 

The protests have brought university leaders under significant scrutiny from many sides. Statements made and congressional testimony given by these leaders have been met with criticism.

Legal and disciplinary actions have been taken against many student protestors. Back in summer of 2024, the New York Times reported there had been over 3,100 arrests or detainments on campuses. More recently, Columbia students who participated in the take-over of Hamilton Hall have faced expulsions, suspensions, temporary revocations of their degrees. 

The Trump administration has begun pushing action against the protestors. In January, he signed an executive order that “would push colleges and universities to combat antisemitism specifically by monitoring and reporting international students.” Palestinian activist, green card holder, and recent Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, was detained by agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Khalil was one of the leaders of the protests at Columbia. This move was described by an Associated Press reporter as “a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s pledge to detain and deport student activists.” According to Trump, it’d be the first of “many to come.” Days ago, another participant in Columbia’s pro-Palestinian protests, Leqaa Kordia, was also arrested. The Trump administration has also come after university funding. At Columbia, for example, they decided to cut $400 million in funding, with the administration pointing to concerns about treatment of Jewish students. 

The kinds of protests like those at Columbia haven’t been the only approaches taken by pro-Palestinian activists on college campuses. At the University of Michigan, pro-Palestinian students won council elections for the Central Student Government, and shut down funding for student activities, calling for university divestment related to the the conflict in Gaza. At Harvard, hundreds of students walked out of commencement, in response to the university’s action excluding 13 seniors who had been students protestors from the commencement. Other movements have worked on raising awareness or fundraising. At Bennington College, for example, students held a fundraiser for Islamic Relief USA on the Commons Lawn. At Oberlin College, students set up an encampment that they transitioned into “a space for daytime programming focused on education and fundraising.” They held poetry readings, fundraisers for families in Gaza, and teach-ins. 

Related activism has reached our own Miami University. In April, Miami’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) hosted a walkout that included more than 15 students, supporting arrested Columbia protestors. Students also held a pro-Palestinian encampment, which they ultimately voted to disperse in order to avoid suspensions. The Miami Student reported that SJP held “Israeli Apartheid Week” last week, focusing the programming on “fostering a sense of community among attendees, as well as voicing their pro-Palestine efforts.” 

A photo of pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Miami University. 

Credit: Reagan Rude. Accessed via The Miami Student. 

We here at Miami Political Review are currently running a fundraiser to support the recovery in Gaza. We remain committed to publication-wide neutrality. This is why we are fundraising for ANERA, a non-political and non-religious organization providing humanitarian aid to people who have been affected by the Gaza conflict. You can donate through our fundraiser here. 

Screenshot of Miami’s fundraising page for ANERA.