Police Raid a Number of United States Campuses
Police arrested hundreds of people after raiding a number of campuses in the United States.
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Members of the Los Angeles Police at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, Wednesday (1/5/2024) early morning.
LOS ANGELES, WEDNESDAY — Police stormed the campuses of a number of universities in the United States. They broke up the demonstration of students who were against the Gaza War as well as supporters of Palestine.
The largest raid followed by arrests occurred at Columbia University, New York. On Tuesday (30/4/2024) evening local time or Wednesday morning WIB, hundreds of police stormed Benjamin Hall on campus. They arrested 230 people from the campus.
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In a live CNN broadcast, reporter Shimon Prokupecz mentioned that hundreds of police officers raided the campus. "I have covered many protests in New York. I have never seen anything like this, the way the New York Police Department handles the protest on this campus," he said.
Meanwhile, early Wednesday morning Los Angeles time, police clashed with protesters at the University of California (UCLA). Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass confirmed that police had entered the campus. He argued that clashes between two groups of protesters were the reason the police entered the campus.
Members of the Los Angeles Police at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, Wednesday (1/5/2024) early morning.
California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, California, was raided on Tuesday (30/4/2024) early in the morning local time. Police then arrested 31 individuals. Meanwhile, at the University of North Carolina, police arrested at least 36 protesters.
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An invasion followed by arrests also occurred at Florida State University in Tallahassee and the University of Texas in Austin. 86 people were arrested in Austin, and five others in Tallahassee.
At the University of Arizona, campus security officers have fired tear gas to disperse protesters. The protesters were asked to disperse immediately.
Shock grenade
The New York Police Department denies using tear gas in the raid at Columbia University. The police only admitted to using stun grenades. The grenade emitted a deafening sound and a blinding light.
Police arrested protesters at Columbia University in New York, United States, Tuesday (30/4/2024) evening.
The police entered from the second floor of the building, then stormed inside. A number of windows were smashed before police started to enter.
"It's incomprehensible. They sent police to raid our students. The professors were shocked. Although we suspected this would happen," said sociology professor at Columbia University, Debbie Becher.
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He mentioned that the university's rectorate and deans have been suppressing the freedom of expression of students and academic communities for six months. Many lecturers support the majority of student protesters on campus. "We support dialogue and freedom of expression because higher education institutions should behave that way," he said.
The association of American lecturers at Columbia University has repeatedly encouraged the rectorate to engage in dialogue with protesters. However, Columbia University's statute requires such a dialogue. Even the university senate has condemned Columbia University Rector Minouche Shafik. Shafik is accused of suppressing freedom of speech on campus.
Police arrested protesters at Columbia University in New York, United States, Tuesday (30/4/2024) evening.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, labeled the actions of the US police as excessive. "The university has a strong and historic tradition of student activism, lively debates, and freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. The exercise of legitimate freedom of expression cannot be equated with incitement to violence and hatred," he said.
On the other hand, he emphasized that hate speech towards other groups is not justified in any situation. Anti-Semitic, anti-Palestinian, or anti-Arab behavior is all equally unacceptable.
Campus permission
On Tuesday morning, the New York Police Department stated that they would not enter the campus without permission from the rectory. In an official statement from the campus, it was stated that the rectory allowed the police to enter the campus. Shafik's letter to the police indicated that they could be on campus until May 17th, 2024. Shafik asked the police to assist in restoring campus order.
Demonstration against the Gaza war on the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, Wednesday (1/5/2024) early morning.
The campus accuses the protesters of disrupting order and the smoothness of lectures. On Monday afternoon, the rectorate threatened to suspend the protesters who were still persistent. On Tuesday night, the police raided the campus.
The raid on Columbia University adds to the growing list of forced dissolution of protests against the Gaza war on US campuses. In all of these dissolutions, the police stormed the campus and arrested students. The tactics used by the US police are similar to those used by police in some countries when raiding protesters.
US politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, have condemned the anti-war protests. Even President Joe Biden called the protests at Columbia University and other universities unjustified. The Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, referred to the protesters as criminals.
Victims of police violence on the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) campus in the early hours of Wednesday (1/5/2024).
Some netizens stated that the condition of Columbia University reminds them of the atmosphere of rejection towards the Vietnam War several decades ago. At that time, the police also raided several campuses that became the location of anti-war protests.
Officials from various law enforcement agencies have also infiltrated among the protesters. Some aim to identify and capture protest leaders, while others aim to provoke protesters to create unrest so that the demonstration can be dispersed. (AP/AFP)
