Police officers Monday arrested protesters who had set up an encampment on Yale University’s campus in support of the Palestinian cause, one of a growing number of American universities where there have been demonstrations surrounding the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Protesters had been on their third night of camping out to urge Yale to divest from military weapons manufacturers, the Yale Daily News reported.
Officers gathered at the protest site at Beinecke Plaza shortly before 7 a.m. Monday and were seen approaching the encampment and “flipping up the entrances to the tents,” the school paper wrote on X.
Then officers issued a warning for students and journalists to leave or they’d be arrested. Minutes later, the school paper wrote on X that police were arresting people.
In total, 47 students were issued summonses, Yale said in a statement Monday.
They were taken to a Yale police facility, where they were processed, charged with first-degree criminal trespass, a misdemeanor, and released, the New Haven mayor’s office said.
The arrests
The university said protesters were asked to leave and remove their belongings after officials had “notified protesters numerous times” that if they violated university policies about occupying outdoor spaces, they could face law enforcement and disciplinary action. Some left voluntarily Monday morning.
Those arrested will also be referred for Yale disciplinary action, “which includes a range of sanctions, such as reprimand, probation, or suspension,” the university said.
By 8 a.m., no students were left on the plaza, and all protesters remaining on the plaza had been arrested.
"The university made the decision to arrest those individuals who would not leave the plaza with the safety and security of the entire Yale community in mind and to allow access to university facilities by all members of our community," Yale said Monday.
A statement on the Instagram page for the Yale protest organizers under the handle “Occupy Beinecke” said Monday that police had given only one arrest warning and refused to allow protesters to collect medication and other necessities.
“When asked onsite what protesters were doing wrong, police refused to give an answer,” the group said. Organizers also said the summons for criminal trespassing charges was “contrary to all prior communication from administration about potential consequences.”
After the arrests, a crowd of over 200 protesters blocked the intersection of Grove and College streets on campus as organizers “announced that people arrested are being charged with Class A misdemeanors,” the school paper wrote on X.
Forty police officers were reported to be at the scene, blocking students from entering the Schwarzman Center Rotunda.
New Haven police said they had no plans to make "any arrests of non-violent protesters" at that demonstration, which was still ongoing at of 10 a.m. ET.
Yale police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Protests unfolding at universities across the U.S.
Another Ivy League institution, Columbia University in New York City, held classes virtually Monday following a pro-Palestinian encampment and protest that also resulted in mass suspensions and arrests.
Three Boston-area universities, Tufts, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Emerson, also had protest encampments over the weekend, organizers said.
Meanwhile, Harvard restricted access to Harvard Yard — a grassy area enclosed by fences on campus — through Friday afternoon. The school paper, The Harvard Crimson, reported the decision was “in apparent anticipation of student protests.” A notice posted on Yard gates said that “structures, including tents and tables, are not permitted in the Yard without prior permission” and that “students violating these policies are subject to disciplinary action.”
The University of Southern California in Los Angeles was criticized last week after it canceled the speech of a valedictorian whose social media account had a link to a document expressing support for Palestinians in Gaza. USC said it decided to cancel the speech based on concerns over security and the possibility of disruption.
Protests call for Yale to divest from military weapons manufacturers
Yale has been under “months of sustained pressure” to disclose and divest from investments in military weapons manufacturers, Occupy Beinecke said.
However, on Wednesday, Yale said its Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility would not recommend divestment because it had concluded that “military weapons manufacturing for authorized sales did not meet the threshold of grave social injury” and because “this manufacturing supports socially necessary uses, such as law enforcement and national security.”
University President Peter Salovey said in a statement Sunday that they understood the disagreement with the ACIR decision.
“The ACIR—a committee of faculty, students, staff, and alumni—arrived at this conclusion after hearing from student presenters and engaging in careful deliberation. This is part of a formal process and relies on the university’s guide to ethical investing that has served Yale well for decades,” the statement said. “There are available pathways to continue this discussion with openness and civility, and I urge those with suggestions to follow them.”
The statement Sunday said the protests in Beinecke Plaza and other parts of campus “have grown significantly over the weekend, and some members of the broader community have joined our students.”
While the school “supports free speech and civil discourse,” the encampment protest violated some university guidelines and policies, which school leaders warned participants about.
“Putting up structures, defying the directives of university officials, staying in campus spaces past allowed times, and other acts that violate university policies and guidelines create safety hazards and impede the work of our university,” Salovey wrote.
While many students participating in protests and counter protests “have done so peacefully,” the school was aware of reports of “egregious behavior, such as intimidation and harassment, pushing those in crowds, removal of the plaza flag, and other harmful acts,” the statement said.
Yale separately told NBC News on Sunday that university police were “investigating a report of an assault” during a protest on Beinecke Plaza, adding it was “providing support to a student who made the report.”
The officials stressed: “Yale does not tolerate actions, including remarks, that threaten, harass, or intimidate members of the university’s Jewish, Muslim, and other communities,” and school police are investigating such actions.
CORRECTION (April 22, 2024, 6:20 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated who signed Yale University’s statement Sunday. It was signed by university President Peter Salovey, who is also the Chris Argyris professor of psychology. It was not also signed by Argyris, the late professor for whom Salovey’s endowed position is named.