‘United States hasn’t seen such a large number of people arrested in campus protests in 50 years’
More than 3,100 pro-Palestinian student protesters were arrested on college campuses between between April 18 and June 4, according to a tally published Sunday by the New York Times. However, many of those charges have been dropped, the newspaper added.
“Most were charged with trespassing or disturbing the peace. Some face more serious charges, like resisting arrest. But in the months since, many of the charges have been dropped, even as some students are facing additional consequences, like being barred from their campuses or having their diplomas withheld,” the Times reported.
The arrests occurred at a fairly even mix of both public and private schools, with 1,997 arrests and 1,129 arrests, respectively, the Times reported, adding:
According to data collected by the New York Times, protesters were detained this year at more than 70 schools in at least 30 states, from Arizona State University, with its 80,000 students, to the University of Mary Washington in Virginia, with a student body of under 4,000.
Historians who study student movements say the United States hasn’t seen such a large number of people arrested in campus protests in 50 years. While millions of students participated in protests against the Vietnam War, there were about 4,000 arrests at campus protests in the spring of 1969, during the most intense period of activity.
Debate over whether the charges should be dropped has caused controversy. In some cases, those arrested were a mix of students and community activists.
Criminal charges were dropped last month against 79 people arrested at the University of Texas at Austin, with the county attorney’s office saying the legal burden to prove criminal trespass beyond a reasonable doubt could not be met, the Texas Tribune reported.
Likewise, dozens of protesters at Columbia University who occupied and barricaded a campus building had all criminal charges dropped in June — again with prosecutors citing insufficient evidence, Reuters reported.
But while criminal chargers are dropped, a few universities still held students accountable, such as at the University of Florida.
At the University of Austin, they offered suspended students a deferment if they “accept responsibility for their actions and agree to follow the school’s policies in the future,” the Austin-American Statesman reported July 10.
MORE: University of California spends $29 million on protest security, cleanup
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