Police officers on Monday arrested protesters who set up an encampment on the campus of Yale University in support of the Palestinian cause, the latest Ivy League institution to see sanctions imposed following protests against the Israeli bombing from Gaza.
The protesters were on their third night of camping in an effort to urge Yale to divest from military weapons manufacturers, the Yale Daily News reported.
Police officers gathered at the Beinecke Plaza protest site shortly before 7 a.m. Monday. and were seen approaching the camp and “overturning the entrances to the tents”, writes the school newspaper on X.
Then the police warned the students and journalists to leave or they would be arrested.
A few minutes later, the school newspaper wrote about X that the police were arresting people. Yale Police Lt. Roosevelt Martinez told the newspaper that students involved in the protests were arrested for trespassing and those arrested were transported on shuttles for “processing.”
A total of 45 arrests were made, the New Haven mayor’s office said. New Haven police were on scene “to provide security and assist with traffic control on city streets,” the mayor’s office said.
By 8 a.m., no students remained in the square and all protesters remaining in the square had been arrested.
After the arrests, a crowd of more than 200 protesters blocked an intersection on campus as organizers “announced that those arrested were charged with Class A misdemeanors,” the school’s X newspaper wrote.
Forty police officers were reportedly on site, preventing students from entering the Schwarzman Center rotunda.
NBC News is seeking comment from Yale police and university officials.
The tension on campus comes as another Ivy League institution, Columbia University in New York, is holding classes virtually Monday following a pro-Palestinian encampment and protest that also resulted in suspensions and mass arrests.
In a statement released Sunday, Yale University officials said protests at Beinecke Plaza and other parts of campus “grew significantly over the weekend and some members of the broader community joined our students.
Although the school “supports free speech and civil discourse,” the protest at the encampment violated some university guidelines and policies, which school leaders warned participants against.
“Setting up structures, defying the directives of university officials, remaining on campus spaces beyond permitted hours, and other acts that violate university policies and guidelines create safety risks and hinder the work of our university,” said Yale University President and psychology professor Peter Salovey. Chris Argyris wrote.
While many students participating in the protests and counter-protests “did so peacefully,” the school was aware of reports of “egregious behavior, such as intimidation and harassment, pushing and shoving people in the crowd, the removal of the flag from the square and other harmful acts.” said the press release.
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 investigate such actions.
School officials said they understood the disagreement with the school’s Investor Responsibility Advisory Committee’s decision not to recommend a policy of divestment from military weapons manufacturers.
“ACIR, a committee comprised of faculty, students, staff and alumni, arrived at this conclusion after hearing from the student presenters and engaging in thorough deliberation. This is part of a formal process and builds on the university’s guide to ethical investing that has served Yale well for decades,” the statement said. “There are avenues available to continue this discussion with openness and courtesy, and I urge those who have suggestions to follow them.”
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